SP Telemedia, owner of TPG and Soul internet service providers, has announced its intention to acquire Pipe Networks for $373 million.
Pipe Networks and SP Telemedia have both gone into a trading halt this morning, pending announcements to be made later in the week.
Last month, Pipe Network's PPC-1 cable from Sydney to Guam carried its first light. This time, tests run with early customer, Internode, has seen the cable carry its first data packets.
Opinions are split amongst analysts, telcos and ISPs as to whether Pipe's new PPC-1 Sydney to Guam submarine cable will lead to lower broadband prices for Australians, but all agree the threat of its arrival, set for October, has had a positive impact already.
On Sunday, Pipe Networks claimed "first light" on its Sydney to Guam cable, but despite the milestone it is still some months away from being launched.
The proposed buyout of Pipe Networks by SP Telemedia is an absolute travesty for Australia's telecommunications industry and will be overwhelmingly negative for customers, Pipe Networks staff, shareholders and the industry as a whole.
2008 was a cracker year for telco in Australia, with so many huge events happening that those at the beginning of the year have been drowned by the importance of those at the end.
It's time for Microsoft to seek an annuity base that isn't as tied to the upgrade cycle as its current revenue model is.
iiNet CTO Greg Bader explains the effect that companies such as Pipe Networks, which runs a 1.92Tbps submarine cable from Sydney to Guam and owns numerous metro-based dark fibre links, are having on data prices.
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