Net neutrality is an issue that, despite being contentious internationally, does not have a big profile in New Zealand. Unknown to most, our individual usage of the Internet is today determined by the net neutrality policy of service providers and the government. In some cases, that policy is good for society, in others, it is good for the service provider.

A definition of egalitarian:
"Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people."

As Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has Mr Steven Joyce considered principles of an egalitarianism in his world-leading telecoms reforms? It appears not.

Since his election to parliament as a list MP in 2008, Mr Joyce has achieved a shift in New Zealand's telecommunications industry. This was not a seismic shift - the opportunity for that was lost towards the end of the Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) process when the contract was awarded to Telecom.

He gave a hint of hoped-for major transformations when holding out Telecom to the threat of competition in infrastructure provisioning. But that applied only in urban areas, so no concept of egalitarianism there.

I remember using the old walkie-talkie radios.  We would always finish each contribution to the conversation by saying “... Over”, meaning ‘time for you to talk now.’  Those were the days of old wireless technologies and respect for the other person.  Such respect was essential because that old technology permitted only one person to speak at a time.  There was no point in my trying to shout down the other person - to do so only resulted in my own over-loud voice coming back at me.  

Imagine if today’s wireless systems were a single channel that required only one person to speak at a time!

There are at least 11 major competitors in the Australian broadband space, compared to around 18 in New Zealand.  Has our extra level of competition resulted in keener pricing and or better services for the local Internet surfer?

No according to a recent Australian study comparing New Zealand broadband plans with those available in Australia.  Whilst the study has shown that data allowances in the broadband plans of both countries has improved over the preceeding 12 months, New Zealand plans are losing value compared to those in Australia.