New Telstra CEO’s threat over prices

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 14-Oct-15

Telstra CEO Andy Penn says earnings could be reduced by up to $A80m in fiscal 2016 due to an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission ruling that its wholesale prices should be cut by 9.4 per cent. Penn has also warned that the telco may be forced to reduce its investment in telecommunications infrastructure as a result of the decision. Meanwhile, more than 11 per cent of votes cast at Telstra’s AGM rejected the remuneration report, compared with less than two per cent in 2014.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES AND SECURITIES COMMISSION, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, OVUM RESEARCH, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Amaysim pushes for 1m subscribers

Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Oct-15

Australian-listed mobile telephone reseller Amaysim currently boasts 718,000 mobile subscribers, but it aims to lift this to one million in the next four years. However, it had originally aimed to achieve this by 2015. The telco also believes that its customer support systems are robust enough to handle about two million subscribers. Amaysim is also expected to diversify its operations in coming years by expanding into electricity and gas retailing.

CORPORATES
AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SIMYO GMBH, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KOGAN MOBILE PTY LTD, ISPONE PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED

Vocus and M2 merger to create $3b titan

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

Cricket Live app in Optus digital rights deal

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 28-Sep-15

Cricket Australia has declined to comment on speculation that it is set to secure a deal with Optus regarding digital broadcasting rights, saying only that it is in talks with the telco. The deal is expected to cover cricket matches that were played prior to Cricket Australia’s current TV rights deal with Nine Entertainment Company. It is also believed that Optus customers will have free access to the Cricket Live app. Optus flagged a greater push into sports broadcasts earlier in 2015.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, APPLE INCORPORATED, BT SPORTS

NBN rival TPG Telecom not backing down

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

Teoh works his magic quietly

Original article by Anne Hyland
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 22-Sep-15

Australian-listed TPG Telecom is tipped to post 2014-15 earnings of around $A250m, compared with $A192m previously. TPG was founded by David Teoh and his wife Vicky, who hold a 37 per cent stake in the telco and ISP which started out as a single computer hardware store in Sydney and now boasts a market capitalisation of $A8.3bn. TPG has grown via mergers acquisitions in recent years, including SP Telemedia, Pipe Networks, AAPT and iiNet. However, Teoh maintains a low public profile and places much value on his privacy.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, SP TELEMEDIA LIMITED, PIPE NETWORKS LIMITED, AAPT LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Most mobile users choose quality or price – but some want it all

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Sep-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 41 per cent of Australians aged +14 who own a mobile phone chose their provider for its better network coverage, while 28 per cent say cheaper rates were a deciding factor. The survey, which was carried out between January and July 2015, also shows that eight per cent of all mobile phone owners say both were reasons for choosing their provider. Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says that by understanding the reasons customers choose them, telecom providers can monitor and forecast the impacts of advertising campaigns and product or plan changes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VIRGIN MOBILE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, ALDI MOBILE, BOOST MOBILE

Telstra hotspot device six times faster than NBN fibre offering

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

‘Netflix effect’ proves a drag on broadband

Original article by Mitchell Bingeman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 10-Sep-15

It is estimated that video content now comprises more than 50 per cent of all consumer traffic on Telstra’s fixed-line broadband network. The introduction of subscription video-on-demand services in particular has resulted in a sharp rise in Australian internet traffic, and now accounts for about 15 per cent of traffic on Telstra’s network. The so-called "Netflix effect" has prompted telcos to increase the capacity of their broadband networks.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, NBN CO LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED

Aussies using only their Mobile or Tablet to bank triples in 3 years

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that an estimated 1.1 million (5.8 per cent of) Australians use only their mobile phone or tablet to conduct banking activities in an average four week period. In three years, the number of Australians doing "mobile-only banking" has tripled. This means they do not use any other banking channel, such as website, branches, adviser/banker or the telephone, to deal with their bank. By June 2015, 33 per cent of Australians conducted internet banking using a mobile phone or tablet (app) in an average four week period. This has resulted in a group of people that only deal with their banks via a mobile or tablet. As assumed, younger generations take up digital channels at higher rates than older ones, with close to one out of ten people under 34 years old doing "mobile-only banking".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED