The biggest telco stories of 2018

2018 was an impactful year for Australia's telcos, with a number of lawsuits, fines, network outages and mass layoffs gracing CRN headlines.

A couple of telcos also entered into a couple of mergers and acquisitions as the so-called "price war" remains hot.

CRN compiled the major telco stories that came out in 2018, featuring both big players like Telstra and Optus, as well as smaller players.

Click the navigation arrows on each photo or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through our list.

iiNet and Internode are the latest telcos to refund customers for slow NBN

March

iiNet and Internode agreed to compensate customers who could not reach the internet speeds on the NBN they were advertised.

The two ISPs, which are both owned by TPG, compensated a combined 11,000 customers that purchased the highest speed plans advertised of 100Mbps.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found that 7621 customers, or 64 percent, on iiNet's 100Mbps plan via fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) could not reach those speeds. Out of that, 2000 of those customers couldn't reach the next speed tier down of 50Mbps.

Read more in the original story.

Vocus Communications fails to offload New Zealand business

April

Vocus Communications pulled the pin on a sale of its New Zealand business after it failed to find a suitable buyer following a seven-month sales process.

The telco said that although it received multiple offers, none of them had “appropriately reflected” the “fundamental and strategic” value of the New Zealand business, nor the certainty of funding and execution.

“Vocus NZ is an excellent business with strong leadership, an attractive growth profile, a clear competitive position and a track record of delivering solid returns on capital,” Vocus chairman Bob Mansfield said.

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Kogan opens home broadband business with NBN plans from Vodafone

April

Kogan launched its home broadband business in April, revealing its first three NBN plans resold from Vodafone.

The company best known as an online retailer revealed plans to launch Kogan Internet last year, with Vodafone providing the network and customer support.

Kogan started with three broadband plans which all include unlimited data and a $69 upfront charge for a modem. The first plan costs $58.90 per month and uses NBN 12 services, with maximum download speeds of 12Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps.

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Optus takes down job ad seeking "Anglo Saxon" applicants

April

Optus launched an investigation into how a job advertisement seeking "Anglo Saxon" applicants at one of its stores was posted online.

The ad stated that "candidates who are Anglo Saxon and live near to Neutral Bay" would be preferred for the retail assistant position at one of Optus' retail stores.

The ad was sent to the telco on Twitter, and was swiftly removed. Optus said at the time that it would investigate how the incident occurred and  look to take disciplinary action as a result.

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Telstra takes Optus to court over "Empires end" advertising campaign

May

Telstra took rival Optus to court over its "Empires end" advertising campaign, which spruiked the results of a mobile network benchmark showing Optus was the leader in voice and Telstra was the leader in data performance in Australia.

Telstra at first was granted the injunction on 17 May and was given the go-ahead to proceed with the lawsuit, but the courts eventually sided with Optus on 30 May.

“Telstra has failed to establish that Optus has engaged in conduct that is misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive, in contravention of [the Australian Consumer Law]; or that Optus has made false or misleading representations as to its services,” the ruling said.

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Optus takes Telstra to court over unlimited data advertisements

May

Optus took Telstra to court over an ad campaign featuring Telstra’s unlimited data plans, accusing its rival of misleading conduct.

Optus took issue on the wording used in the campaign, specifically “One word from Australia’s best mobile network. Unlimited.”, claiming that there was no qualification or explanation accompanying it.

The Federal Court of Australia ruled in favour of Optus four days later, saying the advertisements were misleading.

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Optus fined $1.5 million over NBN migrations

May

The Federal Court handed down a $1.5 million fine to Optus for making misleading representations to customers about their transition to the NBN from its Optus HFC network.

The ACCC filed court proceedings against Optus to court in December last year. It accused the telco of misleading its customers by writing to them between October 2015 and March 2017 and advising it would disconnect their HFC service within a specified time period as the NBN would soon be available in their area.

