Familiar news from NZ

eircomtribunal

After New Zealand's incumbent did the same dirty things to the country as we have experienced (paying out high dividends, not investing, holding back broadband development etc.) the government seems to have had enough. After bringing forward legislation to unbundle the local loop and strengthen regulation, "Telecom New Zealand" shares suffered a loss of over 2 billion dollars (over 1 billion euros) in the last week.

The interesting thing is to see how the incumbent puts forward ridiculous arguments; they are the same bogus arguments which our own government has fallen for continuously.

For example:

Telecom New Zealand has replied to the Government annoucement today that the Local Loop should be unbundled.

"It is hard to see how the steps announced today will deliver on the Government's aims of high speed broadband throughout New Zealand"

"As we have told the Government in our submissions high speed broadband services and the advanced products that will run on them require major investment from all players in the sector," said Telecom's General Manager Government & Industry Relations Bruce Parkes.

"Today's package actually tells players to put away any major investment plans and rely on regulation instead."

"Broadband has been growing sharply in New Zealand, fuelled by major initiatives by Telecom and other players. "

"The next step in New Zealand's broadband path is higher speed broadband and services such as Voice over IP and digital video services."

"Telecom has shared with the Government its view that getting those services to people throughout New Zealand means investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, not just by Telecom but by other players. "

"That need for investment is particularly important for rural New Zealand."

"But the Government has turned away from that path which would have benefited all New Zealanders," Mr Parkes said.

My optimism about the NZ gov succeeding is rather guarded, when I read about the stated gov aspiration. Strange enough we don't hear such aspirations from the successful broadband nations.

As set out in its Digital Strategy, the Government’s goal is for New Zealand to be a world leader at using information and communications technology (ICT) for economic, social and cultural gain, and to ensure that all New Zealanders can access the benefits that ICT can bring.

P.

eircomtribunal

Tom McEnaney reports in the Indo about Babcock Brown together with ESOT going to make their formal bid for Eircom this week.

Good luck to the next breed of pigs at the trough of our incumbent – and to the old fat greedy ESOT sow, who is again the enabler and who will get fatter again.

Tom writes that Babcock "are understood" to have shelved their intentions to partition Eircom, stating gov and regulator objections:

It is understood Babcock & Brown has shelved the idea of splitting Eircom into a network company which would sell to all comers and a retail company, which would include Meteor.
Although the Australians still believe the idea has merit, it is understood they accept that it may be opposed by the Government and ComReg, the communications regulator.

Whatever Tom speculates, or "knows" about, it was always a piece of nonsense, a spurious PR game, that Topfer of Babcock had planted in the Irish Media, about asking to go forward without LLU – which is a cornerstone of EC objectives in the the telecoms area.
Otherwise neither gov nor Comreg would have objections to a partition of the company, quite the opposite.
While it's only an accusation so far, it might still give some idea about the wood Babcock & Brown are carved from:

Separately, it has emerged that B&B and Rob Topfer, the Australian who is leading the B&B bid, are being sued for alleged insider trading.

Gov needs all its wits to guard us against further robbery.

The big words of Dempsey, about now empowering the regulator, need to be followed up by coherent action. What we've seen so far in the "miscellaneous bill" proposals does not encourage that Dempsey and the DCMNR are serious with what they are saying.
And with the hitherto third Commissioner going to be at the helm of ComReg in 2007 one could get depressed... but let's never abandon the "principle of hope".

P.