I wish for fibre, but I know I will NEVER see it. Its a dream for NZ and its always been a dream for NZ. I say this as someone who has installed, Joined and maintained fibre networks. <rant>
I personally thought Saturn (now TelstraSaturn) had the right idea, pity they targetted the wrong audience in the first instance. They targetted the richie rich areas and put their cables overhead (and then had to put their cables underground), the customer takeup wasn't that great, if they targetted the sub-socieconomic areas first, then they would have been fine as the customer take up would have been desireable and needless to say, the overhead cables is a standard feature in the getto. If you guys are not convinced, go for a drive down poets corner, murder triange, etc (or Otara if you're in Auckland) and then drive through Harrowfield, etc and tell me the difference with the density of the Sky Digital Dishes. </rant>
Fibre is a beautiful dream .. New Zealand is still a rural country. Fibre will never work outside of CBD's NZ is just too damn spread out and too few people per KM. Its why sky use satellite not Cable TV solutions. The one hope for fibre is Cable TV and Internet, but SKY have the TV side sewen up, so .. too late.
The fact is that if a provider used the local loop, Telecom is still in the picture charging the market entrants the Rack Unit telehousing and a lease for the twisted pair between the local exchange and the customers demarcation point. Also, who is providing the link between the provider and the local exchange ?
BUT the unbundle is at prices set by regulators, not telecom. Unbundling is too late to be a total answer, but not too late to be an answer. With no telecom input the lease is one off. Telecom used to control it all, ISP's could only resell what Telecom wanted to offer, now telecom can only charge a single fee and we get what we choose from there on in. Data caps, Speed, concentration rates and Technology now are at the discretion of the ISP's Companies like woosh get a chance to add phone service to data, Vodafone can use Cellphones for Data and Local calls too. If the local loop is unbundled WE DON"T HAVE TO USE TELECOM !!!! I can have my ISP handle my phone calls over voip too. This adds incentive for other providers to get to work and offer services outside the current ADSL. And I stick by the view that BCL has a fantastic backbone ready to go if the Crown gives them the nod. With TVNZ on Satellite later this year, they will need something to do. "I speak as an expert in Explosives .... The Bomb will never work" Some General about the Atomic Bomb ... So I could be just as dumb as he, but We will see. Given that most of NZ cant get decent TV I wonder how we will manage decent 2 way without this first step. But 1-3 years to wait ... thats worse than seeing the presents wrapped under he tree and hoping the that box is .................... ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!