The downgrade
yesterday of Telecom by rating agency Standard and Poor's had
nothing to do with how the company was performing, Forsyth
Barr broker Suzanne Kinnaird said.
Standard & Poor's has placed Telecom's A long term credit
rating on creditwatch and said it may be cut by one or two
notches if the company separates its access network into a
new standalone company.
Telecom has axed 200
management jobs from its workforce in the past three months
and warns further cuts cannot be ruled out as it seeks to
claw back costs.
Telecom is preparing for the final closure of its CDMA mobile
network, the network that saved its battered reputation
during the major XT network failures earlier this year.
The Commerce Commission has started a review of the level of
competition in the unbundled bitstream access service (UBA),
which allows operators to supply a range of broadband
services.
Telecom is to refund a total of about $120,000 to around 1300
customers who may have been misled by a "Basic Broadband
Plan" promotion carried out by the company in 2008.
A move by Telecom to split off its network division would
have negative credit implications in the near term, but
positive results could emerge over the longer term, Moody's
Investors Service says.
