Telstra partners with Hutchison on Next G network
By Ben Robinson on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 11:55 AM PST In Mobile Broadband, Telstra, Three
Australian operator Telstra has partnered with Hutchison, allowing H3G to use it’s Next G network, in areas where the smaller company does not own a network. The deal comes at a good time for Hutch, who posted a half-year loss of $85 mn, but have strong revenue growth and customer acquisitions.
The new arrangement will allow Hutchison, which is growing faster than Optus and No3 mobile group Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), to compete for customers in 96 per cent of the country by the second quarter of next year. Hutchison will also build its own network to another 4 per cent of the country, taking its coverage to 60 per cent of the Australian population.
It’s understood that there is a strategic element here, with Telstra freezing out Optus, in a deal worth more than $120 mn per year. Certainly the difference in coverage between the operators is closed right up now. The Next G network apparently can burst up to 14.4Mbps, and covers a 2 mn square km area.
[Via: theaustralian.news.com.au]
