Migration From 025 To 027 Continues At Pace

MIGRATION FROM 025 TO 027 CONTINUES AT PACE

Telecom today confirmed its long-term plan to eventually close down its 025 network once the great majority of customers have upgraded to 027.

“We’ve been actively encouraging customers for some time to upgrade to 027 which offers more services and options for customers,” General Manager Mobile Kevin Kenrick said today.

“The momentum around the shift to 027 is really gathering pace and on the current trajectory, we expect to reach the switch-over point towards the end of 2007.

“We’ll be working with customers between now and then to ensure they can take advantage of the benefits of upgrading to 027.”

“We’re well ahead of where we expected to be by now with customers upgrading to 027,” Mr Kenrick said.

The migration numbers have required a $110 million pre-tax non-cash write-down of the value of the 025 network. The network write-down was foreshadowed in Telecom’s quarterly results announcements during 2003/2004.

The 025 network has been superseded by the establishment of the 027 network in 2001 and the recent announcement of New Zealand’s first 3G mobile network – which will offer a portfolio of new services, including ultra-high speed data services, video messaging and Push-to-Talk.

Mr Kenrick said the closure of the 025 network would be a logical step given the development of CDMA and 3G network technology.

“025 was the first mobile service in New Zealand and, while it has served New Zealanders incredibly well for the past 17 years, the success of 027 and the 3G announcement means it will soon be time to move on,” Mr Kenrick said.

“We value our customers’ loyalty to Telecom, and will continue to talk to them about ways we can make it as easy as possible to upgrade networks.

“And we will be launching a number of initiatives to ensure customers truly benefit by upgrading their mobile service,” Mr Kenrick said.

ENDS

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