Chorus says the company will not abandon its contract to build the Ultra Fast Broadband project, despite the impact of a cut to wholesale prices for access to its copper phone lines.
Chief executive Mark Ratcliffe says abandoning the project is the last thing the company would consider.
Mark Ratcliffe. Photo: CHORUS
The Commerce Commission wants to slash by a quarter the price Chorus charges, which the lines company says would shave a billion dollars from its profits by 2020.
A report by sharebroker Forsyth Barr suggests Chorus could drop the project, although it would have to pay a penalty fee of more than $300 million.
But the Chorus chief executive, Mark Ratcliffe, says that won't happen.
"The chances we would walk away are none. We would work everything through with the Crown, and you only stop being in that contractual relationship with somebody if both parties agree."
Mr Ratcliffe says the Crown would need to have someone who could replace Chorus.
He says the build remains on track, with customers connecting to the new network at a "great rate".
