Analyst: Telstra Telecom takeover would benefit consumers

"I know that New Zealanders wouldn't like to hear this, but if New Zealand becomes another state of Telstra, that would make an enormous cost savings, 40 operations in New Zealand, and that would make, call it a new Telecom, owned by Telstra, far more competitive," telecom analyst Paul Budde, managing director of BuddeCom, said.

On the other hand, the news would not be nearly as good for Telecom's staff, approximately half of whom would be laid off in the transition, Budde said, predicting that the only way Telstra could achieve savings of 50 to 70 percent at Telecom over the next decade—"would translate directly into job cuts."

All this, of course, continues to be mere speculation until Telstra comments one way or another—something spokeswoman Nicole McKechnie declined to do.