Telstra, TPG lead NBN wholesale race

Telstra and TPG Telecom have emerged as the early movers on the National Broadband Network’s wholesale service.

Telstra is picking up most of the NBN wholesale access services available on a national basis

Telstra and TPG Telecom have emerged as the early movers on the National Broadband Network’s wholesale service, according to the initial report on market indicators released by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

According to the report, Telstra is picking up most of the NBN wholesale access services available at a national basis, while TPG is successfully targeting the higher speed services above 50Mbps.

In broad terms, Telstra led the way from TPG, Optus and M2 Group, but for higher speed services TPG just edged out Telstra and Optus.

The report revealed NBN Co was supplying 941,325 wholesale access services as of March 31 and had agreed contracts to deliver 1004 gigabits per second of network capacity.

The most popular speed tier, according to the report, is 25Mbps, with 470,871 services in operation. The 12Mbps speed tier is next with 279,544 services in operation.

The figures provide a glimpse of the health of the wholesale market, which is crucial to the economic viability of NBN Co.

According to the report, access-seekers are active at the 121 listed points of interconnection with three or more of them at 115 of the POIs nodes. The bulk of the NBN wholesale access services are focused on the fibre to the premises footprint, followed by the fixed wireless component of the NBN.

Those metrics are likely to change over time as NBN Co gets ready to turn on the fibre to the node side of the network. Another emerging element is NBN Co’s satellite service, with the company now offering wholesale broadband service on its Sky Muster satellite. Early trials indicate that the service is capable of delivering speeds of up to 25Mbps for end users.

While premises can now engage with retail service providers it will take time before the entire regional footprint is ready for connections. NBN chief customer officer John Simon has urged patience, pointing out the challenges of covering a vast area.