The ACCC said the timeframes set out by Optus were earlier than the telco was contractually allowed to cancel services. Optus was also accused of wrongly telling customers they had to sign up to Optus’ NBN services, when they could have chosen any ISP.

Read more in the original story.

Virgin Mobile to shut down in Australia, with up to 200 jobs at stake

May

Optus pulled the plug on its Virgin Mobile brand, closing 36 stores and putting up to 200 jobs at risk across Australia.

A spokesperson from Optus told CRN that affected customers would be contacted about the changes and their options. The Virgin Mobile brand is set to be phased out over the next two years.

Optus said the retail outlets would begin closing from 4 June until 30 June and it would also stop connecting new services on 15 June.

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Telstra to axe at least 8000 jobs, reorganise management in major overhaul

June

Telstra announced cuts of at least 8000 employees and contractors from its payroll, and slash between two and four layers of management.

The cuts are part of a three-year strategy called Telstra2022, which seeks to simplify the telco's structure, reduce costs, improve customer experience and turn the carrier around following its continued disappointing financial performance.

Through the cuts, Telstra expects to add an extra $1 billion into its previously announced target of $1.5 billion to see its “productivity program” hit $2.5 billion by financial year 2022.

The telco also plans to scrap all 1800 of its mobile plans and replace them with 20. The infastructure business will be spun out as InfraCo, which Telstra said could pave the way for a possible demerger in the future.

Read more in the original story.

Macquarie Telecom forges new $100 million deal with NBN Co for direct wholesale access

June

Macquarie Telecom launched a new enterprise-grade NBN service to take on the "the big four" telcos after forging a new deal with the network builder worth more than $100 million.

MacTel launched 'Business-class NBN by Macquarie Telecom', which includes a full suite of voice, internet, data and SD-WAN products that will be available to businesses across the country for new and existing customers.

MacTel expects billing for the new service to start in the second quarter of the 2019 financial year.

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Optus to cut 840 jobs

August

Optus in August announced cuts of at least 440 roles, in an effort to “improve operating efficiency” as it looks to embrace “next-generation technologies,” including digitisation and automation.

The fresh round of job cuts are in addition to the announcement in May, when Optus said it would cut some 400 roles as part of a restructure aimed to assist the telco operate in an "increasingly competitive and disruptive market".

A spokesperson confirmed the cuts to CRN, saying certain roles will be impacted, including the 440 that will be made redundant.

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TPG, Vodafone Australia to merge in bid to compete against Telstra, Optus

August

TPG and Vodafone Australia agreed to merge in 2019 and create a $15 billion competitor to market leaders Telstra and Optus.

The “merger of equals” will create a company with more than 27,000km of fibre networks and 5000 sites, at least 8 million subscribers across Australia. The combined group will be renamed TPG Telecom Limited.

TPG chairman and chief executive David Teoh will be chairman of the merged group, while Vodafone boss Iñaki Berroeta will be chief executive and managing director.

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Telstra failed to connect 1400 Triple Zero calls: ACMA

October

Some 1433 calls to Triple Zero failed to reach operators in May due to service disruptions with Telstra’s network, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

The telco was given a court-enforceable undertaking in response to the findings, with Telstra committing to improve the redundancy and diversity of its network, developing new communication protocols to be used in the event of another disruption and benchmarking its systems against international best practice.

Telstra said the disruption was due to the combined impact of three separate network issues, specifically a hardware fault, fire damage to a main inter-capital fibre cable, as well as a software fault.

Read more in the original story.

Telstra shareholders vote down executive pay

October

Nearly two thirds of Telstra's shareholders voted down the company's executive pay package in frustration over its crumbling share price and dwindling dividends.

During Telstra's annual general meeting in October, 62 percent of votes were against the company's remuneration package, which rewards executives with bonuses based on the telco's performance.

Telstra received a first strike as a result, which occurs when at least 25 percent of shareholders vote against a remuneration package. If Telstra receives another strike next year, it could force the company's board of directors to stand for re-election.

