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Thread ID: 72635	2006-09-20 10:21:00	Xtra undercutting feared	stu161204 (123)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
485893	2006-09-20 10:21:00	20 September 2006 By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER A row is brewing over Telecom's plan to announce low-priced "unconstrained" broadband plans next week. Rivals say the plans could undercut the price they pay to Telecom for wholesale broadband connections, making them uncompetitive, and they may ask the courts to stop the Telecom launch. The new Telecom plans will offer Xtra customers download speeds of up to 7.6 megabits per second. The plans, which will be available from late next month, are likely to benefit city-dwelling Xtra broadband customers. Internet service providers that wholesale Telecom broadband connections, however, fear they will not be able to compete. An industry source said ISPs were meeting to discuss tactics and would consider a legal challenge. Ihug chief executive Mark Rushworth said Xtra's retail prices for broadband would be pitched below the price at which Telecom wholesales broadband connections. ISPs that resell Telecom connections were given notice of Xtra's prices under an embargo due to be lifted with the public announcement of Xtra's pricing on Tuesday. Mr Rushworth said he believed Xtra's retail prices would demonstrate the wholesale regime "is not working". The Commerce Commission ruled earlier this year that Telecom must provide unconstrained broadband connections to rival ISPs for a flat fee of $28.04 per month. Ihug and Callplus have filed an appeal in the High Court seeking a lower charge. A ruling is expected in December. Telecom spokesman John Goulter would not comment on Xtra's new retail plans till next week's moratorium was lifted. He said, however, that Telecom "will be launching very attractive broadband plans for both wholesale and retail customers". He dismissed Mr Rushworth's concern that Xtra would undercut the wholesale cost of broadband. "The comment does not appear to be comparing like with like as it is taking the cheapest retail price point and then comparing it with a regulated number which is an average across plans," he said. Telecom will remove the 3.5Mbps speed cap it imposed on broadband connections this year, but the practical effect for most customers may be limited. Technology partner Alcatel warned in July that improvements would be enjoyed only by customers close to telephone exchanges, with up to 160,000 in outlying areas potentially experiencing a drop in average connection speeds. Source: www.stuff.co.nz	stu161204 (123)
485894	2006-09-20 21:19:00	How about the removal of the pitiful download caps to go with it??	paulw (1826)
485895	2006-09-21 00:02:00	How about the removal of the pitiful download caps to go with it?? I got a call from xtra a couple of days ago and the lady on the other end hinted that our caps maybe getting increased as well. So my pitifull 1gb cap may go up to 2 pitifull gb's. If it doesnt then i'm looking at moving isp's. She also said that they dont have contracts anymore. Damm, I've been waiting for my 12 month contract to be up so that i can move and not have to pay for the modem:groan:	lazydog (148)
485896	2006-09-21 00:54:00	I don't particularly mind paying sub-wholesale rates for broadband internet....	somebody (208)
485897	2006-09-21 01:36:00	I got a call from xtra a couple of days ago and the lady on the other end hinted that our caps maybe getting increased as well. So my pitifull 1gb cap may go up to 2 pitifull gb's. I guess they are not increasing the 10GB caps to 12 - 15 GB :(	stu161204 (123)
485898	2006-09-21 06:41:00	I think if the cap's did go up they would rise the 10Gb plan to at least 15GB. They raised the 200MB to 1Gb and the 3GB to 5GB but did nothing with the 10GB last time!	trinsic (6945)
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