Download Weekly: RCG hits a ton

New Zealand's 100th rural tower

Gebbies Valley, south of Christchurch, is the site of the latest Rural Connectivity Group tower. The RCG now has 100 operational rural broadband towers.

The tower offers 4G-based broadband services and 4G voice calling to the local community.

It includes Voice-over-LTE equipment which means users can make high-quality voice calls. There will also be 3G voice calling, that's not commissioned yet. This will cover a black spot on State Highway 75.

Each RCG tower has antennae shared by Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees.

Significant milestone

Communications Minister Kris Faafoi says it is a significant milestone for the second phase of the Rural Broadband Initiative. This a government-funded project to deliver broadband services to remote parts of New Zealand.

Faafoi says the RCG towers now provide broadband access to 8,121 homes and businesses. They also mean extra mobile coverage for 343km of state highway and connect 23 tourism locations.

Eventually RBI2 will cater for 84,000 rural homes and businesses. It will improve mobile coverage on 1400km of state highways and connect 168 tourist sites.

Vodafone signals redundancies

Vodafone says between five and seven percent of employees are likely to lose their jobs over the next few months. It will affect more than 100 people. The exact number depends on how many can be redeployed.

The company says the job cuts will offset the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and will 'accelerate our digital strategies'. Vodafone has seen its lucrative roaming business dry up during the lockdown. Retail sales are down, the strategy of giving customers extra data and the increased risk of bad debt all contributed to the lower revenue.

ComCom: No let-up on mobile termination rates

The Commerce Commission's draft review of mobile termination rates recommends they should stay regulated. Mobile termination rats govern the prices carriers can charge for traffic between networks.

Termination rates have been regulated since 2010. The move triggered a dramatic drop in call prices to the point where New Zealand moved from being an expensive place to use a mobile phone to a relatively cheap place.

The Commerce Commission says there may be a case for dropping regulation of rates for SMS text messages. That's because of the popularity of alternative over the top services like WhatsApp.

Yet it says voice call termination rates should remain regulated because there are few competitive alternatives.

The Commerce Commission now wants feedback on its draft review findings.

Three more cell towers torched

Police reported fires at three South Auckland cell tower sites on Monday night. All three are being treated as suspicious. While the towers are not 5G sites, the fires are likely to be part of the continuing campaign against the new phone technology. In certain fringe, uninformed circles 5G mobile is blamed for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ministry bungles modem drop

A report in the New Zealand Herald says hundreds of unwanted modems were delivered to schools in wealthy areas. Meanwhile students who need computers and access have yet to get the equipment they need to access the internet. Ministry of Education officials who are organising the distribution of equipment say nothing will be wasted and devices are now being sent where they are needed.

$250m Infratil placement succeeds

Vodafone parent Infratil raised $250 million through an institutional placement. Shares were offered at $4.76 a piece. This is an eight percent discount on the last traded price.

CEO Marko Bogoievski says the funding leaves the business well positioned for its growth agenda and to take advantage of other opportunities that may arise.” A share purchase plan opens later this week. Infratil is also a major investor in CDC Data Centres.