Living
Telephone
Telecom is the main provider of telephone landline services in New Zealand. It had a virtual monopoly on the market until December 2006, when the government cleared the way for other service providers to have access to the market. Up until then it was only possible to get a landline through rival telecommunications company, TelstraClear, in parts of Christchurch, Wellington and the Kapiti Coast.
The phone service in New Zealand is efficient and Telecom is one of the country’s top performing corporates. Other players are likely to enter the market now the way has been cleared for them, but Telecom’s stranglehold on the industry will probably last for some time. Each year, Telecom produces White Pages and Yellow Pages directories for each district. These list residential and business phone numbers respectively. Directories are delivered to each household and business but are also available online (www.whitepages.co.nz and www.yellowpages.co.nz).
Once you’re settled in New Zealand and are ready to get a phone connection, you can simply call Telecom on 123, or fill out an online form at www.telecom.co.nz. If you join over the phone, you will need to allow between 20 and 30 minutes to complete the application process. You will need the address for connection and some personal identification. It will also speed up the process if you know the previous phone number and or/Telecom account holder of the same address. Provided there is already a live Telecom phone line connecting your home to the network, Telecom should have your phone working within 24 hours. Expect to pay a minimum of $48.99 for the reconnection; more if they have to physically install a phone line.
Once connected, you’ll be charged a monthly line rental of around $40. Calls made locally from your home phone should be free, however, you will be charged for national and international calls. Charges vary but toll calls are normally cheaper, as are calls at weekends and between 07:00 and 19:00. Often Telecom runs special offers - you can call certain countries for a set amount (normally around $5 or $8) and talk for as long as you like. These are normally well advertised on television and radio.
Extra services available from Telecom include ‘call minder’, which will answer and take calls for you when you can’t, ‘call waiting’, which signals when there is a second incoming call and allows you to switch between calls, ‘caller display’, which allows you to see the number of the person calling before you answer, and ‘call diversion’, which automatically redirects incoming calls to another nominated number. For other smartphone services offered by Telecom, check its website at www.telecom.co.nz.
The phone service in New Zealand is efficient and Telecom is one of the country’s top performing corporates. Other players are likely to enter the market now the way has been cleared for them, but Telecom’s stranglehold on the industry will probably last for some time. Each year, Telecom produces White Pages and Yellow Pages directories for each district. These list residential and business phone numbers respectively. Directories are delivered to each household and business but are also available online (www.whitepages.co.nz and www.yellowpages.co.nz).
Once you’re settled in New Zealand and are ready to get a phone connection, you can simply call Telecom on 123, or fill out an online form at www.telecom.co.nz. If you join over the phone, you will need to allow between 20 and 30 minutes to complete the application process. You will need the address for connection and some personal identification. It will also speed up the process if you know the previous phone number and or/Telecom account holder of the same address. Provided there is already a live Telecom phone line connecting your home to the network, Telecom should have your phone working within 24 hours. Expect to pay a minimum of $48.99 for the reconnection; more if they have to physically install a phone line.
Once connected, you’ll be charged a monthly line rental of around $40. Calls made locally from your home phone should be free, however, you will be charged for national and international calls. Charges vary but toll calls are normally cheaper, as are calls at weekends and between 07:00 and 19:00. Often Telecom runs special offers - you can call certain countries for a set amount (normally around $5 or $8) and talk for as long as you like. These are normally well advertised on television and radio.
Extra services available from Telecom include ‘call minder’, which will answer and take calls for you when you can’t, ‘call waiting’, which signals when there is a second incoming call and allows you to switch between calls, ‘caller display’, which allows you to see the number of the person calling before you answer, and ‘call diversion’, which automatically redirects incoming calls to another nominated number. For other smartphone services offered by Telecom, check its website at www.telecom.co.nz.
