Mobile maverick comes up short

Mobile start-up company NZ Communications has delayed the highly anticipated launch of its network until late next year after initially targeting October, industry sources say.

It is understood the firm has built only 50 cell towers 400 short of what it needs to launch. Chairman Bill Osbourne did not reply to queries from the  Independent.

NZ Communications, formerly known as Econet, has spent eight years attempting to build a national mobile network and become the country's third mobile provider.

It has signed a roaming deal with Vodafone enabling future customers to get coverage in areas its mobile network doesn't cover.

But NZ Communications has failed to get a deal where it could place cellular equipment on Vodafone and Telecom towers  known as mobile co-location.

The Commerce Commission has recognised progress with mobile co-location has been slow, and issued a draft standard-terms determination last week on the non-price terms for the service.

But the regulation wasn't expected to be finalised until mid-to-late November. This is understood to be a reason why NZ Communications has delayed the network launch.

The commission has made some changes to fast-track the rollout of the network, including vital hardware known as the "access providers' common format site database", to be operational five working days after the final standard-terms determination is released. Access providers will be charged $500 a day if they don't process applications in a timely manner.

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