Telstra enters into new RSP agreement with Opticomm

Telstra has entered into an RSP agreement with Opticomm (A Uniti Group Limited subsidiary) to provide network fibre services to customers.

The agreement will see Telstra become a provider of broadband services over the Opticomm high-speed fibre access network.

Opticomm says residents and businesses currently in areas serviced by Opticomm's fibre access network will benefit from the service, as will future network customers.

This new announcement comes during a period of significant growth for the company, which in December 2020 announced the Uniti acquisition of the Telstra Velocity and South Brisbane Exchange fibre networks and assets (Velocity Network).

Opticomm has also been undertaking an upgrade and integration of the Velocity Network into the Opticomm network in order to introduce XGSPON technology across the fibre assets.

This will enable the delivery of multi-gigabit broadband speeds they say will rank as some of the highest speeds to be delivered to residential broadband consumers in Australia.

The transition of current end-user customers of the Velocity Network to the high-speed Opticomm network will commence in July 2022.

"Opticomm now has more than 50 RSPs offering residential and business plans, providing commercial competition and greater choice for end customers over our high-speed fibre networks," says Uniti Group MD - CEO Michael Simmons in a released statement on the company's website.

"As we continue to evolve our Opticomm wholesale offerings and invest in providing a superfast and reliable fibre access network, working with a broad range of RSPs remains critical to bringing value and choice to end customers."

He says the company is committed to growing its extensive network portfolio and providing solutions to a wide range of partners across Australia.

"Opticomm now has over 560,000 contracted premises across Australia, specialising in FTTP connectivity to communities throughout Australia. We remain committed to building, owning and managing high-speed fibre access networks for wholesale sale to an ever-increasing list of RSPs."

Telstra's executive for fixed connectivity products, Sanjay Nayak, also stated in the website release, "Telstra is pleased to enter into a RSP relationship with Opticomm, allowing us to continue to service and improve experiences for customers on the Velocity network as they transition to the upgraded Opticomm fibre network."

He says in the statement that the company looks forward to increasing its broadband product coverage by supplying services that utilise Opticomm's fibre network across other existing and new locations.

Telstra is currenrtly a member of the S-P/ASX 20 and is Australia's largest telecommunications company by market share.