Third-ranked telephone company AAPT plans to increase its range of telephony services and focus on cross-selling in the new year. The decision comes after a three-month restructure in which the company has shied away from the so-called "silo-based" approach once favoured by many telecommunications companies.

AAPT chief executive Jon Stretch said he felt he had achieved most of the management and structural changes he set out to make when he joined the group four months ago. As well as appointing several key executives, Mr Stretch has merged AAPT's small and big business divisions and is combining Telecom New Zealand's large business division TCNZA with AAPT's corporate operations.