It’s the outage that keeps on giving.

Alcatel-Lucent has been chosen as Unison’s official technology provider for a fibre roll-out around Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Taupo. 

Alcatel-Lucent global chief executive Ben Verwaayen has copped the rap for the repeated, and as yet unexplained, failures on Telecom’s XT network.

"It is not acceptable and I take responsibility," said Mr Verwaayen this morning, speaking to Radio New Zealand National from New York.

Yesterday, Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds said he had personally called Mr Verwaayen to “put Alcatel-Lucent on notice.”

And, it seems, Mr Reynolds may have also requested a mea culpa media appearance.

Alcatel-Lucent New Zealand chief executive Steve Lowe has resigned, the company announced in a statement this afternoon.

No reason is given for Mr Lowe leaving the company, which has around 700 local staff.

Alcatel-Lucent is Telecom’s longtime network partner and the builder of its troubled XT network.

In the absence of official commentary, Twitter wags were quick to fill the gap, with one posting "Alcatel-Lucent boss suddenly stops working, with no explanation - much like XT".