TelstraClear's mobile plans - work it out!

So TelstraClear's not bluffing on building a mobile network, despite analysts claiming it would be a financial disaster. All Allan Freeth has been prepared to say is the business case is viable and "It won't be conventional mobile", which so far has been interpreted to mean that TelstraClear would piggyback on Vodafone's network using the 10% rule. However this would still require an expensive buildout and years of gaining approval for cell towers.

But there's another way for TelstraClear to leap the 10% hurdle. Another company already has enough cell sites to cover 700,000 Aucklanders - that's nearly a sixth of NZ's population for starters. What's more, they're haemorrhaging money despite recent promising initiatives.

I reckon the business case is on ice, waiting for Woosh's backers to finally admit defeat. At which point the deeper-pocketed TelstraClear could swoop. Cell sites, a highly competitive voice service and the interconnect agreement are up for grabs.