odafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom have forged a...

odafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom have forged a billion dollar partnership, which will see TPG’s mobile customer base move to Vodafone’s network and the mobile operator gain access to fixed infrastructure.
Under the terms of the two commercial agreements, TPG will provide dark fibre and network services to more than 3000 Vodafone Australia sites over a 15-year term.
The process will see TPG extend its current fibre infrastructure by constructing about 4000km of new fibre to Vodafone cell sites across the country.
Meanwhile, TPG will also migrate its mobile wholesale customer base to the Vodafone network, with the migration touted as one of the largest-ever Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) arrangements in the local industry.
The partnership is a significant step for both companies at a time when the industry is undergoing another bout of consolidation, with M2 Group and Vocus Communications announcing a $3 billion merger this week.
Vodafone chief executive officer, Inaki Berroeta, said that the transmission deal was a game changer for the operator’s mobile network that has been steadily bulking up its reach and capacity.
“Dark fibre is about preparing Vodafone for the future,” he said.
“It is the next step in our network evolution and builds on our multi-billion dollar network investment in recent years to further enhance the customer experience.”
For TPG Telecom, which has started the process of absorbing it latest acquisition iiNet, the partnership provides a vital boost to its ambitions of becoming a full-fledged integrated telco, especially when it comes to mobile services. The partner could potentially be seen as a precursor for an official merger of the two telcos.
This dark fibre agreement extends the existing relationship between the two companies, with TPG having already delivered 900km of fibre for VHA sites between FY11 and FY13.
“The companies are already working extremely well together, and the end result will be a network that will enable Vodafone to continue to deliver a premium service long into the future, without the capacity limitations of legacy technologies,” TPG Telecom chief executive officer David Teoh said.
“This is an exciting opportunity to apply our proven capability in delivering dark fibre services to Vodafone using our own fibre infrastructure across the country.”