UPDATED: As the battle over regional Australia telecommunications heads to the courtroom after the ACCC rejected a TPG Telstra regional merger deal, Optus has confirmed they are now working closely with 50 of their regional dealers in a move that could see a major expansion of their products sold via an Optus retail location in rural Australia.
The cost of the acquisition has not been announced.
The move is set to “infuriate” Telstra and TPG, who were hoping they would gain approval for their proposed regional merger that would have seen TPG decommissioning 700 Vodafone mobile sites in order to use 3,700 Telstra mobile sites in a network sharing agreement across 4G and 5G networks in rural Australia, where Optus is now expanding their services.
It now appears Optus is seriously going after Telstra’s regional customer base after the Australian Competition rejected outright the proposed Telstra TPG Vodafone deal on the basic that it would create a monopoly.
Maurice Mccarthy, Optus’ Managing Director of Customer Success says, “Optus values the expertise, owner’s mindset and community leadership demonstrated by its retail partner network and seeks to maintain diversity of ownership across our distribution network.”
He added, “Optus is hugely appreciative of the role Network Communications has played in our distribution over the last 30 years and supports the current evolution in ownership. Optus will continue to expand its franchisee group over time to ensure we are providing the best service to Australians across the nation and so we are delivering on our vision to be Australia’s most loved every day brand with lasting customer relationships.”
ChannelNews has been told Optus is also set to invest even further in the expansion of their regional network, with stores also selling home connectivity solutions that will work across an Optus home hub 5G network allowing Matter-certified devices to be managed seamlessly across a 5G and 4G network.
Recently, Optus hired former Cellnet executive Quang Nguyen as the Director of Home and Smart Spaces Devices. The appointment was seen as a key appointment, with Optus looking to pick up a larger share of the connected home market.
Across regional Australia, and even in key cities such Port Macquarie, Telstra reception is poor, with 5G smartphones struggling to get over 10mps.
“The move to acquire their former franchise network of stores allows them to control the sell in narrative while expanding their range of products and accessories across regional Australia,” says one insider.
They add, “It gives them a lot more control and with the expansion of their network they have greatly increased their position in regional Australia up against both Telstra and Vodafone.
We are still waiting for a comment from Optus, and at this stage we do not know the cost of the acquisition of their former franchisees in regional Australia.”
In December, the competition watchdog struck down a plan for Telstra and TPG to share mobile networks in regional Australia, finding the arrangement would lessen competition in mobile telecommunications.
If the deal had gone ahead, it would have increased the reach of Vodafone’s mobile network in regional and remote parts of Australia – increasing coverage from 96% to 98.8% of the Australian population. Telstra would have also gained access to 169 TPG sites.
TPG told the ACCC that Optus missed its chance to do a similar deal with it, arguing the regulator should not accept arguments the deal would reduce Optus’ investment case in rural areas.