TPG Telecom looks to expand retail reach of its FTTB network

TPG Telecom has fresh growth ambitions for its fibre-to-the-basement network, signing a wholesale agreement with Uniti Group that could see as many as 40 new retailers start selling plans on the network.

The FTTB network connects over 240,000 premises in high-density apartment buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and other metro areas, and offers speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

The wholesale deal with Uniti Group will make TPG’s FTTB network available to many more internet retailers, opening the door to fresh growth of the customer base.

As its a wholesale agreement, however, it's not a done deal that retailers who buy services via Uniti will all start to resell TPG FTTB.

TPG Telecom’s group executive for wholesale Dan Lloyd said in a statement that the agreement "should make the FTTB footprint available to Uniti’s 40 retail service providers (RSPs)."

He positioned the network as a “high-speed, simple, lower-cost NBN alternative”.

Lloyd also said it was “CVC-free”, a reference to the unpopular variable bandwidth charge levied by NBN Co on its services that makes costs hard to predict and margins thin.

The agreement with Uniti opens the door to “a large number of retail service providers” potentially starting to offer services over the TPG FTTB network.

Uniti Group is the first wholesaler to strike an access deal for the TPG FTTB network.

Previously, other retailers like Exetel have sold plans over the TPG FTTB network, in addition to plans marketed through TPG’s own stable of retail brands.

TPG originally rolled out the FTTB network to compete with NBN Co but was thwarted by government regulations that forced it to scale back on its ambitions.

The telco recently - unsuccessfully - sought to have some regulations wound back, which may have allowed it to resume fibre deployment.