Briefly: Adams on US promo trip, Telecom to bid for 700 MHz

Thursday, 5 September 2013, 11:46 am
Column: Bill Bennett

Information Technology Minister Amy Adams is in the United States on a mission that will see New Zealand tech start-ups pitch to Silicon Valley investors.

The investor pitch is one of a series of events hosted by Adams, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and the New Zealand Technology Industry Association. The goal is to help New Zealand companies forge relationships to help them compete internationally.

Companies taking part in the event include STQRY, TranscribeMe, Polybatics, EROAD, Composite Helicopters International, Lypanosys, Pacific Edge, Green Button and Showcase.

Adams will also visit the Kiwi Landing Pad, a government-private sector partnership supporting New Zealand companies aiming to establish and grow their business in the US.

• Just in case anyone suspected otherwise, Telecom NZ confirmed it will be taking part in the auction for 700 MHz band spectrum. The company says it welcomes government acknowledgement of the significant investment needed by carriers to build 4G LTE networks. Interestingly the press statement says handsets suitable for the 700 MHZ band are likely to be available from the middle of next year at the earliest.

• The Mega data storage operation will have to get by without leader Kim Dotcom who has retired as a director. A statement from the company says Dotcom will focus on fighting extradition to the US and ‘other projects’.

• Meanwhile Mega says its New Zealand storage node is now officially open for business. The company says the local node serves customers here and those in Australia, PNG, Fiji and New Caledonia. Confusingly it says while file transfers go to and from New Zealand API requests still have to go the scenic route via Europe and metadata is stored there. Eventually data stored in New Zealand will be mirrored in Europe, which could be an issue for companies storing private data that can’t legally be sent overseas.

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ENDS

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Bill Bennett

Freelance journalist.

Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.

His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.

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