Submission
13 August 2004
To:
Commerce Commission
Submission
to Telecommunications
In
response to your request for information we went out to
our specific groups concerned with telecommunication issues
as well as the membership at large. We would like to say
that in our experience it is not often that the response
has been so quick and thorough showing the concern rural
communities have over the issue of telecommunications.
We
found Southland, parts of Hawkesbay around Waipukurau,
isolated King country and Canterbury area's had deteriorating
services.
The
key questions raised with rural consumers were did they
have the ability to:
1. Download material from the Internet be done
in a timely fashion (less than 10 minutes)
In
no area of the country could this be achieved. A number
pointed to 3 hours to down load emails whilst others said
that if a document took more that 30 minutes to down load
they generally aborted the process and or deleted the
email. Notes were made that websites, and indeed emailed
material, were becoming more sophisticated in terms of
graphics and that the average rural telephone connection
could not cope with this development. Exasperation was
expressed that travel timetables, government services
etc were all connected to websites now and this made it
difficult for rural consumers to apply on-line, as the
connections were rarely secure.
No
person reported speeds greater than 14.4 Kps the majority
had speeds of less than 9.6 Kps
2.
Access a functioning telephone line that does not go out
intermittently with electric fences, electrical storms,
rain etc
•
Many reported this problem had existed for the duration
of the telephone line. In Southland several noted the
service was deteriorating. Many replies expressed concern
that more intensive farming practices had meant more individuals
on the line and thus accounted for the deterioration.
•
On the West Coast there were reports that intensive farming
had meant that some area's were without phone coverage
and people were relying on satellite or mobile services.
The mobile services were difficult due to the number of
black spots.
3. Access to a fax connection that did not breakoff.
Or loose connection through the transmission
• As above.
•
None of the surveyed members had a fully functioning fax,
in otherwords in a majority of cases there was intermittent
connection.
Summary
Whilst
none of the services had improved there had been a deterioration
in Southland in particular and inadequate service on the
West Coast. Due to the short time we had to gather information
– Four days from being informed by Federated farmers until
Friday 13 th August the replies to our canvas of telecommunication
services is unprecedented. Rural communities are concerned
that they are being left behind in the information highway.
Also the Digital Strategy released by the government shows
that without reliable and functional telecommunications
there will be a deterioration of services to rural as
they will be unable to access the latest digital gadgetry
being proposed.
Jo-Anne
Stokers
Executive
Officer
Rural
Women New Zealand
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