Enable, Ultrafast Fibre and Northpower Fibre have expressed their support for the telecommunications regulatory framework review as Communications Minister Amy Adams releases the Regulating Communications for the Future discussion paper.

The three Local Fibre Company CEOs – Steve Fuller (Enable), William Hamilton (Ultrafast Fibre) and Darren Mason (Northpower Fibre) – have made the following joint statement:

“New Zealand is undergoing an enormous change in the capability and quality of connectivity available to homes and businesses – focussed around the ultra-fast broadband initiative but also driven by other infrastructure investments and developments.

“The advancements in connectivity being delivered to our communities are critical to enable economic and societal growth for New Zealand.  These gains would not be possible without the significant investment being made by Government and private sector players.  

“We have an opportunity to ensure that the benefits of this investment are maximised for New Zealand, and further investment and innovation is encouraged by having the most appropriate telecommunications regulatory regime in place.  Continued investment is vital to keep up with customer demands and expectations in the future.

“When the Telecommunications Act 2001 was implemented the industry landscape was very different to today – and the review needs to recognise this.

“In 2001 New Zealand telecommunications services mainly revolved around a single company – providing both the infrastructure (wholesale) and retail services – and was based on copper telephone lines as the primary input technology.  Broadband was a relatively new technology, the power of the internet was only beginning and e-commerce was only just being considered.

“Today, there is more competition at the retail level as well as more connectivity technology options – such as fibre, 3G/4G, and VDSL. Access to high-quality broadband connectivity is essential to businesses, in education and at home – and demand for ongoing connectivity advancements will grow. 

“The Local Fibre Companies look forward to making submissions on the discussion paper.”