Letters obtained under the Official Information Act show NZ Communications had a powerful weapon in its April filtering spat with Telecom: a letter from the minister saying the telco needs to incorporate filters into its XT build programme, without delay.

The correspondence, between Communications and IT minister Steven Joyce and NZ Comms chief executive Mike Reynolds surfaced too late for last week's High Court hearing between Telecom and Vodafone. But if it had been on hand, it's likely Vodafone would have used it to emphasise that Telecom's Dr Reynolds knew of high-level concerns about interference from at least April 9.

On April 7, Mike Reynolds wrote to Mr Joyce.

Mike Reynolds’ letter outlines very similar concerns to those Vodafone raised in its High Court hearing with Telecom last week.

The NZ Comms boss says his company has invested “over $200 million thus far” building a mobile network in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. But interference from XT – at that stage, being tested on about 15% power – was such that “Telecom [XT] and NZ Communications cannot both launch unless or until Telecom removes the harmful interference.”

Last week, in the High Court, Vodafone alleged that interference from XT was causing dropped calls, call interference, delayed txts and voice mail, and imperilling emergency calls.

On April 9, Mr Joyce replied to Mike Reynolds that Ministry of Economic Development testing found XT emissions meet Telecom’s “basic license requirements.”

Filters a necessary requirement
Mr Joyce adds: “I am also advised that the need for filters appears to have been recognised by Telecom and their [sic] contractors in 2008 and it is indeed disappointing that the filter requirement was not incorporated into the Telecom build programme as a necessary requirement.”

Arbitration too slow
After noting that the Radiocommunications Act’s arbitration procedures “may not occur quickly enough” to meet NZ Comms roll-out timetable (still not public, but believed to be aimed at a July or August launch), Mr Joyce concludes “Your board can be assured that I see the matter as important and will be requesting that I am informed of any untoward delay in implementation of the measures necessary for you to launch your competitive services in the New Zealand market.”

While Mr Joyce noted in his letter that the “legislative environment” does not let him directly intervene, his letter makes it clear that he thinks Telecom should sort out the interference issue, and quickly and gave Mike Reynolds a very powerful piece of paper to wave in front of his opposite number at Telecom.

Mr Joyce ads that the MED is treating the matter with urgency and "will be writing to Telecom shortly."

Shortly after Mr Joyce’s letter, Telecom and NZ Comms – which had threatened legal action – settled their interference dispute.

Commercial terms of the settlement remain confidential, but involved Telecom agreeing to install filters on its XT cell towers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch that were allegedly interfering with NZ Comms’ network.

In the final event, the MED's letter to Telecom – also sent on April 9 – cut both ways.

At the High Court hearing last week, Telecom held it up as evidence that XT was in compliance with the Radiocommunications Act, while Vodafone emphasised its paragraphs about further investigation into the possibility that XT was in breach of international radio regulations.

A spokeswoman for Mr Joyce's office says the minister had no direct communication with Telecom or Vodafone on the matter of interference, bar one minor incident.

On the morning Telecom and Vodafone's settlement was announced, Mr Joyce spoke briefly to Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners at an industry function. "He [Mr Stanners] briefly mentioned that he thought they were close to a resolution."