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Dateline: 15 June 1999 All-day Edition Read Yesterday's Edition
ISPs To Form Unified Front Against Telecom?
Based on the feedback Aardvark has received to date, the meeting, scheduled for
today at 3:30pm, is likely to be well attended.
A number of ISPs have contacted Aardvark to voice their fury over
yesterday's press release from Telecom. Universally
they have felt disgusted that Telecom would twist their applications for one
or more 0867 numbers as an endorsement or any kind of enthusiasm for the plan.
"What else are you going to do when they've got a gun to your head" was the
comment of one small ISP, his sentiments being repeatedly echoed by those
who emailed and rang Aardvark yesterday.
Meantime, following ISOCNZ's Jim Higgins' appalling performance as spokesperson
-- stopping just short of praising Telecom's move; the society is now
canvassing members to produce a list of questions which will be presented to
Telecom and government in an attempt to have a number of issues clarified.
Unfortunately, in the face of Telecom's far more sophisticated and experienced
PR machine, ISOCNZ's "behind closed doors" approach is likely to have little
effect on public awareness of the issues or their possible long-term impact on
such things as the Kiwi Share agreement.
To this end, at least TUANZ has managed to get their opinions out to the media
as witnessed by
this story from TV One News
and several mentions in other mainstream-media reports on this issue.
Many are yet again asking what the hell is wrong with ISOCNZ which gets just
a single mention in an @IDG story.
It is important to remember that
the MOC has already given the move its tacit approval, Maurice Williamson
is renowned for his limp-wristed approach to Telecom, and the Commerce Commission
has repeatedly and inexplicably failed to find anything wrong with Telecom's
business practices -- thus it is likely that public opinion is about the only
tool that will provide any leverage in dealing with this issue.
The local usenet newsgroups
nz.comp and
nz.general have run hot with debate on the matter,
with opinion being almost universally against Telecom's heavy-handed approach
and the possible future implications.
Strangely enough, with the exception of the NZ Herald, local mainstream media
and even overseas industry publications appear not to consider the matter particularly
newsworthy -- even though at least one high-profile site, Slashdot.com is fostering
a heated
discussion.
A number of people have also expressed concern over Telecom's recent
announcement
that it will be allowing home businesses to pay residential rates.
The question being asked is -- why is Telecom willing to forego $0.05 per
minute on these home-business lines and thus foster increased usage of
those connections at a time when the PSTN is reportedly groaning under
the strain of existing traffic -- while at the same time seeking to reign in the levels
of Internet use through either a $0.02 per minute charge or by limiting
the levels of traffic through its 0867 service?
With the removal of the $0.05/min charge it is very likely that a fair
percentage of the growing teleworker population may significantly increase
their Internet use or choose to use a dial-up
line as a semi-permanent VPN connection to their office (which is unlikely
to have an 0867 number) -- further adding to the PSTN congestion. The paradox
seems to have escaped Telecom, ISOCNZ and the mainstream media.
Some have suggested that there are already huge numbers of home-businesses
using residential connections and that this latest move could be just about
the only way for Telecom to easily identify those businesses. Whether Telecom
then decides to re-impose business per-minute calling rates on such numbers
once the data-collection exercise is completed remains to be seen.
Other Reports On This Story: (links launch new window)
New Today:
Previously:
Don't forget to visit the
Petition and Information Site
Well that's the objective reporting out of the way. If you want the commentary
then check out
Aardvark Weekly
What do you think? Why not save up those comments and have your say
when the forums are fixed? :-)
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10 June 99
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Aardvark Daily is a publication of, and is copyright to, Bruce Simpson, all rights reserved
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