PowerTel begins wholesaling ADSL2+

PowerTel has jumped on the ADSL2+ bandwagon, announcing that it is now offering wholesale access to the super-fast broadband service.

The ISP has also penned its first reselling deal, signing on Perth-based Westnet as its first wholesale customer for the up to 24Mb/s service.

PowerTel managing director, Paul Broad, said the new service was priced such that it would provide an alternative to reselling Telstra’s service.

“We have started taking orders and because we can deliver this service throughout metropolitan Australia via our national infrastructure, we believe it will be of great interest to ISPs and the consumer market,” he said in a statement.

Broad said the new service proved that PowerTel was strengthening its position in the market. Earlier in the year, the ISP acquired a stake in iiNET and rolled out an upgraded VoIP offering.

In August, the company reported a profit of $600,000 for the first half of 2006 - up from a loss of $9.4 million year on year.

“Although it’s a very competitive marketplace, we are cautiously optimistic about the future,” Broad said.

“PowerTel is now the second largest access network in Australia, effectively giving us complete coverage in all major metropolitan capital cities around the country.”