However, ISP Association of New Zealand (ISPANZ) president and Ihug general manager of industry and regulatory affairs David Diprose says that with Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) interface costs on top, Telecom already charges too much for the backhaul. An overage charge should not be necessary Diprose says.

Telecom's use of ATM circuits for the backhaul was labelled as "from the dark ages" by one ISP. Dyhrberg refutes this statement and says ATM is used worldwide. He adds that CUBS was always based around it because the Commerce Commission specified ATM for its regulated service, which Telecom's commercial proxy is modelled upon.

Also, Dyhrberg says that Telecom offers faster circuits than 155Mbit/s such as a 622mbit/s one currently installed at Orcon for its CUBS traffic. Some providers want backhaul delivery over Ethernet instead of ATM, and Dyhrberg says this is on Telecom's roadmap and should be available early next year. It is not cheap and easy for Telecom to implement Ethernet however, as the DSL equipment is ATM specific and has to be replaced he says.

On the Shared Cost Network to Network Interfaces (NNIs) for its ATM circuits, Dyhrberg says Telecom has made them available to providers. However, providers haven't taken up the service, Dyhrberg says. He says providers have to be realistic and understand that the circuits won't come for free however.

Asked how the UBS negotiations are going, Dyhrberg says that some providers have already signed up. He won't say who they are or how many, but adds that they will not be disadvantaged for signing up early, should negotiations with other providers create improved terms. Dyhrberg also promised the plans would be available on April 2.