FYI guys.... Thanks to CommsDay for the information.... We're just here at NZNOG and it would be of massive interest to everyone in the room. ...Skeeve -- Skeeve Stevens, CEO/Technical Director eintellego Pty Ltd - The Networking Specialists skeeve(a)eintellego.net / www.eintellego.net Phone: 1300 753 383, Fax: (+612) 8572 9954 Cell +61 (0)414 753 383 / skype://skeeve www.linkedin.com/in/skeeve ; facebook.com/eintellego -- NOC, NOC, who's there? [http://service.ecast.net.au/img/29/29--1-14072.jpg] Australasia's telecommunications daily since 1994 incorporating The Line of New Zealand ________________________________ BREAKING NEWS Telecom NZ submits two bids, Vector, TeamTalk also in the race for NZ FTTH rollout funds Bids close this afternoon for the New Zealand Government's NZ$1.5 billion fibre-to-the-home project. The government is looking for partners to invest and participate in up to 33 local fibre companies. Although the submissions are confidential, many potential participants have gone public with at least some information. Telecom NZ submitted two proposals, one compliant and one non-compliant, as well as expressing an interest in coming to an accommodation with the government even if these plans are rejected. The company said a national approach is required to deliver "a consistently engineered and interconnected network". It also talked in terms of not duplicating what has already been built. In a media statement CEO Paul Reynolds said; "In addition to the two proposals Telecom is submitting, Telecom is open to discussing other alternative proposals which achieve the government's objective, avoid unnecessary waste and align the incentives and investment plans of both the government and Telecom". The published terms of the project expressly forbid a telco from participating if it has both retail and wholesale operations - effectively ruling out Telecom NZ while it retains control of its Chorus access network division. This has triggered speculation the company is considering divesting itself of the business - even though there have been repeated assurances this is not in prospect. One of the two proposals involves building on the company's existing fibre-to-the-node as a springboard for fibre-to-the-home. Telecom's two bids are a function of the submission process where bidders offering a non-compliant bid must also submit a compliant bid and explain why non-compliance is preferable. In its bid, Auckland-based lines company Vector has gone for speed promising to deliver ultra-fast broadband to the premises across the city in seven years - beating the government's target by three years. The submission says its compliant bid means fibre will pass 133,000 premises within two years and connect more than half of all businesses within four years. Like Telecom NZ, Vector's public statements make much of its ability to "leverage existing assets". Vector is a member of The New Zealand Regional Fibre Group (NZRFG) which says a number of other members have submitted proposals. The NZRFG said it is "Developing a proposal which could provide a dramatic step-change through the creation of an open access, national layer 2 (or lit) fibre network". NZRFG members have submitted consortium bids for the Waikato and the Otago and Southland regions. Northpower submitted a bid for the Northland region. David Ware of TeamTalk confirmed to CommsDay his company's bid for the Wellington region. He said his company was among the first in the world to do "metro dark fibre stuff" and has 10 to 15 years experience along with the resources and relationships to handle the job. - Bill Bennett More details in Monday's CommsDay