Govt Opts to Forgo Millions in Exchange for WiMax Competition

By PULLAR-STRECKER Tom

A Government plan to auction off two big blocks of prized radio spectrum in December will ensure there are at least six national providers of high-speed WiMax wireless broadband.

The price of fostering competition will be a reduction in the tens of millions of dollars that are expected to flow into Treasury coffers from the sale.

Communications Minister David Cunliffe announced plans to push back the sale of 100MHz of prized spectrum in the 2.3GHz band till the end of the year, when it can be sold alongside another block of radio spectrum in the 2.5GHz band.

The decision means the Government will be able to offer six different companies sufficient spectrum to launch a national WiMax service, while still reserving some for community use.

The move reduced fears that market heavyweights Telecom and Vodafone would eat up much of the spectrum in two fierce feeding frenzies, at the expense of smaller rivals.

Junior telecommunications companies Woosh, Kordia, CallPlus and NZ Wireless have all expressed interest in the WiMax spectrum. CallPlus had called for Telecom and Vodafone to be excluded from the auction of 2.3GHz spectrum altogether, but welcomed yesterday’s compromise.

Chief executive Martin Wylie said it would be a “real boost” to CallPlus’ WiMax deployment strategy, for which it claims to have earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars.

Speaking at a conference held by the Telecommunications Users’ Association, Cunliffe conceded the sale strategy was “not a revenue- maximising exercise for the Crown”, but was instead an attempt to accelerate the use of wireless broadband.

Cunliffe also told the conference the Government would proceed with plans to separate Telecom into three trading divisions, while appearing to leave the door open to a possible sale of Telecom’s fixed-line network. Structural separation, while seen as having some potential advantages, must not divert the Government from implementing operational separation and ensuring robust equality of access, he said.

Cunliffe also announced New Zealand lawyer Ross Patterson would succeed Douglas Webb as Telecommunications Commission in July.

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(c) 2007 Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.