Telecom will guarantee speeds on VDSL2 service

15Mbit/s downstream and 5Mbit/s up will be promised

When Telecom finally launches its high-speed VDSL2 service, customers will be guaranteed minimum internet speeds.

Telecom Wholesale head of communications Steve Pettigrew says that if customers on the new service don’t secure speeds of at least 15 Mbit/s down and 5 Mbit/s up, then they will be put back onto their existing service. Telecom originally announced it would offer the service in August, but the commercial launch has been delayed until later this year.

VDSL (Very High Speed digital subscriber Line 2) is the next iteration of service on the copper network, which has theoretical speeds of more than 40Mbit/s. However, users must be located within 900 metres of an exchange or roadside cabinet to receive the service.

It also requires a VDSL2 splitter which will be provisioned through Telecom’s network division Chorus.

Telecom Wholesale is currently trialling the service with three ISPs, with a soft launch in September that will be open to all its customers.

Telecom CEO Paul Reynolds told analysts at the company’s fourth quarter financial briefing this month that Telecom expects to offer VDSL2 services commercially in this financial year. He says the services are likely to appeal primarily to business customers.

“In the early stages we see that [VDSL2] as a relatively low-volume business product, given the nature of the incredibly price-sensitive market place in New Zealand. So we expect it to be attractive to lots of businesses, but not to many consumers in the first year.”

The Commerce Commission ruled in April that Telecom Wholesale can charge its customers a premium rate to deliver VDSL2 services.