VoIP and ENUM

All of the Kiwi network engineers here at the APRICOT technical training program were abuzz this morning about a NZ news (Campell Live) expose broadcast yesterday on the pernicious effects of Telecom New Zealand's overwhelming market power on broadband deployment and Internet development in general.

A few fairly corny gimmicks and analogies were employed along the way, but the segment did a pretty good job of explaining the significance of things like local loop unbundling, contention rates, and infrastructure-based competition for a nontechnical audience.

As an added treat, the 30-min segment ends with a brutal grilling of TNZ chief exec Theresa Gattung, followed by none-too-gentle response from NZ telecom regulator David Cunliffe.

Broadband and Mobiles…Kiwis pay more for mobile calls than people in Third World countries. Reporter Phil Vine asks if there is competition between Vodafone and Telecom why are our cell phone calls so very expensive. To watch this story click here

And why is our broadband so slow? New Zealand Internet speeds are a joke internationally. Reporter Simon Shepherd looks at what the government is going to do about it and talks to the critics of Telecom about the state of our broadband. To watch this story click here

Plus...John interviews Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung about broadband. To watch this interview click here. And we’re joined live by David Cunliffe, the Minister of Communications & Information technology to talk about how he intends to promote competition and how the government is going to make it better for consumers.