TPG Telecom Agrees A$1.17 Billion Regional Network Sharing With Optus

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--TPG Telecom will pay Optus about 1.17 billion Australian dollars (US$653.2 million) to use its rival's mobile infrastructure in regional Australia, turning to the Singapore Telecommunications-owned company after regulators blocked an earlier plan to share with Telstra.

TPG on Monday said that it would pay service fees of about A$1.59 billion to access Optus sites over the agreement's 11-year term, recouping about A$420 million in mobile spectrum receipts. The net outlay is about a third of the cost of building and maintaining its own regional network, TPG said.

TPG expects the arrangement to come into force in early 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

Australian competition regulators previously blocked TPG's plan to share regional mobile assets with Telstra, the country's largest communications provider. The country's consumer watchdog said that proposal would have probably lessened competition and lowered service standards.

Write to Stuart Condie at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-28-24 1928ET