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TPG in $2bn move to become Australia’s fourth mobile carrier

TPG will become Australia’s fourth major mobile carrier after a $2bn outlay that will result in a new 4G network that will cover 80 per cent of the population within three years.

The mobile network will complement TPG’s successful fixed broadband business and present bundling options to new and existing customers to combine fixed and mobile services.

The news was enough send Telstra’s share price crashing by more than 6 per cent.

TPG already offers its customers mobile access but it’s through the Vodafone network.

But now TPG will have its own network to stand alongside Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

The company paid $1.26bn for a slice of Australia’s 4G spectrum after winning an action battle against Optus and Vodafone, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

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TPG says it will spend $600m over the next three years to build its new 4G mobile network.

This move is sure to ramp up competition between the Australian mobile operators in a industry that’s already very competitive.

Customers will now have even more choices with TPG likely to offer extremely competitive pricing to carve out a solid customer base.

TPG is sure to also play to its significant number of customers who have fixed broadband accounts. That move alone will place it ahead of one major competitor – Vodafone – which doesn’t have a fixed broadband business.

Optus and Telstra, on the other hand, do have massive fixed broadband businesses and will need to rally strongly to avoid losing customers to TPG once its network is completed.