March 6, 2009 - 9:51am
First let’s talk about the Internet market in New Zealand. It is dominated by Telecom’s Xtra and TelstraClear (with clear.net and paradise.net). The domain zone New Zealand sites are registered in is .co.nz. And a two year contract, as http://www.rwgusa.com says, will cost just $134 which is not so much actually (compared, for instance, with Cuba’s $999 for the registration). Broadband internet started to be provided in 1999 by Telecom New Zealand under the name JetStream.
Today the government has mandated local loop unbundling, which allows other Internet service providers to setup their own infrastructure and services, using only Telecom's existing copper wiring and exchanges. Several countries do the same to compete more effectively with the incumbent's offerings. They also mandated Naked DSL and unconstrained UBS. As a part of the policy, the Government is additionally taking steps to encourage private sector investment in improving rural telecommunications services, and is taking steps to further open up the marketplace to alternative delivery media, such as fibre optics, cable and satellite. Telecom used to have a monopoly on the local loop until very recently. Now there are alternatives such as Citylink Wellington in the Auckland and Wellington CBDs, TelstraClear's cable internet in Wellington and Christchurch, satellite, and wireless in some locations - but products based on Telecom's DSL are the norm, as other networks do not have the same coverage nor pricing the DSL network has.
High-Speed Network is presented in New Zealand by Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) that was set up in 2006, to connect Universities and Crown Research Institutes within New Zealand through the fibre-optic cable, with links to Sydney and Seattle (Pacific Northwest Gigapop) via the Southern Cross Cable, at speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (or 622 megabits per second to Seattle). Weta Workshop, Weta Digital & Wingnut Films in Wellington also have high-speed links provided by Citylink Wellington.
According to the statistics, published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in 2007 which presented the rating of 30 most developed countries from the point of Internet access speed and cost view (Internet penetration rate, average download speed and cost of 1 Mbit per month were taken into consideration) New Zealand, took 22nd place. New Zealand penetration rate was 36% (compared with South Korea that got 90% taking the first position and with Turkish 17% penetration rate), average download speed – 2.3 Mbit per sec at cost of $9.20 per 1 Mb ($ 0.27 in Japan, the lowest cost, and $ 60.01 in Mexico that is the highest pricing among these 30s).
To find out the amount of internet users and its changing in New Zealand let’s look through the statistics figures presented by http://www.internetworldstats.com. Well, in 2006 almost three-quarters of New Zealanders had access to the internet: (or 3,200,000 citizens) compared with 2,110,000 (51.2%) in 2003 and just 830,000 (22.2%) in the year 2000. You can see a significant triple growth within just six years. At the end of 2007 more than 78% of New Zealanders used Internet. So Internet penetration is growing rapidly, and much more growth is expected.
At the end of 2008 New Zealand was ranked as a leader in its educational use of the Internet but low in its broadband penetration by the survey of World Internet Project. According to this research New Zealand has the highest proportion of people using the Internet for distance education - 21%, New Zealand has the second highest Internet use at school with an average of 5.2 hours per week, just behind Australia, and New Zealand ranked second lowest on broadband penetration with 65%, ahead of only Colombia and equal to urban China, and is second highest in its reliance on dialup access.
Well, and what about the e-commerce in New Zealand? In an April 2007 e-readiness ranking, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked New Zealand as 14th out of 69 countries. New Zealanders enjoy a variety of options for purchasing goods and services online, and few goods are off limits to online selling and marketing. Internet banking is particularly popular, and the main banks in New Zealand provide online banking services for clients interested in accessing their accounts online. Though undergoing legal scrutiny, pharmacies may sell certain types of prescription and non-prescription drugs to all clients online. However, Internet users are paying attention to music industry warnings and downloading less music, but are buying more books. An area that remains static is online grocery shopping: supermarkets attribute this to the fact people like to pick their own groceries, and the main barrier for internet shoppers is the hesitancy to enter credit card details online.
In 2000 the government launched an e-Commerce Strategy to encourage economic growth and innovation in New Zealand through promotion of e-commerce and technology-based business. The strategy includes the following recommendations: the availability of e-commerce training through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s BIZ program; and the establishment of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund for investing in businesses based on technology or high-value-added goods and services.
In 2001 the e-Marketing Standards Authority (eMSA) was established by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Direct Marketing Authority (DMA) to protect the interests of consumers doing business through the Internet. The government issued the New Zealand Model Code for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce in 2001 to protect the interests of consumers doing business over the Internet.
When purchasing goods from overseas, goods and service by the Internet tax (GST) is levied on the value of the goods (the total of the declared purchase price including transport or freight and insurance, plus any duty payable) when the goods arrive in New Zealand. Customs collects this before the goods are released to the purchaser. There is a minimum amount on the value of the good. Whether the consumer ordered goods through a mail-order catalogue or purchased them on the Internet is irrelevant for tax purposes. If the merchant is a resident in New Zealand, the tax is added to the cost of the good. For GST purposes, services are defined as “anything that is not a good or money”. Services provided by a New Zealand-resident business to a person in New Zealand are charged GST. When a non-resident sells services to a person in New Zealand, these services are generally not subject to GST. When non-resident suppliers perform the services in New Zealand, however, they are considered residents for GST purposes if they have a fixed or permanent place of business in New Zealand.
Well, in spite of New Zealand’s geographical isolation, country gained significant benefits of Internet access to international sources of information, educational material and electronic markets. As well as Internet penetration is growing rapidly, e-commerce is being in process of development and enhancing, and the popularity of all kinds of Internet services also strengthens.
