Newly appointed Alcatel CEO for Australasia Hilary Mine said the Telecom experience has provided Alcatel with a great lesson.

'New Zealand is a very important case for us worldwide,' Mine said. 'We are learning some great lessons for the rest of the world, particularly on the telecommunications carrier side.'

Mine sees the relationship as world leading and quite unique.

'The partnership has taught us so much about how to develop business practices, how to be a better partner to our carrier customers and, at the same time, how to help them reduce their operational costs,' she says.

'Telecom is acknowledged today as one of the most profitable carriers in the world,' she adds, saying that this is because of Telecom's ability to keep costs down.