Yesterday's announcement by TelstraClear that it had been forced to shelve its plans for a NZ$ 50 million wireless network in Tauranga is a timely reminder of the appalling mess that is telecommunications in New Zealand.
The blame game has already started. Did Vodafone really change its stance on the roaming agreement that TelstraClear thought was in place? Or were there other commercial forces at work which forced TelstraClear's hand?
TelstraClear's announcement coincided with the release of a report by the Commerce Commmission into fixed and mobile phone charges in New Zealand. Against most measures, the plans being offered NZ consumers, business and residential, by NZ's two leading telcos, Telecom and Vodafone, are both restrictive and expensive. By OECD standards, NZ consumers are pretty much stuck in the basement.
Whether TelstraClear's 'Unplugged' project for Tauranga was commercially viable or not is debateable. What is not however is that its shelving is one more example of a potentially competitive and innovative product failing to get to market. Until New Zealand can sort out its telecommunication woes, business in this country is going to be continually disadvantaged against its competition abroad.
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