After calls from myself and Ernie Newman from the Telecomunications Users Association for Steven Joyce to intervene in the Telecom debacle, Steven Joyce has finally said something. Not much, but at least he’s said something.
I’ve been saying for days that the Minister should intervene with Telecom on the XT outages. This morning I called for Steven to get on the blower to Telecom. He now says he has had a discussion with Telecom. But it’s not enough.
This is a critical infrastructure issue. What happens to people who rely on their mobile phones in an emergency? How can they be reassured they can make the calls they need to when they need to. Let alone the appalling effect on business.
Joyce. You are a Minister. People expect you to take a leadership role.
Meantime, the issue gains momentum. Today the Alcatel-Lucent CEO in NZ has resigned. In news just in, the Chief Technology Transformation Officer for Telecom Frank Mount has resigned. This is crisis stuff for Telecom and a critical piece of new New Zealand infrastructure.
Meantime, no decisions have been made on who and how ultrafast broadbanad will be laid out in New Zealand. Fifteen months since the election. Not one millimetre of govt-funded fibre laid. The Govt’s biggest election pledge. Steven Joyce is the Minister.
Keep at them Claire. More heads should roll on this one as its an amazing cockup.
Yep – politicians telling public companies how to run their business. Joyce can only do so much, the users at the end of the day will decide Telecoms fate. What can Joyce add that will be of benefit? I am sure he is reminding Reynolds that the broardband business is up for tender and this does not help their cause at all. Customers have other choices as well, VF & 2 Deg.
I’m not convinced a minister should be involved in something like this. It’s a slippery slope to an attempt at hands-on control by a politician who is not trained to run a modern tech company. The Nats labeled Stan Roger “Sideline Stan” when he (rightly) stood apart from whichever union was holding us to ransom during their disruptive eighties heyday. In those days we had Cook Strait ferries, truckers, boilermakers and uncle Tom cobbly and all walking out on the silliest of pretexts. That was real infrastructure disruption. Today, it’s only one of three cell phone companies. If a minister is to step back across the line that Stan Roger bravely drew, at least let it be for something significant, but preferably, not at all.
“Joyce can only do so much, the users at the end of the day will decide Telecoms fate.”
A responsible Minister still has an important role, numerous options are available
1. Play his/her role as an intermediary between the players in the idustry, technological/maintenance/legal/commercial/public
2. Protect consumers by ensuring that compensation can be obtained by all who have suffered.
3. Minister should be working closely with the commerce commission among other agencies to make sure information is available to consumers and plans are in place to protect consumers and business
4. If things get worse, help those who might struggle to switch their business/personal phone services to another provider. (those without the disposable income neccessary for the charges) – Last Resort of course.
5. Take steps to ensure scrutiny of major upgrades to important services, the way in which Telecom did this should be of interest to the NZ Governemt, not just Telecom sharholders and customers. While I do not want to prejudge any report, there have been definite problems with the development and upgrade process.
There are many ways a responsible ministry can help both Telecom and the consumers affected by the problems, I am hoping that a lot of work is going on behined the scenes, but im not holding my breath.
There are lessons to be learned and processes to put in place, Joyce should be acting.
Not sure what Steven Joyce can do?
Telecom will have the best engineers available working on this night and day.
What can Stephen Joyce say that will make Telecom move faster and realise more the damage they are doing to their credibility and the bottom line of their shareholders.
Its a private company , one of several in the cell phone business, its not an essential piece of infrastructure.
Perhaps Mr Joyce could make it easier for competitors to start up and give us lower prices on all calls
@Andrew. I can’t take you seriously because I think you haven’t thought about the implications of what you suggest. Were you around during the Holyoake/Kirk/Rowling/Muldoon years? This stuff was done then and we are still trying to recover from it.
1. Be an intermediary? You mean like in the old days when parties to a dispute traipsed to parliament to have their bottoms smacked.
2. Competent consumer law does this without a song and dance from a politician.
3. Is the Commerce Commission incapable of acting without a minister holding its hand?
4. Fantastic. So can Bridgecorp investors expect a govt. cheque any day soon. My car broke, can I have some money please?
5. Are you kidding? Govt. auditors descend on companies to ensure they’re happy with upgrades. How many tens of thousands of tech/finance/process auditors were you planning on hiring? The fear of losing shareholders’ money is a better motivator than a state nanny.
The best way a minister can help is to put good competition and consumer laws in place and then get out of the way.
“What happens to people who rely on their mobile phones in an emergency? ”
How about…. who cares? If their phones are that important them THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE TELECOM PHONES.
John Spavin
I see you have completely misrepresented every one of my positions in order to attack a straw man… well done. You suggest that I want an almost absolute control of industry by government despite having only suggested possible ways a minister and his government might want to help develop positive outcomes from a failure.
The number one thing right now is information and I believe the government of the day should be helping provide this. Especially pointing people to consumer support.
Your comparisons with Holyoake/Muldoon etc…. are baffling and bear no relevance to this situation. Your argument appears ideological so I presume there is no reasoning with you? It’s all well and good to spout theory while business and consumers get a raw deal from a poorly carried through upgrade. Consumer law is an evolving process. Practical solutions can be developed with SUPPORT from the government, there is no takeover, no cheques being written, simply that support can be offered and mistakes should be something we learn from, another process the government can be involved in. I think government has a role, you obviously dont, fine, but dont create absurd arguments to fight against.
Well I hope that Stephen Joyce looks closely at the Termination Rates while he is considering Telecom’s fragile and insecure network. For too long both Telecom and Vodafone have rorted NZers and engaged in anti-competitive practices.
Regulation in this instance is the only way to free up and open the market – as telecom and Vodafone continue to abuse their monopoly positions. This is something that Labour can win support for and I hope you can pressure the Government and make it a major issue. It cetrtainly will be a constructive way of actually helping those on the lowest incomes as you always profess to do.
Joyce could threaten the head of Telecom with a Heinekin!
@Andrew, I was going to have a go at your subsequent comments but when I got to “…might want to help develop positive outcomes from a failure.” my eyes rolled up and I lost interest. Write in plain English and drop the government department gobbledygook and maybe you’ll attract some responses.
John Spavin,
In the 1980’s wages were nice and high. People could afford to run a house hold on one income.
The moment the unions were defanged, wages dropped like a stone, while everything else went up.
And we need decent infrastructure in this country, and private enterprise is too focused on profit to be able to run it properly.
Take profit out, and everything will be running well.
You expect his roadworthiness, the Hon Steven Joyce, to actually bother about something that might have a negative impact on his vested interests? Aside from anything else he’s far too preoccupied with the holiday highway into his aspirational electorate and then there’s the main project: transmogrifying John Key into John Marshall; behold the return of Piggy!