Optus overview
If you live in Australia, then it’s more than likely that you’re familiar with Optus. The telco is the second largest in the country, boasting of over 10 million subscribers for services ranging from mobile SIM plans to home Internet, TV entertainment packages, and more. After over 30 years of “YES” Optus is still finding ways to provide Australians with innovative options that customers love.
Over the past couple of years, Optus has been in the news for several unique offerings. For instance, their partnership with Uber for same day delivery of products, their 5G roll out, Optus Sport platform, and many more. They have recorded the fastest 5G speeds in the country, and Optus Sport has become the go-to platform for live football matches. The telco even has the naming rights to Perth Stadium, widely known as Optus Stadium.
With the rollout of 5G in all capital cities, Optus currently has sites covering more than one million households across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and Brisbane. Having recently been awarded additional 900 MHz band spectrum, its efforts are now focused on providing exceptional regional 5G coverage.
But while Optus’ popularity continues to grow, many Australians might not be aware of the telco’s history and ownership. If you’re interested in becoming an Optus customer (or if you already are), then knowledge of its background should be of interest. In this post, we’ll tell you all about Australia’s second largest telco. Read on to find out.
Optus history
The Australian government formed AUSSAT in 1981, the country’s first national satellite system. Their satellites were used for a range of services including television as well as military and civilian communication.
The government later sold AUSSAT to Optus Communications along with a telecommunications license after recording losses. Acquiring AUSSAT meant Optus became Australia’s first non-Government satellite operator, establishing its legacy as a market disruptor. Optus Communications, at the time, was a consortium of companies which included Mayne Nickless (a logistic company), a United Kingdom’s telco called Cable & Wireless, a United States telco called Bellsouth, and others. Optus was designed to create competition, providing an alternative to the government owned Telecom Australia, now known as Telstra.
By 1991 Optus was well on its way, gaining its second general carrier license. After becoming privatised, the telco became Telstra’s rival , focusing on cheaper long-distance call offers. Officially announcing its commercial operations on 29 January 1992. More than 50, 000 customers signed up in its first year. However, in those early days, Optus had to use Telstra’s local network to offer domestic and long-distance calls. The telco later built Australia’s first hybrid fibre-coaxial network, eliminating the need to rely on Telstra. By 1996, one million mobile customers had joined Optus.
In 1997, Cable & Wireless bought out Bellsouth’s stake in the Optus Communications consortium and changed the name to Cable & Wireless Optus Pty Limited in 1998, when the telco was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. However, in 2001, Singapore based company Singtel successfully took over the telco and changed its name to Singtel Optus Pty Limited. As a result, Optus is now a subsidiary of Singtel.
Since 2000, Optus has made a series of takeovers, including UEComm in 2004, Alphawest Ltd. in 2005, Virgin
Mobile Australia in 2006, Ensyst in 2014, and amaysim, Australia’s Largest Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), in 2021. With these acquisitions, the telco’s businesses were growing. Now, Optus focuses on four business sectors: mobile, wholesale, enterprise & business, and consumer & multimedia.
Optus ownership
Optus is owned by Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications Limited), which is one of the four major telcos in Singapore. In 2020, the telco appointed Kelly Bayer Rosmarin as CEO, ushering in some radical shifts in strategy, including an increased focus on digital options and the Optus Living Network, a suite of features which customers can use via their My Optus App. Under Bayer Rosmarin’s leadership, Optus has also acquired amaysim, the country’s largest mobile virtual network operator and fourth largest mobile retailer.
Effective July 2022, Singtel Group made the decision to hand back the management of Optus Enterprise, the business-to-business (B2B) arm, to the Australian-based Optus team. Now a division within the Australian company, known as Optus Enterprise Business.
Optus future
There are several areas which Optus can focus on to drive future growth, but we believe that the telco’s 5G network and Optus Sport platform are key drivers, as well as its mobile towers. The company has also recently entered into the streaming subscriptions market with the launch of Optus SubHub, and the connected device market, with Optus Smart Spaces.
Optus launched its commercial 5G network in 2019 through its expressions of interest campaign, which saw select customers test out its fixed home wireless 5G plan. Since then, the telco has continued to roll out its mobile 5G network, which has recorded the fastest speeds in Australia.
But while Optus’ 5G rollout is moving at a good pace, the telco is facing increasing competition from Telstra and TPG Telecom (Vodafone). Both of those telcos have made strides in 5G coverage, with Telstra’s 5G network covering over 75 per cent of the entire population, and Vodafone covering 85 per cent of the population across 10 cities. To remain relevant in the 5G race, Optus future will likely focus largely on closing the 5G gap and, perhaps, making an attempt to take the lead.
Optus has also seen some major success in its entertainment platform Optus Sport, which is on its way to becoming a staple for football fans. Optus Sport owns rights to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League, European Qualifiers, Football Association Women’s Super League (WSL), and Japan’s J League.
Optus Sport recently extended their contract with the English Premiere League (EPL), keeping them as the only platform to broadcast EPL live matches until 2028.
Optus Sport, launched in 2016, is a significant pillar for Optus. The platform gained over 700,000 subscriptions in 2018, and the telco claims those numbers have more than doubled. Optus Sport enhanced the availability of sports content and distribution technology in Australia, spurring incumbents to react with improvements to their own content and fees. Optus will need to maintain its growth and stronghold in the football space in the future to capitalize on Optus Sport’s full potential.
Finally, after Optus announced its plans to sell its mobile towers Telstra followed suit. Selling 49 percent of Infraco Towers, its mobile tower holdings. Telstra’s sale might have made it difficult for Optus to get maximum offers, but the telco still followed through with its decision. In 2021 Singtel announced its agreement with AustralianSuper to sell them a 70% stake in Australia Tower Network (ATN), a wholly owned subsidiary which operates Optus’ passive telecommunications tower infrastructure. This enhanced cash flow and balance sheet flexibility, resulting in the acceleration of Optus’ rollout of Australia’s fastest 5G experience, the Optus Living Network and other growth initiatives.
Conclusion
Although Optus is owned by Singtel, Optus management and decisions are made right here in Australia. Ensuring Optus’ direction and strategy remain close to its Australian market has benefited Singtel, whose results regularly demonstrate Optus as the jewel in its portfolio. . Singtel has doubled down on its approach with its decision to decentralise its B2B arm gives Optus greater autonomy, with better agility to respond to the local market.
Optus does provide competitive tension on the incumbent which benefits not only its own customers, but all consumers, as both the network operators and MVNOs lift their own value and offerings.