The joint venture telecommunications companies were first proposed in April 2000 and formalized on terms outlined by Telstra and PCCW in October last year. They comprise:
– the Internet Protocol backbone company (IPBC), to be incorporated as Reach Ltd (Reach), which merges the international infrastructure assets and businesses of two leading wholesale providers of voice, data and Internet connectivity services in the Asia-Pacific region.
– the Regional Wireless Company (RWC) will operate across the Asia-Pacific, starting with Hong Kong’s leading mobiles business, CSL.
– the Internet Data Centre Company (IDC) which combines expertise from the two partners to establish a new Asia-Pacific data center business.
Telstra CEO, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, said the joint ventures provide Telstra with clear growth options for the future by developing Telstra’s position as a leading telecommunications provider in the Asia-Pacific region.
These businesses offer enormous potential by giving Telstra greater access to the growth markets of Asia and across the Pacific, Dr Switkowski said. Reach, the IP backbone company, will tap into major overseas growth markets and contribute to Australia’s export earnings.
From the outset, both the Regional Wireless Company and Reach begin their independent operations with strong balance sheets and are built on solid performing businesses.
Deputy Chairman of PCCW’s Executive Committee, Mr. Alex Arena, said these substantial and complex transactions have been completed on time and on target.
In working through the many complex business and financial issues the joint venture partners have shown their ability to work as a strong and effective team which augurs well for the future.
By bringing our assets together these businesses have the scale and expertise to ensure they can compete aggressively in their respective markets, Mr. Arena said.
