4 May 2009

Telecom network launch to go ahead despite court action

7:47 am on 4 May 2009

Telecom will launch its new mobile network as planned this month despite being taken to court by Vodafone, the company says.

Vodafone has begun legal proceedings after a big rise in customer complaints about network interference, which it says is caused by Telecom's soon-to-be-introduced 3G mobile network.

A spokesperson for Vodafone says the interference has led to a significant rise in the number of complaints received by the company. However it says as the matter is before the court it will make no further comment.

Telecom says Vodafone's threatened legal action is aggressive behaviour that betrays the company's insecurities about competition.

The company says Vodafone's technical problems are of its own making and it it will vigorously resist the request for a court injunction.

Chief executive Paul Reynolds says Telecom is complying with the terms of its licences, and engineers have been working with Vodafone to resolve the issues.

Dr Reynolds says the court action will not stop Telecom launching its new mobile network on 13 May.

Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman says there has been anecdotal evidence that interference on Vodafone's network has been more of a problem in the past few months than previously.

But he says it is very difficult to judge who is at fault.

Mr Newman says he would not want to see the legal action delay the launch of Telecom's mobile network, which he says will increase competition in the market.