Orcon believes $10 broadband viable with LLU

4 May 2005

Orcon believes $10 broadband viable with LLU

New Zealand's 4th largest broadband provider Orcon believes that the Governments announcement that LLU is finally here, will mean it can deliver $10 broadband within two years says CEO Seeby Woodhouse.

"With the governments announcement that local loop unbundling is finally here, Orcon is going to make sure that the real winners are our customers. In Australia some providers already offer $10 broadband, there is no reason why we can't do the same here within a couple of years." says Woodhouse.

Orcon has been preparing for LLU and was pleased that unconstrained BitStream and Naked DSL also made it into the governments stock take review, two suggestions that were put forward to the Minister when Orcon met with him in February.

"We had a fairly good idea that LLU was on the cards, but including unconstrained UBS and Naked DSL in this decision is really important. It means that the 100,000 customers on wholesale broadband with providers like Orcon won't have to wait for full LLU deployment before getting better BitStream quality and speeds. One of the messages we're really pleased to see got through was our point that LLU is not the silver bullet for broadband in New Zealand; rather ensuring that a good wholesale model is in place for UBS, as this product is what most customers will continue to use for some time to come" continued Woodhouse.

Orcon is planning to participate in local loop unbundling, specifically by offering ADSL2+ services to customers as soon as possible, allowing for the delivery of rich media content over the new network.

"With current broadband speeds customers can't stream DVD quality video, use IPTV or download music and other media without waiting long periods of time or exceeding their data caps; it's our plan to make sure that an Orcon customer can do all that and much more. We want to make the speed and quality of our broadband so good, that becoming an Orcon customer is a no brainer."

Orcon holds the Vice-Presidency of the Internet Service Providers Association of New Zealand, and was active in lobbying the government for LLU, Unconstrained UBS and Naked DSL over the past 12 months.

"We have been talking to Minister Cunliffe and other MP's about how they can make broadband better for New Zealand for several years now, and recently our participation with ISPANZ coupled with our independent lobbying activity has increased dramatically; all with the aim of getting an improved broadband environment for our customers and the country" says Woodhouse.

Orcon has sustained a high level of growth over the past 3 years to become NZ's 4th biggest ISP, and the largest ISP that is 100% New Zealand owned and operated. Previously known as a provider of wholesale internet and business connections, Orcon has become a household name in New Zealand.

ENDS