Another Aussie telco sale is in the cards, with NBN provider Superloop announcing plans to acquire internet and mobile reseller Exetel.
Superloop has officially confirmed its intent to nab the Australian-owned Exetel in what is set to be a $110 million deal. The acquisition will see Superloop quadruple its current broadband subscriber base, which is comprised of around 39,000 customers.
While the news may be alarming for existing Exetel customers, so far there’s no need to panic: while we don’t know if Exetel will adjust plans or pricing once the deal is final, for now it should be business as usual across both brands.
Superloop & Exetel: two brands, one team
Both Superloop and Exetel’s CEOs have confirmed that each provider will continue to exist after the acquisition is completed, but will operate with a combined workforce and infrastructure that will ultimately benefit customers, particularly in the broadband space.
“This brings together the high capacity infrastructure that Superloop has built over the past six years, to meet continuing and growing demand for fast, reliable internet services that are easy and quick to access, ” said Paul Tyler, CEO of Superloop.
“It creates scale, giving Superloop the market presence to meet the demand from consumer, business and wholesale customers for high-speed services. And it gives users the certainty of service, and the great user experiences they increasingly demand and expect.”
Superloop strengthens offering with our intent to acquire @exetel. The perfect match brings together Superloop’s high capacity infrastructure with customers wanting fast, easy, reliable Internet.
Customer info at https://t.co/uhkILT3ljn
Investor info at https://t.co/68MMlnKi2d pic.twitter.com/6IVEySU105— Superloop (@superloopnet) June 7, 2021
Exetel CEO Richard Purdy is equally positive, especially as the acquisition will see Exetel internet customers migrated to Superloop’s dedicated backhaul network.
“The combination of our business with Superloop will create a player of genuine scale, able to take the challenge to the large incumbent operators which has been part of the Exetel DNA from the outset,” said Mr. Purdy.
“Importantly, it also creates increased opportunities for our people by becoming part of a larger, more diversified business, and enables our customers to gain access to a superior network.”
While both brands will continue to operate post-sale, Exetel’s 290 employees will join Superloop’s team going forward. The joint business sales team will cross-sell broadband and mobile products to a combined Superloop and Exetel customer base.
Exetel customers: what happens next?
Superloop and Exetel are the latest in a series of Australian telco mergers and acquisitions, with the most recent being Optus’ takeover of MVNO Amaysim. In mid-2020, ‘big three’ telco Vodafone merged with TPG, bringing a host of mobile and broadband brands – including Vodafone, TPG, iiNet, Internet, Felix, and Westnet – under a single umbrella.
So far, customers of the above providers have been largely unaffected by the changes, so the Superloop/Exetel news shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for existing users. Exetel NBN customers may notice performance improvements once the transition is complete, as a move to Superloop’s infrastructure means a direct link to each NBN point of interconnect (i.e. the point in which your nearest NBN access network connects to your internet provider).
Superloop’s custom-built and engineered network means the provider has much more oversight and control when compared to providers who lease capacity from bigger companies. Because of this, Superloop claims its network management is able to decrease congestion during peak traffic times, and better pinpoint the source of problems during outages.
If you’re an Exetel NBN customer, this could be good news for your current plan speeds, especially during busy hours. Superloop offers slightly faster typical NBN speeds, so migrating to the telco’s ‘superior’ network may give Exetel customers a noticeable performance boost – assuming your monthly bill remains unchanged.
If you’re interested in Superloop and Exetel’s NBN plans, read on for more info on each provider.
Exetel NBN plans
As Australia’s largest private-owned and independent internet provider, Exetel has built a substantial customer base of over 110,000 subscribers. The telco offers a wide range of mobile and broadband products, including NBN, mobile broadband, fibre, fixed wireless and mobile and home phone.
Exetel offers unlimited data NBN plans across the NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 speed tiers, with prices beginning at $69 per month. Currently, new customers can score a massive discount on Standard Plus NBN 50: $50 per month for your first six months. That’s a price cut of $29 on the usual $79 monthly price, and a total saving of $174 across the six-month discount period. This offer is available until July 31, 2021, terms apply.
The following table shows a selection of published unlimited Exetel NBN plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of monthly cost, from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
Superloop NBN plans
Much like Exetel, multi-national provider Superloop offers NBN plans with unlimited data and no lock-in contracts. However, Superloop also caters to homes eligible for super-fast and ultra-fast NBN speeds, selling NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans where available.
Currently, Superloop is offering six-month discounts across all six available speed tiers, along with a free three-month upgrade to NBN 250 for new NBN 100/20 and NBN 100/40 customers. These offers are available until withdrawn, terms apply.
The following table shows a selection of published unlimited Superloop NBN plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of monthly cost, from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
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