A two-cents per minute surcharge on Internet calls.

Kiwi Internet users and ISPs are outraged at a planned move by New Zealand_s major telco to introduce a two-cents per minute surcharge on Internet calls.Telecom New Zealand, the country_s largest telco and monopoly provider of local loop connections to virtually all households announced Thursday that as of August, ISPs and Net surfers would have to dial a special prefix to go online or face a two cents per minute surcharge on their calls. Citing the excessive burden which Internet calls are placing on the New Zealand telephone network, Telecom NZ says that by using the special 0867 prefix, data calls can be routed through its "intelligent network", thus preserving the integrity of the telephone system. "We don_t want the situation where someone is unable to make a 111 (emergency service) call because the lines are overloaded with Internet users" said Telecom NZ spokesman Glen Sowry. He said that the two cents per minute charge is simply there as an incentive for people to switch to using the new prefix and that providing the change is made, nobody will be charged the fee -- others likely to be directly affected by the change have labeled the fee an Tim Wood of Internet Service Provider IHUG has slammed Telecom NZ_s move. "How can they announce the move to providing a flat rate service and then turn around and blame the Internet for overloading their network just a week later?" he asks. His comments refer to Telecom NZ_s recent introduction of a flat-rate for Internet access through its own ISP service XTRA. Until this announcement XTRA, the country_s largest ISP, was charging up to $2.50 per hour for Net access. New Zealand residential telephone users normally pay no per-minute charges for telephone calls, a privilege protected by the "Kiwi Share" -- a provision of the sale contract which was produced when the former state-owned telco was privatized. Telecom NZ_s announcement of the two cent per minute fee is seen by most to be a clear breach of this Kiwi Share agreement and several ISPs have already met to discuss a legal challenge to the move.