J58 Telecommunications Services

Vocus and M2 merger to create $3b titan

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 29-Sep-15

Geoff Horth will become CEO of the merged M2 Group and Vocus Communications, which will rank as the fourth-biggest telco in Australia and the third-largest in New Zealand. Horth is currently CEO of M2, whose board has endorsed the $A3bn merger proposal. M2 owns the Dodo and iPrimus brands, which may allow Vocus to revive its plan to build its own fibre-to-basement service for apartment buildings. The merger is subject to approval by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

CORPORATES
M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NBN CO LIMITED, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, COMMANDER COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, AAPT LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

NBN rival TPG Telecom not backing down

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Sep-15

Australian-listed TPG Telecom has posted 2014-15 EBITDA of $A484.5m, which is 33 per cent higher than usual. Revenue rose by 31 per cent in the year to 31 July 2015, to $A1.27bn, while net profit also grew by 31 per cent. Meanwhile, executive chairman David Teoh says the group will keep rolling out its fibre-to-the-basement network to apartment buildings, and it may market the service under its TPG and iiNet brands. TPG intends to discontinue some of its smaller ISP brands.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, NBN CO LIMITED, INTERNODE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, WESTNET PTY LTD, NETSPACE, ADAM INTERNET PTY LTD, TRANSACT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, NEXTGEN PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL

Telstra hotspot device six times faster than NBN fibre offering

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 17-Sep-15

Telstra will launch its WiFi 4GX Advanced III mobile broadband hotspot technology on 29 September 2015. A demonstration of the technology on 16 September showed that it was able to deliver a download speed of 500Mbps and an upload rate of 40Mpbs. Telstra says the technology can potentially achieve download speeds of up to 600Mbps. In contrast, the download speed for the fibre-to-the-node technology to be used by the national broadband network is estimated to be 100Mbps.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETGEAR

NBN cost rise no surprise to Thodey, further increase not expected

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 1-Sep-15

Former Telstra CEO David Thodey expects the latest blowout in the cost of the national broadband network will be the last as NBN Co develops a firm understanding of its challenges. It was not unusual to confront large increases in technology projects, said Thodey, who negotiated the sale of Telstra assets to NBN Co. The latest figure of $A56 billion is up $A15 billion on earlier estimates.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OVUM RESEARCH

NBN must find $26.5b to fund cost increases

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Aug-15

NBN has revealed a 36.6 per cent blowout in costs to $A56 billion, up from the $A41 billion previously forecast for the national broadband rollout. As the government’s funding cap of $A29.5 billion has not increased, NBN will have to raise up to $A26.5 billion from other sources.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, DODO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRIMUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ACCC gives tick to TPG’s iiNet takeover

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 21-Aug-15

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved TPG Telecom’s takeover of iiNet. TPG will now become Australia’s second biggest provider of fixed-line broadband with 1.7 million customers, compared with 3.1 million for Telstra and one million for Optus.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES AND SECURITIES COMMISSION, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, DODO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, NBN CO LIMITED

Optus mobile subscriber base hit by competition

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 14-Aug-15

Singtel-Optus has vowed to take the fight to Telstra in its bid to win an increased share of the mobile phone market. As it pursues the most lucrative sector of the market, Optus says it is already spending more per customer than its big rival. Optus net profit was $A196 million in the three months to 30 June 2015. Operating revenue rose 13 per cent to $A1.9 billion.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Optus mobile subscriber base hit by competition

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 14-Aug-15

Singtel-Optus has vowed to take the fight to Telstra in its bid to win an increased share of the mobile phone market. As it pursues the most lucrative sector of the market, Optus says it is already spending more per customer than its big rival. Optus net profit was $A196 million in the three months to 30 June 2015. Operating revenue rose 13 per cent to $A1.9 billion.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

iiNet founder Malone yields to TPG Telecom

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Original article by Tess Ingram, David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 28-Jul-15

Some 95 per cent of votes cast at a meeting of iiNet shareholders on 27 July 2015 were in favour of TPG Telecom’s $A1.56bn takeover bid. Michael Malone says the suitor is paying a good price for the ISP he founded in 1993. Malone had rejected TPG’s first cash-only bid, and says iiNet directors had done well to gain a better deal for shareholders. The takeover will make TPG the second-largest broadband provider in Australia, with about 1.7 million customers.

CORPORATES
IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MERLON CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Telstra tells Airbnb tagline doesn’t ‘Belong’ here

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 21-Jul-15

Telstra launched a budget broadband provider called Belong in October 2013. The telco is now challenging Airbnb’s use of its "Belong Anywhere" global marketing slogan in Australia. Airbnb was granted a trademark for the tagline in October 2014, but this was subsequently challenged by Telstra. It has also disputed Vodafone Australia’s use of the "Ready Business" trademark for some of its products.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, ADDISONS COMMERCIAL LAWYERS, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA