NBN Co signs Macquarie Telecom in business push

NBN Co has signed up Macquarie Telecom to help deliver more services over the National Broadband Network to businesses.

NBN Co is looking to beef-up its business services.

NBN Co has signed up Macquarie Telecom to help deliver more services over the National Broadband Network to businesses, with the move a critical step in the network builder’s bid to shore up its revenue.

Under the wholesale supply agreement, valued at over $100 million, Macquarie Telecom will offer its portfolio of services to business customers over the NBN.

The six-year deal will also see the telco’s customers given the option to upgrade their connections to full fibre, with the upgrade managed by a locally based NBN service delivery and support team.

The agreement is the first meaningful step by NBN Co to work with business-focused telcos to start delivering high-speed broadband services to the enterprise market. Getting businesses on the NBN is crucial to the company meeting its long-term average revenue per user (ARPU) target of $52.

NBN Co’s chief customer officer – Business, Paul Tyler, said that the Macquarie Telecom deal will see the NBN deliver the digital capabilities businesses are looking for.

“There is no question that going deeper into the business sector this will deliver a big jump in ARPUs,” he told The Australian.

The network builder’s ARPU has been stuck around the $43 for the 12 months, despite the increase in the number of homes connected to the NBN.

“The deal is a great proof point of what we can do, we have the reach, we have the products and we are connecting corporates,” Mr Tyler added.

NBN Co, which has over 420,000 business customers, offers a number of business-focused technology products and charges a higher price from the telcos to service enterprise customers.

In February, NBN Co announced that Telstra, Vocus, and TPG Telecom had begun trialling its NBN Enterprise Ethernet, which can deliver 1Gbps symmetrical speeds to business customers.

The company split its chief customer officer role to create a dedicated Business Sales and Marketing department in June last year, in a bid to drum up more interest in its wholesale services for enterprise.

Macquarie Telecom group executive Luke Clifton said that the deal elevates the telco to tier one status.

“Using NBN’s infrastructure allows us to push our products into the outer metro and regional areas where it’s has been harder for us to compete,” he told The Australian.

“While the typical mid-market customer of ours has a facility in CBD areas they also have sites in regional areas like Newcastle and Wollongong, these are the areas that we can now serve.”

He added that NBN Co has covered a lot of ground in serving the needs of businesses after listening to telcos and customers.

“Our partnership is an opportunity for customers to develop their NBN-readiness plan with our help.”

“The NBN will touch every business in Australia now or in the near future, those organisations which capitalise will have a future-proof investment through which they can meet today’s business needs, while securing long-term choice for their organisations,” he added.