Peter Griffin • Feb 07, 2011 •
You don’t have to read between the lines to sense the bitter disappointment of wireless broadband provider Woosh Wireless, fibre network operator FX Networks and state-owned infrastructure player Kordia at missing out on a juicy Government contract to push high-speed internet services out to the rural sector. The press release today lamenting the Government’s decision to opt for a consortium … Read More
Peter Griffin • Dec 07, 2010 •
Regional cities in the North Island will be the first to see fibre optic cables laid around their streets as $200 million worth of contracts to roll out high-speed internet services are confirmed. The deals that the Government’s Crown Fibre Holdings has struck are with the type of infrastructure players not traditionally associated with broadband – Northpower Limited … Read More
John Nixon • Nov 28, 2010 •
Back again in sunny Auckland. I must say that my trip on Malaysian Airlines to KL, then Phuket and back was impeccable. They have very attractive business-class fares, the 777 aircraft was impeccably clean, food and service perfect! And no, I don’t get any freebies, discounts or other advantages for my recommendations, they are just my honest thoughts on what … Read More
John Nixon • Nov 10, 2010 •
I’m heading off soon to Phuket in Thailand to the General Meeting of the Asia-Pacific FTTH Council. Why Phuket? I’m not complaining, it’s a neat place! I think the Board tries to regularly include member countries in their rotating meeting program. We will be meeting with local Thai engineers and exchanging experiences. This time last year, we were honoured to … Read More
John Nixon • Nov 01, 2010 •
Oh my gosh! What a flurry of comments after my last post. Some clearly medically-trained people took me to task for suggesting that there MAY be a link between EMR and cancer. Then quite by chance, I opened my new issue (October 2010) of the Scientific American magazine, and read on page 77 an article entitled “Can you hear me … Read More
John Nixon • Sep 17, 2010 •
I attended the Huawei Broadband Summit at Auckland Hilton Hotel today. To say it was impressive is a huge understatement. I never really took Huawei (at least here in New Zealand) seriously until now. New Zealand was one of the first countries to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China not so … Read More
John Nixon • Aug 19, 2010 •
Mike Quigley had retired from an exemplary career in the telecoms field. He had succeeded in beating first Leukaemia, then a brain tumor years later and completed a 30 year brilliant career with Alcatel-Lucent in the US, France etc. Then he was coaxed back to lead the new NBN Co in Australia as their CEO. After accepting this challenging position, … Read More
John Nixon • Aug 17, 2010 •
In both New Zealand and Australia there have been many calls for the publishing of an accurate cost/benefit analysis to justify the taxpayer investment in the UFB and NBN networks. If you read the New Zealand Herald, you may have seen an excellent article by Chris Barton a couple of days ago. Chris’ comments are equally applicable to both countries’ … Read More
John Nixon • Aug 11, 2010 •
I met today with Dr David Anderson, National Sector Manager, National Broadband Network at ICN or the Industry Capability Network from Australia, and his Kiwi colleague, Robert Murdoch, Manager, Australian ICN Relationships. The meeting was hosted by NZTE (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise), with my good friend John Houlker present. ICN is a free service funded by the Australian Government … Read More
John Nixon • Aug 10, 2010 •
As we approach the Australian federal elections, the future of NBN (National Broadband Network) is on the chopping block. I follow passionately the current debate, because the outcome, whichever way it goes, will have major repercussions for Australia’s economy. I have written about this project several times in the past, and am a firm believer in the long-term benefits of … Read More