Ihug Takes Action Over High-Speed Internet Plans

AUCKLAND-based Internet service provider ihug is dragging Telecom off to the Commerce Commission, saying Telecom is showing no interest in wholesaling its high-speed Internet plans.

Ihug is applying to Telecommunications Commissioner Douglas Webb seeking a determination that could force Telecom to wholesale its high-speed 2 megabit per second (mbps) plans.

Ihug general manager Guy Nelson said no progress could be made in negotiating wholesale access to high-speed plans. “We were meeting with basically a `not now’ response from Telecom. We don’t think that’s acceptable on the basis that the retail service is being offered out there today.”

Telecom’s head of regulatory and government affairs, Bruce Parkes, said the technical problems that delayed the introduction of 256 kilobits per second (kbps) unbundled bitstream service (UBS) meant faster speeds could not be offered now.

“We would definitely be offering them now if we could,” he said.

Mr Nelson said that in Australia, incumbent provider Telstra was prohibited from providing a retail service unless it wholesaled the service to competitors.

Along with Orcon, ihug has signed up for Telecom’s 256 kbps wholesaled UBS. The two ISPs went “live” with the service on Monday.

Telecom has said high-speed one and two megabit plans would be available from next March.

Many consumers wanted plans faster than the regulated 256 kbps plans, Mr Nelson said.

The ihug move follows TelstraClear’s decision to apply for a Commerce Commission ruling on UBS, citing delays by Telecom in providing the service.

That both TelstraClear and ihug have applied to the commission within the space of a few days indicated the issue of access to wholesale service was industry-wide, Mr Nelson said.

Mr Parkes said Telecom did give some thought to pulling its high- speed retail plans on this basis, but decided to continue offering them because Internet service providers could access them as a resold service. “As a matter of principle given that we’ve launched a retail offering at 1 and 2 mbps we accept there should be a wholesale offering to mirror this.”