TELECOMMUNICATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Optus to hang up on Virgin Mobile

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-May-18

Optus has confirmed that it will discontinue the Virgin Mobile brand in Australia, as part of its strategy to reduce costs. The decision to scrap the brand will result in the closure of about 36 stores and the loss of 200 jobs. Meanwhile, the Federal Court has ordered Optus to pay a $A1.5m fine after it falsely advised broadband customers that they had just 30 days rather than up to 18 months to switch to the NBN when it became available in their area.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VIRGIN MOBILE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, VIRGIN MOBILE HOLDINGS (UK) PLC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, THE KANTAR GROUP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Optus moves to secure Champions League

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 21-May-18

Optus is keen to acquire the Australian broadcasting rights to more overseas soccer competitions, after recently renewing its English Premier League deal. Optus CEO Allen Lew says Optus aims to be the local broadcaster of elite football, and he has signalled its interest in gaining the local rights to UEFA’s Champions League. Optus and Telstra are increasing their focus on content as a means of attracting and retaining customers, amid growing competition in the mobile telephone market.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, UNION EUROPEENNE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, WORLD CUP, BEIN SPORTS AUSTRALIA, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED

Telstra kicks another goal with FFA rights

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 21 : 11-May-18

Telstra will have exclusive mobile streaming rights to local soccer matches under a five-year deal with Football Federation Australia. Telstra’s mobile customers will be able to watch FFA matches without incurring any data usage fees via the My Football Live app. The app will feature targeted advertising, but Telstra’s head of marketing Joe Pollard says sponsorships will be the primary source of revenue from the app.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TWITTER INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Optus subscriber growth powered by EPL coverage

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-May-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that 20.9% of Australians aged 14+ used Optus as their main mobile phone service provider in the year to March 2018, compared with 19.8% in the year to March 2015. The number of Optus subscribers who watch the English Premier League either regularly or occasionally on TV has risen from 19.8% to 23.8% over this period. Meanwhile, 12.2% of Australians now use Optus as their fixed broadband service provider, up from 9.3% three years ago, while 15.5 % of Australians who watch the English Premier League either regularly or occasionally now use Optus fixed broadband, up from 10.8% three years ago. Optus signed a three-year broadcast deal for the Australian rights to the English Premier League in late 2015 for $A63 million per year, and it recently renewed the deal for a further three years.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Optus to hang up on Virgin Mobile

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Apr-18

It is understood that Optus is planning to close down its Virgin Mobile unit, with all of its users to be transferred to Optus. Optus holds the Virgin Mobile licence until 2021, and closing it down will mean it will not have to pay any more licensing fees. Virgin Mobile was formed as a joint venture between Optus and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile in 2000, with Optus assuming control of Virgin Mobile’s stake in 2006. Virgin Mobile’s market share declined from 5.4 per cent to 4.4 per cent in the year to June 2017.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VIRGIN MOBILE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, VIRGIN MOBILE HOLDINGS (UK) PLC

Buyers firming up for next round of bids for Vocus NZ operation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Mar-18

Vocus Group appears on target to complete the sale of its New Zealand business by the end of the 2017-18 financial year. Trust Power and 2degrees are known to have made the next stage of the bidding process, but it is understood that other parties have also done so. Vocus has indicated that it is seeking between $A500 million and $A600 million for its New Zealand unit, which generated revenue of $NZ342 million ($A315 million) for the year to 30 June 2017.

CORPORATES
VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, TRUST POWER LIMITED, 2 DEGREES MOBILE LIMITED, TRILOGY INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, STUFF.CO.NZ, SPARK NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX SPK, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Telstra boss says 5G can kick-start telco sector earnings

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Feb-18

Telstra has advised that that its net profit for the first half of 2017-18 was down 4.9 per cent to $A1.7 billion, while total revenue increased by 5.9 per cent to $A14.51 billion. CEO Andy Penn says the global telecommunications sector is going through a period of cyclical change. Customers are seeking to extract more value and data from their plans, while telcos’ margins are under pressure. However, Penn is optimistic that the introduction of 5G services will help to revive growth in the sector.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Telstra plans to market 5G from 2019

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 5-Feb-18

Telstra is intending to run 5G trials during the upcoming Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, with the intention of offering full 5G services in 2019. Rival telco Optus had announced on 2 February that it intends to start offering 5G services in 2019. Meanwhile, telecommunications Paul Budde says 5G represents a threat to the NBN when it comes to those internet users that purchase the more basic user packages, although NBN spokesperson Tony Brown does not believe this is the case.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, NBN CO LIMITED, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

NBN ready to pull plug on a million phones

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Jan-18

NBNCo has advised that more than 926,000 premises will be disconnected from their existing telephone network in the first half of 2018, having been connected to the National Broadband Network. A spokesman for NBNCo says homes and businesses are given plenty of warning regarding their upcoming disconnection, with up to five letters being sent to them. These letters are in addition to any advice given to them by their telecommunications provider. The rollout of the National Broadband Network is expected to be completed in 2020.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

NBN compo for 60,000 homes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Dec-17

TPG Telecom has agreed to compensate nearly 8,000 customers whose NBN internet access speeds did not match those advertised by the telco. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says the limitations of fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology means that many customers were unlikely to get the speeds that had been advertised. Telstra and Optus had previously agreed to compensate customers using FTTN, and the ACCC expects that other telcos will do so as well.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, EXETEL PTY LTD