MEDIA RELEASE
1 June 2017
Spark New Zealand welcomes final details of Telecommunications Act review
Spark New Zealand has welcomed the final details of the Telecommunications
Act review announced by Minister for Communications Simon Bridges this
morning.
Spark''s General Manager Regulatory Affairs, John Wesley-Smith, said, "Most
importantly, the review, and the process to get to this point, has provided
certainty to industry providers and their customers of the regulatory
settings that will apply to fibre and copper in the period from 2020 onwards.
"Giving service providers and network operators a more predictable pathway
for the costs we will face from 2020 on will allow us to focus on ensuring we
can confidently invest to bring the best of new products, services and
innovation to New Zealanders.
The review has also outlined a range of measures available to lift the level
of consumer service quality in the sector. "We acknowledge that the industry
still has some way to go on service quality, however we have put a huge
amount of effort into addressing this area at Spark, and we are continuing to
do so," said Mr Wesley-Smith.
The review has also recommended that further regulation is not needed in the
mobile market, with the Commerce Commission able to respond if issues should
arise.
"By global measures New Zealand is very well served by three mobile service
providers who compete aggressively on price, speed and coverage," Mr
Wesley-Smith commented, "the next challenge for our sector is to extend the
next generations of mobile broadband technologies deep into rural New
Zealand, where the economics of service delivery are more challenging."
- ENDS -
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End CA:00302023 For:SPK Type:GENERAL Time:2017-06-01 09:32:15