TELECOMMUNICATIONS provider Optus is hatching major expansion plans in Western Australia after experiencing steady growth across its various offerings in the past two years.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS provider Optus is hatching major expansion plans in Western Australia after experiencing steady growth across its various offerings in the past two years. But the company said more competition, driven by the WA Government, was needed.
Optus WA State manager Richard Thorning said while WA represented the biggest challenges in terms of telecommunications offerings when compared with other States, the company had expanded steadily and had major plans to increase investment in WA.
“Optus is planning a substantially increased investment in this State to cater for increasing growth and is currently discussing the opportunity for this investment with the State Government,” he said.
“We believe there is a strong role that the State can play in helping to improve the competitive landscape of the telecommunications market here.
“We set ourselves some very ambitious team goals for WA two years ago, including the aim to double the Optus revenues for this sector over a three-year period.
“Over the past two years in particular Optus has been accepted in the WA marketplace as a full competitor to the incumbent, not just for products like mobile and voice but also for the full suite of more complex products including data, IP, Internet, managed services and satellite communications.
“A number of large WA institutions and government departments have chosen to transfer to Optus over this period and we see this trend continuing.”
However, more support from the State Government was required to boost competition in the telecommu-nications arena, he said.
“We would like to see investment by the State Government … to encourage purchasing powers no matter who the provider is. Competition brings innovation. There is not enough competition,” Mr Thorning said.
Telstra spokesman Peter Fairclough said the current tendering system was “the best and most accountable for delivering the best outcomes for all Western Australians”, deeming its procurement and tender processes “open and transparent”.
“If Singtel Optus are not winning government tenders, it is not the fault of the Western Australian Government, but the fact that they did not deliver what the Government was looking for,” Mr Fairclough said.
“Tenders in telecommunications are very competitive in voice, data and mobile, and decisions are made after consideration for pricing, service, product range, as well as other factors such as supporting local businesses and State and community development initiatives.”
- Alison Birrane
