National Australia Bank has publicly backed the proposed network-sharing deal between Telstra and TPG Telecom, believing it may lead to lower costs and backup options for its travelling workforce.
The bank - which is a corporate customer of TPG Telecom - said in a brief submission [pdf] to the ACCC that it “is excited by the opportunities” both for itself and also for “the general mobile communications market”.
For NAB itself, the Telstra-TPG tie-up “presents opportunities to broaden mobile consumption by regional staff as well as staff travelling to regional Australia by introducing more affordable options,” NAB said.
“Further, options to reduce risk due to a single-supplier reliance in branch systems can be introduced.”
It added: “The diversity in supply outcome creates a situation where additional backup capabilities can be made available where this opportunity can’t be achieved today.
“Adding communication backup channels assists NAB in strengthening resiliency, therefore ‘uptime’ for NAB customers.”
The bank also said it hoped an approved Telstra-TPG deal would place “downward pressure on pricing” and lead to “changes to existing terms on inclusions such as data, international dial and roaming.”
The potentially multi-decade mobile network and spectrum sharing deal covers regional Australia and was proposed by Telstra and TPG Telecom in February this year.
It is currently under ACCC review. A decision is expected later this year.
