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InternetNZ welcomes Select Committee’s report, endorses operational separation plan

Media Release - November 28, 2006 - InternetNZ (The Internet Society of New Zealand) congratulates the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on its report back today on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill, particularly its recommendation of operational separation of Telecom’s network under an independent oversight group.

Executive Director Keith Davidson says having the network
separated out from wholesale and retail is absolutely necessary. “The network
is the enduring bottleneck and needs to be separated.”
No structural separation option has been provided for in
this Bill. However, given the will to act that has been shown, InternetNZ
anticipates the Government would re-regulate for structural separation if
Telecom should fail to behave under the operational separation regime.
Davidson says he is delighted the Committee has endorsed and
strengthened the Bill, including the strong disincentive of a $10 million
penalty for failure to comply with a separation undertaking.
He says the report shows the Committee listened carefully to
the submissions made and responded positively to these inputs with sensible
amendments to the legislation. InternetNZ looks forward to the implementation
of local loop unbundling under the bill and a more open and competitive market
for broadband services.
“We believe the Bill as amended will be beneficial by
encouraging competition and innovation, resulting in better options for
consumers. We are also pleased that there was such broad support for the Bill.”
For further information contact:
Keith Davidson
Executive Director, InternetNZ
exe.dir@internetnz.net.nz or 021 377 587

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