New Zealand’s Communications Minister Simon Bridges introduced a bill to Parliament to update the country’s telecoms act with a focus on increasing regulatory oversight and improving service quality.

“The telecommunications market is changing, with new technologies, shifting consumer behaviour and evolving business models,” Bridges said, adding: “Alongside this, consumers have vastly improved connectivity through the government’s NZD2 billion [$1.47 billion] rollout of world-leading communications infrastructure, with more to come. We need to ensure the regulatory settings continue to be fit-for-purpose and support the evolution of this fast-moving sector.”

Bridges’ bill aims to create a more predictable utility regulation model for ultra-fast broadband fibre, deregulate copper lines where fibre is available and introduce new measures to improve the quality of service for consumers.

The amendment bill was proposed after an extensive consultation process which ran between 2015 and 2017.

To ensure consumers are protected, the new telecoms act will include safeguards to make sure customers do not lose their copper landline or broadband unless there is an alternative service available at a comparable price and service level.

Mobile option
While apparently not mentioned in the draft bill, New Zealand’s mobile operators could play a key role in delivering such alternative coverage. Vodafone New Zealand, Spark and 2degrees in April proposed at least matching a government commitment to invest NZD150 million into improving broadband and mobile infrastructure in rural areas. Vodafone and Spark’s respective 4G networks already cover 90 per cent of the country’s population, and the pair are also working to deploy IoT infrastructure in 2018.

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission, the country’s competition watchdog, announced recently it will launch a review of the country’s mobile market within the next year, which may explain the lack of focus on wireless operators in Bridges’ proposal.

The review will assess whether the mobile market in the country is currently working effectively, amid concerns over a lack of competition sparked by a relatively low number of MVNOs and the dominance of the three major operators. GSMA Intelligence figures show Vodafone holds a 39 per cent market share, Spark 38 per cent and 2degrees 23 per cent.

Bridges’ bill also introduces a number of changes aimed at lifting consumer service quality, such as requiring the Commerce Commission to regularly report on retail service quality in a more accessible way and to review the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Service regularly to ensure it is working effectively.

The Communications Minister said the changes are intended to enhance industry responsiveness to consumer needs.