CNU - Chorus

[Snoopy]

My experience then, is that the cost of fiber deployment is so high that the provider has to have significantly higher prices than were experienced in the market before. This creates an umbrella for legacy service prices to be raised. Which then results in more folks dropping their landline, etc. In the states we are experiencing folks dropping cable for the first time ever (in total). It does not help that Verizon makes me click off an ad before I can watch tv - they are hungry for revenues anyway they can get it.

The above quote is from six years ago, talking about the US market for fibre. Over there I am not sure they have the retail wholesale split we have in New Zealand.

Something rather unusual happened to me in the same week in two different centres concerning two quite different houses that I am responsible for looking after.

The first was in Christchurch where the man from 'Enable' knocked on my door. Now for those who don't know, 'Enable' is the Christchurch Council owned broadband infrastructure company. They do what Chorus does in most other parts of the country.

"Was I thinking of getting fibre broadband?"

"We are probably going to be rolling it onto your land (I am on a cross lease with two other properties)."

After I said no

"Should we contact you again in six months? Do you think you might change your mind?"

It was quite a hard sell from a man whose opening gambit was:

"I haven't come to sell you anything."

The odd thing about this is that I can't become a customer of 'Enable'. They would have to refer me to a retail broadband seller.

In the Wellington district I got a letter from Chorus:

"Connect with fibre and we will load $200 onto the enclosed pre-paid mastercard".

Now I do know that the neighbours recently connected to fibre and the Chorus truck was in the street for several hours setting it all up. So maybe they are thinking.

"We have done all the hard work in this location. Let's see if we can sign up some neighbouring customers."

But once again I cannot become a customer of Chorus. I would have to go through a third party retail broadband supplier. I won't be taking up this second offer either. But it did get me wondering. Why was I approached by wholesale broadband network builders at all? Anyone else been approached in this way? What does it all mean for Chorus?

SNOOPY