The company implied it would need to be told soon whether the government accepts its proposal to participate in the rollout, which involves splitting its wholesale and infrastructure units to comply with the government's stipulation that retail operators can't participate in the rollout.
“Telecom's proposal includes a potential structural separation by demerger in July next year. Telecom will need appropriate engagement with the whole of government in order to meet this challenging timeframe,” CEO Paul Reynolds said.
News of the exclusion sent Telecom NZ's domestic shares sliding from an opening price of NZ$2.14 yesterday to a low of NZ$1.96 today. It's Australian-listed shares fell 5.1% on Thursday to A$1.590 ($1.46).
New Zealand's government-led UFB project involves rolling out an NZ$3 billion ($2.2b) national fiber network to cover 75% of the country's population.
The other companies shortlisted for participation are CityLink, the Central Fibre Consortium, Electra, Electricity Ashburton, Enable Networks, Flute Network, Network Tasman, Network Waitiki, Vector and Westpower.
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