Telecommunications Development Levy contributions fall

Spark still pays the most

Spark remains the largest contributor to the Telecommunications Development Levy. This year the company will pay $3.4 million. That is considerably less than last year's $17.4 million.

The levy is a tax on telecommunications companies to help pay for public good projects that might not otherwise be funded.

Companies making more than $10 million a year pay a share of the total based on their share of 'industry qualified revenue'. This includes internet, mobile and data services.

Big TDL spending is done

For almost a decade the TDL raised $50 million each year. The bulk of the money was used to pay for improvements to rural and semi-rural telecommunications networks. It also pays for services for deaf people and the 111 emergency services.

This year the fund is reduced to $10 million. As New Zealand's largest telco, Spark will once more pay the largest contribution. The draft levy allocation estimates this at around $3.4 million.

As you'd expect, the four biggest telcos: Spark, Vodafone, Chorus and 2degrees pay the most. Together their contribution makes up around 90 percent of the total.

One interesting byproduct of the levy process is that it shows the telcos relative performance. There's little movement year-on-year, but over time patterns emerge.

This year Spark accounts for a shade under 34 percent of the total. Last year it was a shade under 35 percent. In 2014, Spark's share was 48 percent. Vodafone's share has drifted up by 0.7 percent in the last year to 26.4 percent. In 2014, it was at 27.6 percent.

Chorus is steady at a shade over 21 percent of the total. Likewise 2degrees will pay roughly the same share of the total as last year. Yet at 8.7 percent it has moved up from 5.9 percent in 2014.

Slingshot shines at Broadband Compare awards

Slingshot won three of the 12 awards at this year's Broadband Compare Awards. It won in the people's choice award, the best value broadband provider and the best bundled plan categories.

Vocus stablemate Orcon took the prize for the best fibre broadband provider and the parent brand was the Service Provider of the Year.

Gravity Internet was named as the best service provider with under 10,000 customers. Now broadband took the prize for best customer support and Wireless Nation was winner in the wireless service provider category. Spritely won the best digital innovation trophy.

Vodafone's Farmside brand won the award for best rural service provider while the parent company's Chris Coromandel was the emerging leader in digital technology. The telco's Neon brand took the prize for best streaming service.

Vodafone sees customer service investment pay off

Vodafone says its customers are reporting higher levels of satisfaction with the company a year after it introduced its customer service X Squad. The company spent $10 million hiring local experts to field customer support calls. It now says it plans to hire more local specialists.

Summers to head strategy at 2degrees

Zac Summers is to become 2degrees' chief of strategy. He was previously with Apple, representing the brand to New Zealand telcos. Summers has experience working with Vodafone and McKinsey in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Carriers brace for iPhone 12 demand

Apple's iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 go on sale today (October 23). The iPhone 12 Max and Mini models will be available on November 13. Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees are all selling and taking pre-orders for the new models.

All iPhone 12 models support 5G. Vodafone NZ Consumer Director Carolyn Luey says the launch of the iPhone 12 with 5G marks a new milestone in the 5G journey.

TCF pushes mobile recycling message

The Telecommunications Forum is pushing its nationwide mobile phone collection scheme for Recycling Week. RE:Mobile is supported by 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone. It takes returned phones and refurbishes or disposes of them in environmentally sustainable ways. TCF CEO Geoff Thorn says more than 548,000 phones have been donated since the scheme was first accredited in 2014. Money raised from the scheme is donated to Sustainable Coastlines.

Tool shows if privacy breach needs reporting

Businesses and organisations now have an online tool to determine if a privacy breach is notifiable. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has launched NotifyUs in time for mandatory breach reporting which starts on December 1. From then breaches that have or are likely to cause serious harm must be reported to the Office. Failure to report can lead to a $10,000 fine.

Huawei switches hunt to collaboration sector

Locked out of the 5G equipment market and struggling to sell non-quite Android phones, Huawei is pitching for the collaboration market. The company's $13,000 IdeaHub Pro is a digital whiteboard that can handle incoming data from 20 devices at a time. It includes handwriting recognition, face recognition and cameras that track the audience to help them get the best view.