Page 61 - SAMENA Trends - March-April 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Australia Greenlights Vocus' Takeover of TPG Telecom's Fibre, Fixed Assets

local players such as Superloop (SLC.AX), and Aussie Broadband
(ABB.AX). A spokesperson for Vocus said that the ACCC's
decision was a positive step, and TPG's complementary assets
will allow Vocus to drive competition into the sector. Analysts at
Sandstone Insights called the clearance a major turning point for
TPG, which resets its balance sheet. "With lower interest costs, a
declining opex profile and lower capex requirements, TPG is poised
for substantial free cash flow growth for the next 3-4 years," the
Macquarie-backed (MQG.AX), opens new tab fibre network Vocus analysts said. Shares in TPG gained 5% in Sydney, while those of
Group is closer to becoming one of Australia's largest owners of its biggest rival Telstra were up 0.9%. The deal remains subject
underground fibre infrastructure, as the competition regulator to Foreign Investment Review Board approval and U.S. regulatory
approved on Thursday its A$5.25 billion (about $3.3 billion) deal approvals, TPG said. The Australian watchdog's review focused on
with TPG Telecom (TPG.AX), opens new tab. Vocus and TPG, back how closely Vocus and TPG compete in the supply of data network
in October 2024, had agreed to a deal for the former to take over the and connectivity services, including fixed-line internet services, to
telecom operator's fibre and fixed network infrastructure assets, large enterprise and government customers, it said in a statement.
enabling Vocus to connect almost 20,000 buildings in Australia. The probe found that Vocus focuses on providing services to large
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enterprise and government clients while TPG concentrates on the
said the deal would not likely result in a substantial reduction of small and medium enterprise segment of the market. A Macquarie-
competition in any market. It said that Vocus would continue to managed infrastructure fund, alongside Aware Super, acquired
face major competition from firms — including Telstra (TLS.AX), Vocus in 2021, taking the company private and delisting it.
Singapore Telecommunications-owned (STEL.SI), Optus — and

Ofcom to Launch Improved UK Mobile Coverage Checker Later in 2025

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, informed ISPreview that they’ve a very local level. We are working hard to overhaul our mobile cov-
been “working hard to overhaul our mobile coverage checker” in erage checker, which we expect to relaunch later this year with new
order to better match people’s real-world experiences, particularly and improved data to better reflect what people can expect.” The
of modern 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) services, and intend to improved checker will use higher signal strength thresholds when
launch the result of all their work “later this year“. Ofcom’s existing presenting local predictions, while also providing clearer explana-
Mobile Coverage Checker is currently based on coverage predic- tions of the issues and the specific functions of the web-checker.
tions from the mobile network operators themselves (EE, Vodafone, Ofcom also intends to assess predicted signal strength informa-
Three UK and O2), which are generated using computer programs tion at a more granular level (50 or 25 square metres, instead of the
that simulate the way mobile signals travel from mobile masts and current 100 square metres) to determine if it is possible to reduce
are blocked by any obstructions such as hills, trees, and buildings. the local uncertainty to some extent. The regulator is also examin-
The existing coverage predictions are processed into a ‘100 metre ing the use of measured data, including crowdsource data, to build
by 100 metre’ grid matrix that covers the entire UK land mass, but on these coverage predictions. Finally, once the new checker has
this is a bit too big to get a good view of individual premises etc. launched, Ofcom will move to consider undertaking a larger scale
A spokesperson for Ofcom told ISPreview: “Our current coverage performance measurement programme to complement coverage
data comes from mobile network operators’ predictions, which we predictions and enhance their mobile reporting.
recognise may not always match people’s real-world experience at

61 MARCH-APRIL 2025