Telecommunications

The Ministry provides policy advice on the regulatory environment for the IT and telecommunications sectors. This includes the efficient operation of the new telecommunications regulatory regime, provision of telecommunications service obligations such as the Kiwi Share and management of international obligations.

We advise on the social and economic impacts of information and communications technology, and promote the development and uptake of e-commerce, ICT skills and ICT infrastructure across New Zealand.

Telecommunications Service Obligations
Review of Telecom's Kiwi Share obligations, including free local calling which includes standard fax and internet calls, and the updating of the network to bring basic internet access to virtually all New Zealanders.
Telecommunications Relay Service
A Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) for meeting the telephone communication needs of Deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people has been established in New Zealand under the Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) framework
Operational Separation of Telecom
The operational separation of Telecom was approved on 30 March 2008.
ENUM - Electronic Number Mapping
ENUM is an internationally approved method for connecting the telephone communications network to the Internet. The Ministry of Economic Development currently holds the ENUM domain for New Zealand (4.6. e164. arpa) on behalf of the New Zealand Crown. ENUM policy has yet to be developed for New Zealand, however the Ministry is currently consulting with the telecommunications industry on ENUM...
Telecommunications Stocktake
On 3 May 2006, the Government announced a package of measures to address New Zealand's relatively poor broadband performance.
Rural Telecommunications
Information regarding telecommunications in rural areas, including development of a rural broadband strategy.
Regulations
Topics regarding the regulations surrounding telecommunications in New Zealand.
Network Operators
Information about Registered Operators.
Section 64 Review and Schedule 3 Investigation into Unbundling the Local Loop Network and the Fixed Public Data Network
Information on the investigation into unbundling the local loop & fixed public data network (Section 64 Review and Schedule 3), including the Final Report material on this matter from the Commerce Commission.
Benchmarking the Comparative Performance of New Zealand's Telecommunications Regime
The Ministry is required to report to the Minister of Communications annually on the comparative performance of the New Zealand telecommunications regime in respect of prices and the uptake of key new telecommunications services.
Review of Issues Affecting Utilities and Road, Rail and Motorway Corridors
Information on utility access on the road and rail corridor, including cost sharing arrangements.
Archive
Telecommunications topics which are no longer current can be found in the archive section. These documents may no longer be updated or contain the most current information but are still provided for your reference.