Forum Archive Index - July 2000

["Ben Dutton" <bendutton@sharechat.co.nz>]

Hi Brian,

Yes, Telecom did a press release with regards to the Xtra story.

Your I4free figures seem to indicate that the free ISP's are neck and neck
in acquiring customers.  However, there is a general public perception that
free ISP's are somewhat unreliable (whether this is true or not is another
matter - but there have been reported cases of lines being busy/overloading
etc).

As for inactive accounts, when a company reports that it has x number of
clients, accounts etc. one always has to take it with a grain of salt and
ask "but how many of those accounts are actually used?".  My details are
probably counted in websites/businesses all over the world because I once
registered and then never came back.

However, it was interesting to note that Xtra's customer sessions have
increased.  I'm sure that Kiwis are surfing more than they used to, but I
also think that this indicates that Xtra's customers are still using the
ISP.  For instance, many people like to have two accounts with an ISP, so if
one is busy they can immediately switch to the other one.

Interesting to see TEL's share price fall this morning - The Dominion (check
out link on front page of ShareChat) reported this morning that analysts
expect TEL to shave its dividends by about $140 million.

Best Regards,

Benjamin Dutton
(Disc. no current holding in TEL)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Gale" <brigale@i4free.co.nz>
To: <sharechat@sharechat.co.nz>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 10:33 AM
Subject: [sharechat] Telecom & XTRA


> Hi Ben
> Where did the data come from that you posted yesterday ? Was it just a
> routine announcement from TEL ?
> I4free was not mentioned but they now have 83,200 subscribers (as at
> 26/06/00) and they say they have spend over $2.6m on technical
> infrastructure and modems to give extra carrying capacity.
>
> I am not sure about pre XTRA account customers still using their services.
> I am still an XTRA account holder but now my use is almost zero. There
must
> be many like me.
>
> Sometimes there is congestion on I4free but generally I have found the
> service good.  I have often been linked for several hours without being
> disconnected.
>
> I suppose the $64,000 question is will TEL float XTRA  which was muted
> earlier. It is apparent that TEL have their hands full at present battling
> Clear, Vodafone and  Telstra Saturn for package deals with most of the
> activity out of Auckland. They must be temporarily relieved that the Govt.
> inquiry has not required them to unbundle the loop, but this must surely
> happen eventually or will it be so important in the future with
> wireless/satellite communication developing.
>
> With all that is happening with the big players the competition must be
> good for the consumer.
>
> IMHO it is not surprising that TEL shares have fallen. The monopoly of
> yesteryear has well and truly gone.  The relatively small cake which is
the
> NZ market is being divided up.  Who will end up with the biggest piece ?
>
> Hope this provokes some discussion.
>
> Regards
> Brian
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> http://www.sharechat.co.nz/          New Zealand's home for market
investors
> To remove yourself from this list, please use the form at
> http://www.sharechat.co.nz/forum.shtml.
>


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/          New Zealand's home for market investors
To remove yourself from this list, please use the form at
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/forum.shtml.