New Zealand Fixed-Line Telecommunications 2004 Market Analysis

The New Zealand telecommunications market is in the process of a fundamental transformation — one that is seeing the waning importance of the traditional voice mainstay of the fixed-line carriers Telecom NZ and TelstraClear. In counterweight to the associated depletion in calling revenue however is the growth of the mobile, Internet, and solutions segments which both operators are harnessing in earnest as they prepare to best position themselves across a long-term adjustment phase spanning ICT convergence.

This IDC study analyses key trends, activity, and strategic responses in the evolving telecommunications market including:

The competitive, technological, and regulatory developments affecting fixed-line calling revenues for the incumbent operator Telecom NZ and primary entrant TelstraClear Activity and interplay amongst the major players in the fixed-line calling market including tier 2 participants such as CallPlus, Compass Communications, WorldxChange, Ihug, and Zintel Strategic responses to the declining significance of fixed-line telephony including acknowledgement of the role and importance of Next Generation fixed-line and mobile networks and associated value-added services and the increasing emphasis on content and entertainment provision

"New Zealand is accelerating towards a very different telecommunications environment. We are seeing diversification and the de-emphasis of traditional fixed-line telephony as mechanisms changing the business profiles of industry participants in their drive towards continual relevancy and growth. When powerful phone companies say they are no longer phone companies, you know the IT service providers have reason to be anxious," states Christopher Loh, senior analyst, Telecommunications, IDC New Zealand.