Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has announced that TPG and Vodafone have snapped up the remaining blocks of 700MHz spectrum left over from the switch from analog to digital TV several years ago. TPG paid a hefty $1.2 billion for the spectrum, which is noteworthy because TPG doesn’t have a mobile network of its own yet.
TPG has been quietly buying spectrum licences for years and sitting on them, with expectations rife that the company would begin building its own 4G mobile network, rather than just reselling white label mobile products from other networks. TPG has talked this down, saying a network was still in research and development mode, but today finally showed its hand and told the ASX it would be building a network with 80% population coverage over the next three years with between 2000 and 2500 mobile towers.
The company told the ASX it would look to get about half a million subscribers.
Vodafone buying up some of the spectrum is also interesting in that one of the bigger rumours in the telecommunications industry would be that TPG would buy out Vodafone’s assets from its global parent companies. Either way, once TPG gets into mobile, it will be close to giving Telstra a run for its money as Australia’s largest telecommunications company. Telstra is more focused on becoming a global tech company, so it probably isn’t too concerned.
Very few countries in the world have 4 viable mobile phone operators – this fuels the TPG takeover of Vodafone rumours. It also accelerates changes going on now to the uses of the Australian communications environment. Phone calls and small data are now the province of mobiles and fixed-line is streaming. By 2020 with the appearance of 5G, even streaming will go to mobiles. This could end the FTTH/FTTN debate because NBN will be just a bunch of towers connecting a mobile networks – wonder how much that will be worth?
There’s this the issue of spectrum saturation. Unlike a fibre-based NBN, wireless communication will be limited by the take up. An initial 5G network will look good on paper in terms of bandwidth, but as more and more people take it up, the bandwidth gets cut up and latency starts to be an issue. Take a look at the once advanced 3G and 4G network. The speeds aren’t there anymore and from time to time we hear of complains where calls and data would drop in build up areas.
On the topic of 4 mobile phone operators, in the not so distant city-state of Singapore, the 4th license to operate a mobile network has been awarded not too long ago… also to TPG.
Build it once build it right build it IPv6.