Concerned business people receive XT update

A small but vocal group of Dunedin business people yesterday met Telecom executive Paul Deavoll to receive an update on measures to strengthen the troublesome XT mobile network.

Telecom XT mobile users south of Taupo have been hit by four outages since mid-December, and users south of the Waitaki River were particularly hard hit.

The problems were narrowed down to faults in the Christchurch radio network controller (RNC) but each outage appeared to have been caused by different factors.

The Otago Chamber of Commerce arranged for Mr Deavoll to meet the users and explain the measures Telecom was undertaking.

He told the Otago Daily Times his presentation was much the same as the roadshow undertaken by Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds.

"It was an opportunity to explain what happened and to talk about what we have done so far building further robustness and stability into the network.

"We wanted to provide some reassurance we have got a programme which will see the world-class network we are committed to. I am happy to front to any-sized meeting."

Journalists were excluded from the meeting but Mr Deavoll said the business people attending were looking for some reassurance.

Although he was noncommittal about whether those who attended were satisfied with his reassurances, Mr Deavoll said they appreciated the chance to hear the updates.

Telecom had added a second RNC to Christchurch and was moving some of the mobile-network sites from the first RNC to the new controller.

Chamber chief executive John Christie said the meeting was helpful because of the residual concerns members had regarding the issue.

"Our role is to keep members informed and we are happy to co-ordinate these sorts of meetings. We don't have to take a stance on the issues."

The XT issue was complex and it was helpful for members to understand how mobile networks operated and how those networks "can be affected by outside factors", he said.