Voda sues Telecom NZ over 'interference'

Mobile operator Vodafone has initiated legal proceedings against Telecom New Zealand, alleging the Kiwi incumbent's new XT mobile network was causing interference to Vodafone's own.

Telecom's engineers have already been working with their counterparts at Vodafone, for several weeks now, to resolve these issues

Telecom NZ CEO Paul Reynolds

The XT network, which is still under construction, had caused "serious interference" to Vodafone's network that resulted in a significant rise in the number of complaints from Vodafone's customers, Vodafone confirmed to The National Business Review.

In a statement issued this afternoon, Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds described the action as "a piece of aggressive behaviour that betrays Vodafone's insecurities about competition" from the XT network, which is a fortnight away from launching.

"Telecom will vigorously resist the request for an injunction, and we remain on target to bring world-class 3G mobile services to New Zealanders from 6.30pm on 13 May," Reynolds added.

The Telecom CEO said his company's compliance with the terms of its licences was recently confirmed by the country's Ministry for Economic Development, as part of its investigation into interference issues between the WCDMA technology used by Telecom, and the rival GSM technology used by Vodafone and NZ Communications.

Reynolds alleged the problems were in fact Vodafone's fault.

"They are now reaping the cost of this and other poor technical decisions, and attempting to lay them at the feet of Telecom, just a few days out from the launch of our XT network," he said.

"Telecom's engineers have already been working with their counterparts at Vodafone, for several weeks now, to resolve these issues and this process has been working well. We are disappointed that Vodafone has taken such extreme steps over an issue that can be resolved in a more constructive way — and most New Zealanders will be too."