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What's more, although the current revenue generated by such services is a paltry US$220 million, that figure is expected to jump to an amazing US$3 billion within the next 24 months.

If these figures are to believed then Kiwi providers really need to start getting their acts together and rolling out VOIP products to local users -- because if they don't, we may end up finding that US-based companies like Skype and Teleo replace Telecom as our primary voice carriers.

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Of course the critical resource required to support VOIP is a decent IP connection to the rest of the world -- and that's why Telecom have been very careful not to guarantee the levels of latency necessary to support internet-phone calling in their service agreement.

In one fell swoop, Telecom can put the squeeze on VOIP throughout the nation -- by simply hiking latency on their DSL network.

Of course they'd never do this would they? Of course not -- after all, they haven't abused their copper monopoly in any other way so why would they start now?

I strongly suspect that Telecom sees the writing on the wall and right now, in a war-room in downtown Auckland, their strategists will be actively engaged in setting up their own VOIP service or an exclusive interop agreement with those overseas providers that might otherwise sell direct.

Of course they can afford to take their time -- because if any real competition appears in the local market, they can just scuttle it then claim "it's not our fault, this type of technology just isn't ready yet but we're working on providing a superior version for our customers"

Then, once the necessary exclusive agreements have been reached, voila! Suddenly the technology is rolled out by Telecom and the roadblocks on their DSL network are removed (at least for Telecom VOIP customers).

Prices for Telecom VOIP (just like prices for Telecom's DSL) will not be competitive with those in other countries however. After all, if they've tied up exclusivity with the major players, why should they charge less than what the market will bear?

So how on earth are we going to avoid such an undesirable situation where, once again, Telecom are allowed to exploit a monopoly to the detriment of NZ consumers?

Well the answer is simple and just one word: UNBUNDLE

Lighten Up
Time for more of the fine, funny wierd and wonderful stuff that people find on the web.

Cahones! Yes, if you want more cahones for your car, truck, motorbkke or even bicycle then here's the site for you. Can you believe what people will buy over the Net?

Have you got a pit-bull or one of those other dangerous dogs that scare people and risk incurring the wrath of dog-rangers? Well here's a simpler way to genetically modify your pooch so that little children will love it and your neighbours will never know you've got a killer in the back yard.

Keep em coming folks!

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