Widely popular telco and internet provider Aussie Broadband has acquired its first company, a Brisbane-based IT solutions company called Over the Wire for $344 million.
Aussie Broadband has been going through a steady rise over the past few years. Last year, it became one of the first MVNOs (that is, a telco that doesn’t operate its own Australia-wide network) to sell 5G phone plans. It also began selling phones on a plan last year.
Telstra even picked a fight with Aussie Broadband late last year, putting up a page that directly compares the two telcos and the services they provide. Earlier that year, Aussie Broadband became ASX-listed.
“Today marks a new era for Aussie Broadband. Through this acquisition, we’re going to be transforming our organisation into the very best of Aussie Broadband and Over the Wire,” Aussie Broadband co-founder and managing director Phillip Brit said.
“We’ve been working towards this moment for some time now, and we’re absolutely delighted to officially welcome Over the Wire to the Aussie family.
“We’re going to be carefully working through this integration over the coming months. In the meantime, we’ll continue to provide our excellent support to both Aussie Broadband and Over the Wire customers.”
If one’s to make a guess, it’s that Aussie Broadband wants to one day be seen among the big three in the broadband space, being Telstra, Optus and TPG. Recently, Aussie Broadband and Superloop (another successful NBN provider) have been making strides in taking market share from the big three, with tailored plans that turn the pressure up on the major players. Back in February, we reported that Aussie Broadband boasts a 5.66% market share. This acquisition entered early talks late last year.
What does Aussie Broadband’s acquisition mean? Well, Over the Wire is a business-oriented tech company that provides integrated platforms, services and solutions for businesses and enterprises. It offers voice networks, security services and cloud-based management systems. Basically, it’s a tech support company for business customers, so consumers will unlikely see the direct benefits of this acquisition.
However, it does speak to what Aussie Broadband has been up to quite a bit.
“Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our journey, and we’re thrilled to join a company that shares our values and commitment to customer service. This is a unity based on opportunities,” said Over the Wire managing director Michael Omeros (who’s set to become a member of Aussie Broadband’s board of directors as a part of this deal).
“Together, we will expand Aussie’s presence in Australia and create something quite unique in the market, by combining Over the Wire’s voice, cloud and security services with Aussie Broadband’s fibre assets and high-quality network. We’re looking forward to working together to change the telco game for customers across Australia.”
Anyway, Aussie Broadband offers some pretty decent plans if you’ve been looking for a new provider. They were essential in solving my router woes some months ago.