Having already built their own DSLAMs and taken on the NBN by wiring up offices and buildings directly with fibre, TPG this morning announced they were taking on a new front: the mobile network.
There were already indications last year that TPG would be building its own 4G mobile network, moving away from piggybacking off larger carriers like Optus. And in today’s ASX announcement, that’s precisely what TPG confirmed.
The cost for the network would be in two parts: $600 million over three years to cover 80% of Australia with a 4G network, and $1.26 billion to the Federal Government over three years for the 700 MHz spectrum. The license for the spectrum begins from April 1 next year, and runs until December 31 2029.
Part of the pitch is that TPG will be able to offer bundled mobile services to the millions of Australians already getting broadband through the company. The construction of TPG’s fibre network will also provide useful backhaul capacity for the mobile network.
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