Vodafone Challenges New Zealand’s Landline Telephone Incumbent

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Vodafone Challenges New Zealand’s Landline Telephone Incumbent

5:30 am on June 9, 2008 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Telephone, Regulation

Mobile phone giant, Vodafone Group’s New Zealand division announced last Friday that it would spend NZ$50 million to roll-out fixed-line telephone services to a quarter of the country’s population.

Vodafone plans to take advantage of recent regulatory changes forcing incumbent landline carrier, Telecom New Zealand, to open up its network to competitors.

The UK-based cell phone operator will install its equipment at Telecom-owned telephone exchanges throughout Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. This will allow it to offer landline service to some 1 million residents by October.

Vodafone is already Telecom’s main competitor in New Zealand’s wireless market, while a local unit of Australia’s Telstra Corp. already competes for fixed-line customers.