Vocus drops NZ sale, telcos tackle scam calls, Hawaiki lands in Samoa

Vocus shelves plan to sell NZ business

Melbourne-based telco Vocus failed to find a buyer willing to pay the asking price for its New Zealand business. Unofficially, the company was said to be looking for A$500 million. That’s money it needs to pay off the cost of acquisitions made during its rapid expansion. The company has debts of more than $A1 billion. 

The New Zealand businesses were all picked up during that expansion. Most were acquired in 2015. IN that year Vocus merged with M2, a rival Australian telco. At the time M2 owned the New Zealand brands; Callplus, Slingshot, Orcon and Flip. Other New Zealand assets include what was previously known as FX Networks, some data centres, a voice-over-IP service provider and Switch, an energy retailer. 

Vocus set itself a tight sale deadline. When the sale was announced last October, Vocus said it wanted the deal to complete by June 2018. 

Given that some of the most likely buyers would face lengthy regulatory approval times, that reduced the number of possible candidates. At one point Spark expressed an interest, but was stymied by the need for approval. There was little chance of the company getting clearance in time for Vocus’ deadline. 

Other potential buyers identified included Tauranga-based Trustpower and 2degrees. 

Vocus released an ASX filing on Tuesday. It says the New Zealand business had a number of bids. However; “In the board’s view, none of these offers appropriately reflected the fundamental and strategic value of Vocus NZ nor provided sufficient certainty of funding and execution.”

The company says it has reached an agreement with its lenders to extend its existing debt. 

Telcos join forces to block scam calls

Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees are working with the NZ Telecommunications Forum to swap information on scammers. The TCF has released a draft code which should help carriers identify scam calls to mobiles and landline, then take action. 

TCF CEO Geoff Thorn says: “The Scam Calling Prevention Code drafted by the TCF reinforces and standardises the processes already in place, to help the industry react more quickly to any incidence of fraud reported by the public, and block calls from numbers used by scammers. The draft code also provides for sharing information with third parties where it is appropriate.”

The TCF developed the code working with 2degrees, Spark, Symbio Wholesale, TNZI, Vocus and Vodafone. It aims for a consistent approach to identifying, verifying and blocking scam calls. The idea is that it will cut the number of scam calls consumers get while not interfering too much with legitimate calls. 

Thorn says scammers are becoming more sophisticated. “Often, they have access to personal information obtained through third party sources and may use advanced systems to make it appear as though they are calling from a genuine NZ phone number. The telco industry can only do so much to monitor what phone services are being used for", he says. 

Commerce Commission starts fibre services study

A study of fibre services is under way at the Commerce Commission. In a media statement Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale says: “This study will give us a better understanding of providers’ networks, fibre services, network operations and business practices."

The Commerce Commission says the study will pave the way for future regulation of fibre services. 

Gale says: “Starting this study now under our market studies power in the Telecommunications Act gives us a head start on gathering information from Chorus and the local fibre companies. We expect the information about fibre services to be useful regardless of the form that regulation might take.”

It comes at a busy time for Commerce Commission telecommunications researchers. The fibre study joins the Commerce Commission’s studies into mobile markets and backhaul services. 

Hawaiki cable connects American Samoa

Hawaiki has landed a spur from its transpacific submarine cable in American Samoa. The cable, which runs from Australia’s east coast to Oregon in the USA via New Zealand has been designed to include branching units so that Pacific Island states can connect to the internet. There are also links for New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. American Samoa is the first to connect to the network. 

Spark’s Rugby World Cup streaming faces tech test

Writing at Newsroom Richard MacManus says Spark has work to do if its streaming technology is going to be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Last week the news broke that Spark and TVNZ had won the rights to show the tournament. Some games will be shown on free-to-air television, but Spark plans to stream most of them. 

He says while Spark’s existing Lightbox streaming gets, at best, mixed reviews, it isn’t the only New Zealand company to struggle with the technology. Sky’s apps have also been the source of much angst. He says: “Buffering, latency issues, and ill-timed crashes have been common complaints of Sky TV customers trying to use these apps.”

The good news is that 2018 has been something of a watershed for streaming with many overseas services getting on top of the technology. 

MacManus says two things will determine if Spark’s Rugby World Cup streaming is a success. First, consumers have to have their broadband act together. In most cases that means fibre, with high volume or unlimited data plans and the right home routers. Second, is whether Spark’s streaming app works with the most popular internet devices. 

Tuanz symposium to address rural broadband gaps

The fourth Rural Connectivity Symposium will be held at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on June 26. Among other themes, the event will lok at the coverage gaps remaining after the first round of the government organised Rural Broadband Initiative. 

Spark warns bill could push broadband prices up

Spark says the Telecommunications Amendment Bill could see broadband prices rise by up to $8 a month by 2025. That’s around one percent a year. 

The claim is in a submission to the committee considering the bill. Under the proposed bill wholesale fibre services will be regulated in the same way as other utilities. That means fibre companies will have flexibility to set prices, but will be subject to a revenue cap.