CallPlus targets provincial cities

Malcolm Dick. Photo / Dean Purcell

CallPlus is set to join the list of telcos installing equipment in Telecom exchanges with a focus on provincial cities.

The phone and internet company, with its Slingshot retail brand, has said it would begin local loop unbundling in Hamilton, with Tauranga, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch likely to follow.

CallPlus chairman Malcolm Dick said it made sense from a customer point of view - unbundling allows the company to offer services other than those it can wholesale from existing partners Telecom and Vodafone - and the mature market for equipment, plus release of relevant regulated pricing meant it stacked up from a business perspective in some exchanges.

The company has yet to install equipment in Telecom's exchanges and is investigating whether it will opt for the Huawei technology used by Vodafone or Nokia Siemens kit.

Australian-owned TelstraClear last week announced it had completed a $25 million unbundling project across 42 exchanges nationwide, targeting similar cities to CallPlus, with a further 20 to go live by the end of the month.

TelstraClear has no immediate plans to open up wholesale access to its network.

Following on the heels of the unbundling initiative, CallPlus will begin a mobile WiMax (wireless broadband) early next year.

"There will be a deployment, we're hoping in the first quarter of next year, starting in the Auckland region and going from there organically where it makes sense," said Dick.

He said the ability to download data at speeds of 10 megabits per second to a laptop while moving locations had "universal business appeal".

Dick said it also offered a fixed-line replacement option for residential customers.

"It's really a different business opportunity that we're having a look at," he said.

Slingshot has offered a WiMax option to Whangarei customers through Slingshot MAX since 2006.

Competitor Compass Communications began a WiMax option in September, offering speeds of one to two megabits per second for residents in some areas of Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Christchurch.

Wireless pioneers Woosh have promised a WiMax alternative to its wireless technology this year, but it was subject to additional funding.

Dick confirmed the wheels are in motion to replace former CallPlus chief executive Martin Wylie who stepped down in September after nearly five years with the company.

Dick, who has taken over the day-to-day running of the company, will maintain a hands on role for around six months after the appointment of the Callplus general manager.