The only reason that Telecom are precluded from being a part of the UFB program is because the government decided that UFB bidders not be allowed to also have a retail arm.  This decision seems to be based on Treasury advice concerning competition issues.  The competition (ie NZRFG members) have shown that they can compete on price because they already have a lot of fibre in the ground.  Telecom is subject to a lot of regulation to minimize anti-competitive behaviours.  

So there is no need to exclude Telecom from UFB consideration.  Changing the UFB rules to allow Telecom to participate will avoid further delays to the UFB rollout.  It would also enable a sensible coordination of resources for the rural RBI rollout as well as cooperation between the two competitors to best utilise the fibre already in the ground.  Read the ComputerWorld article here.