We want a say in XT review - TUANZ

Major users are demanding input into Telecom’s independent review into why the XT Network crashed twice in two months.

Telecom has just announced a $5 million compensation package, which TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman considers is at the “upper end of expectation”. But he told Telecommunications Review, that compensation is a “gesture” - the real test for major users is transparency over why the XT Network outages occurred. To ensure this, TUANZ wants representation on the independent review.

At the same time that Telecom was announcing its compensation package, Gen-i CEO Chris Quin sent an email to corporate clients inviting them to provide feedback for the review. But for Newman, that’s unlikely to go far enough. He writes in a blog post:

“TUANZ is still focused on the transparency of the independent review. We want user representation in there when they lift the bonnet, so there can be independent assurance that no stone has been left unturned. The best outcome is that an outage like these never happens again and user confidence is totally restored.”

Telecom originally announced an independent review would take place on the Wednesday evening of the outage. The following day, Telecom spokesperson Mark Watts told TR that the organisation employed to conduct the review would be announced later that day.

“I can’t give a name, we’ve got someone in mind, we will announce that later today when we’ve nailed down a few things.” This afternoon, Telecom CEO Paul Reynolds told the media that an announcement about who will conduct the independent review will be made in a week’s time. He says there are two or three companies worldwide capable of conducting the review.