Slingshot (ISP)

Last updated

Slingshot Communications Limited
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Internet Service Provider
Telecommunications
Founded1996
Headquarters Auckland, New Zealand
Key people
Mark Callander (CEO)
Products Broadband
Dialup
Telephone
VoIP
Mobile phone
Parent 2degrees
Website slingshot.co.nz

Slingshot is the fourth largest telecommunications company in New Zealand. [1] It has an approximately 16% market share of the New Zealand fixed telephone landline and residential broadband market. [2] There are 300+ employees who all work in Auckland CBD.

Contents

History

Slingshot was founded in 1996 by Malcolm Dick and Annette Presley. [3] The company was established as part of the CallPlus group of companies to provide residential customers with internet and toll calling services.

In 2016, M2 Group and Vocus Communications merged, forming Vocus Group, and in July 2017 CallPlus was rebranded to Vocus Communications. [4] [5]

On 1 June 2022, Vocus Group merged with telecommunications company 2degrees. [6]

Activities

Products

Products & Services

Market Position

Slingshot is the third largest ISP in New Zealand. As of 2015, it has 16% of the residential market. [2]

Criticism

On 15 August 2008, Slingshot came under criticism from the public and the media about a problem with their web cache. The cache, set up to solve a known problem with YouTube, caused private information of customers to be shared among other customers. The error caused users logging into websites such as Gmail, Facebook, Bebo and TradeMe to be given access to the accounts of other Slingshot customers who were using those websites at the same time, instead of their own accounts. [18] Similar incidents occurred with Slingshot in September 2007 and May 2008 [19] [20]

In December 2013 Slingshot was fined $NZ 250,000 after it admitted transferring competitors' customers to its business without authority. Slingshot pleaded guilty to 50 charges under the New Zealand Fair Trading Act in the Auckland District Court and admitted it had transferred 27 customers' accounts from other ISPs to Slingshot without the customers' authority. [21]

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References

  1. "Deal near for sale of Slingshot, Orcon owner Vocus NZ". Stuff. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 "New Zealand ISP Market: Q3 2015". NZ Telco. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  3. "Vocus NZ enters energy market | Vocus Group". vocusgroup.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  4. Barwick, Hamish (28 September 2015). "?Vocus, M2 merger to create Australia's fourth-largest telco". Computerworld. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. Reichert, Corinne. "M2 shareholders approve Vocus merger". ZDNet. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. "Commission grants clearance for Vocus/2degrees merger". Commerce Commission. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  7. "Slingshot Global Mode".
  8. "Slingshot Rollover".
  9. "World Cup Free WiFi".
  10. "Slingshot shares top Broadband Provider 2009". The New Zealand Herald. 12 August 2009.
  11. "Slingshot Voted Best ISP at People's Choice Awards | Scoop News". scoop.co.nz (Press release). 11 May 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  12. "NOTICE SEEKING CLEARANCE FOR A BUSINESS ACQUISITION UNDER SECTION66 OF THE COMMERCE ACT 1986" (PDF). ComCom.
  13. "i4free/Slingshot Sue Telecom For $18 Million | Scoop News". scoop.co.nz (Press release). 22 February 2002. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  14. "Un-metering Online Content".
  15. Taylor, Josh (2 April 2015). "NZ media companies order ISPs to stop 'global mode' access: Lightbox, MediaWorks, SKY, and TVNZ have threatened to sue local ISPs and companies that allow customers to bypass geoblock restrictions on services such as Netflix". ZDNet . Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  16. "Global Mode dropped after legal action". Radio New Zealand . 24 June 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  17. Fowler, Nina (4 September 2015). "Life after Global Mode for streaming fans". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  18. "Internet glitch puts students' details on view". The New Zealand Herald. 15 August 2008.
  19. "TradeMe 'annoyed' over web glitch". New Zealand: Stuff. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  20. "Media Fetish: Slingshot update". Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  21. "Slingshot fined over dodgy transfers". The New Zealand Herald. 12 December 2013.