Telco Transformation

Transforming Telecommunications: Delivering a Regulatory Separation for a Major ClientBetween 2010 and 2014, New Zealand’s telecommunications landscape underwent a transformative change as a major telecommunications provider completed a regulatory separation. This separation mandated the creation of a new, independent entity to serve as the country’s fibre broadband provider. The process required a comprehensive overhaul of infrastructure, systems, and processes to meet regulatory requirements. As Project Manager, I, Bret Duffield, led this highly complex, multi-year transformation, ensuring the successful establishment of the new organisation as a vital player in the nation’s broadband future.

The Scope: Building an Independent Fibre Broadband Provider

The scope of this transformation was vast. The project entailed:

  • Developing a new wholesale and provisioning application layer.
  • Building an integrated data layer.
  • Designing and deploying a frontend ordering system.
    All systems were hosted on VMware Cloud and supported by a private data centre infrastructure. My role was to manage the end-to-end delivery of this infrastructure, ensuring the new entity could operate independently in a competitive telecommunications environment.

Key Achievements

Delivering this transformation required precise coordination, strategic leadership, and the ability to navigate both technical and regulatory challenges. Key milestones included:

  • Scaling the Project Team: I expanded the team from 10 members to over 75, enabling us to address the complexities of infrastructure, software, data integration, and operational readiness.
  • Integrated Delivery Management: I led the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) team, ensuring seamless integration across development, testing, and deployment phases.
  • Budget and Resource Oversight: Managing a $25M annual budget and an additional $5-10M for hosting, I ensured resources were allocated efficiently, delivering results on time and within budget.
  • Structured Delivery Framework: The project was delivered in 6-month phases over a two-year period, followed by an operational delivery and continuous improvement programme to ensure long-term success.

Navigating Regulatory Challenges

The separation was driven by regulatory requirements, demanding the establishment of a neutral broadband provider to serve wholesale and retail customers across New Zealand. My focus was on ensuring the smooth transition of infrastructure and processes to enable the new organisation to meet its compliance obligations while maintaining service quality.

The Outcome: A New Era for Telecommunications

The successful execution of this project positioned the newly independent fibre broadband provider as a key player in New Zealand’s telecommunications sector. By fostering collaboration, scaling delivery capacity, and aligning operational goals with regulatory timelines, I ensured the transformation was delivered smoothly and effectively, setting the foundation for the client’s future success.If your organisation is navigating similar large-scale infrastructure or regulatory challenges, I’d be delighted to share how my experience can help deliver your next transformation. Let’s discuss how to achieve seamless, impactful results together.