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Optus, Telstra, TPG publish peering criteria for interested ISPs

October

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission welcomed Optus, Telstra and TPG publishing their criteria for other ISPs wishing to enter into a peering arrangement with them.

The commission said these moves will boost competition in the supply of internet connectivity and hosted services to corporate and government customers.

The ACCC also revealed that Telstra had entered a peering relationship with Vocus.

Read more in the original story.

Amaysim exits broadband market after 18 months

October

Amaysim left the fixed line broadband market after 18 months, blaming high wholesale costs and increased competition.

The telco sold its customer base to regional telco specialist Southern Phone for $3 million, which will be migrated to the new platform next month.

As a result of the sale, Amaysim is expecting a non-cash impairment of approximately $7 million and will write down the carrying value of its broadband assets to zero.

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Telstra fault takes down Eftpos and ATMs

November

A nationwide Telstra network outage in November left merchants unable to use their electronic funds transfer terminals for sales transactions, and bank customers unable to withdraw cash from automated teller machines.

Telstra Enterprise said on social media that the fault is within its machine-to-machine (M2M) data services network, with EFTPOS terminals and ATMs being affected.

Telstra Enterprise later said the telco's engineers were re-establishing connectivity for the M2M network.

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Telcos fail ACMA's complaint-handling audit

November

The Australian Communications and Media Authority said telcos failed to adhere to a new complaints-handling standard it handed down in July.

The watchdog said in a quarterly report that none of the 41 telcos that were audited from July to September provided consumers required information; specifically, they did not clearly set out minimum complaints-handling requirements and processes.

ACMA said the telcos have been informed of their findings, with some taking action to remedy the situation.

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ACCC takes TPG Telecom to court over "prepayment" charges

December

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took TPG to court over misleading conduct claims related to a “prepayment” charge it asked from customers.

The ACCC alleged that the telco charged customers a $20 fee when signing up to a TPG plan as a prepayment to cover costs that might be incurred but are not included in their plan, such as overseas phone calls.

It added that the company represented on its website that the $20 could be used for excluded telecommunications services before a consumer cancels a plan, but the commission said the amount operates as a non-refundable fee, with TPG keeping at least $10 once a customer cancels a plan.

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Inabox shareholders approve sale to MNF Group

December

Cloud and telco player Inabox agreed to proceed with MNF Group’s acquisition bid after shareholders voted in favour of its recently revised $34.5 million offer.

MNF’s board said in a statement that shareholders voted “resoundingly” in favour of divesting Inabox’s remaining businesses, which was the only condition required to approve MNF Group’s acquisition offer.

This means a rival offer from SB&G Telecoms was rejected. SB&G previously increased its acquisition offer from 90 cents to 95 cents for each Inabox share it doesn't already own, to supplement its current 19.9 percent stake.

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Telstra to introduce new ICT channel in small business revamp

December

Telstra revamped its small business offerings with a handful of new products including a 24/7 IT support service, mobile plans and a new premium ICT channel.

The telco's new 24/7 IT advice and support service is called Telstra Platinum for Business and will provide small businesses with an on-call IT team to help advise and install new technology. The phone and online service will offer support and troubleshooting for a range of ICT services including hardware, software, apps, cloud and payment services including those from Telstra or third parties.

Starting on Boxing Day, Telstra will also offer a security service, which provides three security assessments, an annual health check report and updates on the latest threats.

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ACMA awards 5G spectrum to Telstra, Optus, TPG and UK's Dense Air

December

Telstra, Optus, TPG and Vodafone’s joint venture and UK-based Dense Air all bought themselves a chunk of 5G spectrum as part of the Australian Communications and Media Authority's 5G auction.

Telstra took the largest share with 143 lots out of a total 350, shelling out $386 million. TPG and Vodafone, acting as their joint venture agreement Mobile JV Pty Ltd, bought the second most with 131 lots at $263 million.

Optus meanwhile bought 47 lots for $185 million, while the Australian operations of UK-based telco services provider Dense Air bought 29 lots for $18.5 million.

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