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Well all I can say is that Mr Webb must have the patience of Job.

Time and time again, Telecom has refused to act like anything other than the monopoly it is in respect to DSL-based broadband.

Only when threatened with regulation has the company made any concessions to allowing any real wholesaling of its services by other ISPs. What's more, by carefully placing an emphasis on its strangled almost-broadband services that are hog-tied by a 128Kbps uplink, it has been able to claim pricing on par with other countries while still grossly overcharging for full-speed business connections.

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Following this little outburst by the Commissioner, I'm sure Telecom will give just a little more ground -- and then stick firm until threatened again.

I seem to recall that Telecom was "put on notice" quite some time ago by the minister that this kind of behaviour would no longer be tolerated -- so much for that idle threat.

It would appear as if the government and its agencies are doing a very bad job of parenting when it comes to the problem-child Telecom.

If you go to almost any supermarket or shopping mall, you're bound to spot the badly behaved toddler who whines, whinges and generally causes problems.

These are often the result of bad parenting -- where the mother or father warn the child not to do something or they'll be punished. When that kid carries on regardless, the parent repeats the warning -- this time making the threat even more severe.

However, it's already too late. The kid has worked out that the parents won't carry out those threats so he/she can carry on doing whatever they want with impunity.

That's bad parenting -- and it appears to be exactly what's happening with Telecom and the bodies with a power to control them.

It doesn't matter how much Commissioner Webb rattles his tin cup against the bars of his bureaucracy -- Telecom know that they wield enough political and fiscal clout to avoid any real sanctions against them.

Just about the only way we could spur Telecom into playing fair is to create a whole new 21st-century taxpayer-owned national data network.

This would not only disempower Telecom but would ensure that there were at least two full-service players in the marketplace, thus providing the competition currently missing.

Now, I'm not for one moment suggesting that taxpayer money be wasted on such folly -- but I'm sure there are political parties out there who might be considering it.

Would it really be such a bad idea?

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