Woo hoo, New Zealand’s Broadband capabilities and prices are ranked 30th out of the 34 OECD countries. Pritty shabby? But wait, there’s more - Telecom states that it will offer faster broadband speeds and lower prices. A maximum speeds of 3.5mbps - an increase of only one point five from the current maximum 2.0mbps. Compare that to Austraila which has a maximum speed of 24mbps.

Telecom’s new plans also include download speeds of up to 3.5 megabits per second (mbps) and three new services that offer an increased upload speed of 512 kilobits per second (kbps).

Customers and founders of competing ISP’s don’t find it funny, stating that they’re being feed bread crumbs. Personally, I also think its a very big ‘off-rip’ - prices are sky high compared to the Kangaroo’s across the ditch.

The founder of the internet provider Slingshot has called Telecom’s latest broadband speed offer a joke.

The government has also pitched in to drive the prices down. Helen Clark (PM of New Zealand) speaks in parliament tomorrow (Tuesday). Lets hope she says the right things. New plans and speeds are effective from April 2006. New pricings for Telecom here. Source: TVNZ