Well, today we are talking about an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean composing two main landmasses: the North Island and the South Island and numerous smaller islands. Right, that is New Zealand. New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation. So let’ see what stage the Internet technologies and e-commerce are on in this wonderful country with unique nature and animals.
First let’s talk about the Internet market in New Zealand. It is dominated by Telecom’s Xtra and TelstraClear (with clear.net and paradise.net). The domain zone New Zealand sites are registered in is .co.nz. And a two year contract, as http://www.rwgusa.com says, will cost just $134 which is not so much actually (compared, for instance, with Cuba’s $999 for the registration). Broadband internet started to be provided in 1999 by Telecom New Zealand under the name JetStream.
Today the government has mandated local loop unbundling, which allows other Internet service providers to setup their own infrastructure and services, using only Telecom's existing copper wiring and exchanges. Several countries do the same to compete more effectively with the incumbent's offerings. They also mandated Naked DSL and unconstrained UBS. As a part of the policy, the Government is additionally taking steps to encourage private sector investment in improving rural telecommunications services, and is taking steps to further open up the marketplace to alternative delivery media, such as fibre optics, cable and satellite. Telecom used to have a monopoly on the local loop until very recently. Now there are alternatives such as Citylink Wellington in the Auckland and Wellington CBDs, TelstraClear's cable internet in Wellington and Christchurch, satellite, and wireless in some locations - but products based on Telecom's DSL are the norm, as other networks do not have the same coverage nor pricing the DSL network has.
High-Speed Network is presented in New Zealand by Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) that was set up in 2006, to connect Universities and Crown Research Institutes within New Zealand through the fibre-optic cable, with links to Sydney and Seattle (Pacific Northwest Gigapop) via the Southern Cross Cable, at speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (or 622 megabits per second to Seattle). Weta Workshop, Weta Digital & Wingnut Films in Wellington also have high-speed links provided by Citylink Wellington.
According to the statistics, published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in 2007 which presented the rating of 30 most developed countries from the point of Internet access speed and cost view (Internet penetration rate, average download speed and cost of 1 Mbit per month were taken into consideration) New Zealand, took 22nd place. New Zealand penetration rate was 36% (compared with South Korea that got 90% taking the first position and with Turkish 17% penetration rate), average download speed – 2.3 Mbit per sec at cost of $9.20 per 1 Mb ($ 0.27 in Japan, the lowest cost, and $ 60.01 in Mexico that is the highest pricing among these 30s).
To find out the amount of internet users and its changing in New Zealand let’s look through the statistics figures presented by http://www.internetworldstats.com. Well, in 2006 almost three-quarters of New Zealanders had access to the internet: (or 3,200,000 citizens) compared with 2,110,000 (51.2%) in 2003 and just 830,000 (22.2%) in the year 2000. You can see a significant triple growth within just six years. At the end of 2007 more than 78% of New Zealanders used Internet. So Internet penetration is growing rapidly, and much more growth is expected.
At the end of 2008 New Zealand was ranked as a leader in its educational use of the Internet but low in its broadband penetration by the survey of World Internet Project. According to this research New Zealand has the highest proportion of people using the Internet for distance education - 21%, New Zealand has the second highest Internet use at school with an average of 5.2 hours per week, just behind Australia, and New Zealand ranked second lowest on broadband penetration with 65%, ahead of only Colombia and equal to urban China, and is second highest in its reliance on dialup access.
Well, and what about the e-commerce in New Zealand? In an April 2007 e-readiness ranking, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked New Zealand as 14th out of 69 countries. New Zealanders enjoy a variety of options for purchasing goods and services online, and few goods are off limits to online selling and marketing. Internet banking is particularly popular, and the main banks in New Zealand provide online banking services for clients interested in accessing their accounts online. Though undergoing legal scrutiny, pharmacies may sell certain types of prescription and non-prescription drugs to all clients online. However, Internet users are paying attention to music industry warnings and downloading less music, but are buying more books. An area that remains static is online grocery shopping: supermarkets attribute this to the fact people like to pick their own groceries, and the main barrier for internet shoppers is the hesitancy to enter credit card details online.
In 2000 the government launched an e-Commerce Strategy to encourage economic growth and innovation in New Zealand through promotion of e-commerce and technology-based business. The strategy includes the following recommendations: the availability of e-commerce training through New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s BIZ program; and the establishment of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund for investing in businesses based on technology or high-value-added goods and services.
In 2001 the e-Marketing Standards Authority (eMSA) was established by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Direct Marketing Authority (DMA) to protect the interests of consumers doing business through the Internet. The government issued the New Zealand Model Code for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce in 2001 to protect the interests of consumers doing business over the Internet.
When purchasing goods from overseas, goods and service by the Internet tax (GST) is levied on the value of the goods (the total of the declared purchase price including transport or freight and insurance, plus any duty payable) when the goods arrive in New Zealand. Customs collects this before the goods are released to the purchaser. There is a minimum amount on the value of the good. Whether the consumer ordered goods through a mail-order catalogue or purchased them on the Internet is irrelevant for tax purposes. If the merchant is a resident in New Zealand, the tax is added to the cost of the good. For GST purposes, services are defined as “anything that is not a good or money”. Services provided by a New Zealand-resident business to a person in New Zealand are charged GST. When a non-resident sells services to a person in New Zealand, these services are generally not subject to GST. When non-resident suppliers perform the services in New Zealand, however, they are considered residents for GST purposes if they have a fixed or permanent place of business in New Zealand.
Well, in spite of New Zealand’s geographical isolation, country gained significant benefits of Internet access to international sources of information, educational material and electronic markets. As well as Internet penetration is growing rapidly, e-commerce is being in process of development and enhancing, and the popularity of all kinds of Internet services also strengthens.