The item below maybe of interest. Major telcos lose ground to...

The item below maybe of interest.

Major telcos lose ground to rivals

• The Dominion Post
• 22 Dec 2017
• TOM PULLAR-STRECKER

Spark and Vodafone are seeing the effects of people shopping around when they switch to ultrafast broadband, TUANZ believes.
Smaller rivals to Spark, Vodafone and Vocus have grown their share of the broadband market by about 50 per cent in just 12 months, a report suggests.
The three top telecommunications players accounted for 84 per cent of fixed broadband connections at the end of June, according to an annual monitoring report from the Commerce Commission.
This was down from 89 per cent the year before.
Closest competitors Trustpower and 2degrees gained a percentage point, but ‘‘other’’ smaller internet providers made the biggest strides, almost doubling their combined share of the market from 4 per cent to 7 per cent.
Contact Energy became the latest company to enter the ultrafast broadband (UFB) market in October.
Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Craig Young said the gains made by Trustpower and 2degrees were ‘‘quite significant’’.
The shift was occurring as a result of the levelling effect of UFB, which internet providers bought from Chorus and other wholesalers on equal terms, he believed.
‘‘There is a traditional reluctance to move between providers, but when fibre becomes available I think people take the opportunity to take a look around.’’
The only advantage the larger carriers had in the UFB market was the existing relationship they might have with customers who were upgrading, Young said.
But many people were assuming it would not be ‘‘any more disruptive’’ if they changed provider at the same time, he said.
The commission cautioned the 2017 figures might not be directly comparable with previous years, as the report included fixedwireless broadband connections in the mix for the first time.
However, as Spark has been the most aggressive in marketing wireless broadband, the effect would be to underplay its loss of market share, Young agreed.
Spark spokesman Andrew Pirie conceded its market share had slipped. Aggressive marketing by smaller players had been a factor, he said.
With just under 30 per cent of the country’s 1.6 million broadband connections now on UFB, the bulk of the switch is still ahead of the industry, but a sizeable part is now behind it.
‘‘We believe our objective of keeping our market share in that low- to mid-40s range is achievable and we are very focused on doing that,’’ Pirie said.
IDC Research figures from June are understood to estimate Spark, Vodafone and Vocus NZ had a combined share of 82.2 per cent.
Another market shake-up is in the wings, with Spark and Trustpower believed to be among the frontrunners to acquire Slingshot and Orcon-owner Vocus NZ, which has been put up for sale by its Australian parent.
Vodafone has hinted it could also potentially be interested.
New Zealand industry sources have speculated that the business might not fetch much in excess of $200 million.
Meanwhile, Australia’s largest telco, Telstra, is thought to be able to compete for business in New Zealand after a five-year absence.
The A$43 billion (NZ$47 billion) company agreed not to compete in the New Zealand market for an undisclosed period after selling former subsidiary TelstraClear to Vodafone in 2012, but it is understood that restriction has now expired.