Looks like Telecom New Zealand was fully prepared to fold like a bad poker hand the moment Vodafone put on the pressure, because they've quickly agreed to delay the launch of their shiny new HSPA network with the thread of legal action looming. The so-called XT network will no longer be lighting up May 13 as promised; instead, they'll be looking to launch it toward the end of the month as Telecom resolves "technical issues" that are threatening to interfere with Voda's preexisting airwaves. At the end of the day, we think this probably works out best for Vodafone customers, Telecom customers, and those darling little kiwis (the birds, not the people) -- so hang tight; you'll all be blazing along on your Samsung F480s soon enough.

[Thanks, Steve L. and Aarun]

For our money, good, juicy carrier drama is better than an Emmy-caliber telenovela -- and there's a doozy brewing in Kiwi country where operator Telecom New Zealand is planning to light up its shiny new 3G network come next Wednesday. Vodafone claims that Telecom's new cells are wreaking havoc with its own network thanks to spurious radiation interfering with Voda's allotted spectrum. It gets better, though: the carrier goes on to claim that Telecom knew this was going to be the problem -- the government had apparently warned them -- and rushed to move up the launch date so that its competitors wouldn't have a chance to complain until it was too late. According to Voda's altruistic filing, the main concern is that emergency responders are dropping calls, and because its network is used so heavily for emergency services, it's a major cause for concern. At any rate, it's not trying to can Telecom's network -- just force 'em to install filters that will put a stop to the rogue signals. Seems fair enough, but in the meantime, the planned May 13 launch is in limbo.

It's not terribly often that a carrier beats a planned launch date for a major product -- let alone an entire new network -- so Telecom New Zealand's XT has already earned a special place in our hearts. Originally settling on a June go-live window, Telecom has now bumped up the date to May 13 midway through a NZ$574 million (about $325.5 million) investment to build out 3G services, which includes face time by Top Gear personality Richard Hammond (pictured) -- though they must be pretty far along in that investment effort, considering the CEO's claim that the entire country will be live on day one. Launch devices will include Samsung's venerable F480, paired up with planned July availability for the 8.1 megapixel W995 from Sony Ericsson. Look out, Vodafone -- these guys look like they mean business.

[Thanks, Ray]