Optus has asked its mobile tower provider Axicom for a better commercial deal - right before Axicom's planned sale.
Background: Ya might not have heard of Axicom... but it's pretty important to you. It owns and operates around 2,000 telco towers across the country. These are used by telco networks like Optus to give us access to mobile services and broadband.
What happened: Macquarie Infrastructure, which is a majority owner of Axicom, is looking to sell it to the highest bidder.
What else: But Optus, one of Axicom's biggest customers, is seizing the moment. It's now threatening to take its business elsewhere unless it gets a better commercial deal.
💡 For telco companies, network allocation - or the allocation of mobile towers - can make or break their long-term position in the market.
💡If you have access to a large number of telco towers, you have better coverage across Australia (helloooo Telstra's 99% coverage). But it's a mutual relationship. Tower companies make the bulk of their revenue from telcos, so they need the business, too.
💡Telstra's already locked down its mobile tower deal with TPG Telecom. So, Optus is using its longstanding relationship with Axicom and its current sales process as a bargaining chip to get access to towers at a cheaper rate.
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