What Is Behind and What Is in Front of the Proposed Sale of Australia's Second Carrier Cable & Wireless Optus to Singapore Telecommunications?

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2001

Yankee Group Report analyzes the bid and reviews the first decade

of deregulation

On March 26, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) made its formal bid for the entire operations and assets of Australia's number-two carrier Cable & Wireless Optus (CWO). The sale of CWO marks the end of a dynamic decade that has seen two stages in the deregulation and liberalization of the local telecommunications market. A decade which has seen the entry of over seventy licensed carriers, a plethora of specialized service providers and ISPs, and a dozen players actively building major infrastructure across the country. CWO has evolved through several ownership frameworks to maintain its position as a clear number two in the provision of a full services portfolio, behind Australia's incumbent carrier Telstra Corp.

After exactly ten years of hard work, CWO has grown its business to take over a 17% share from Australia's Telecommunications market--and it has achieved this from a standing start. It has participated in evolution of telecommunications infrastructure both domestically and internationally. It operates the existing four Aussat communications satellites, and is preparing to launch a next-generation satellite in a joint venture with Australia's Department of Defence. A new Report from the Yankee Group, "The Optus Decade: Australian Telecommunications Coming of Age in the Region," provides essential commentary on Australia's first decade of deregulation, its players, and the market environment. The Yankee Group provides a summary timeline to present key stages in the market's evolution and events that have impacted on the business of CWO and what is required to bring the SingTel deal to a successful conclusion.

Covering the events through 2000 that led to a staged review of bids, and how the other bidders fared, the Report looks at processes that have recently occurred at regulatory and commercial levels, as the bid nears completion. The following key issues are reviewed:

-- Telecommunications competition issues,

-- Australia's satellite defense concerns,

-- Corporations' law issues,

-- Tax management,

-- Issues with SingTel stock,

-- Southern cross cable,

-- CWO's management team,

-- The need for spending, and

-- Australian Stock Exchange listing.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Geoff Letts, [e-mail].

The Yankee Group (www.yankeegroup.com)

As a global leader in technology research and strategic consulting, the Yankee Group provides accurate, reliable, and trusted research, custom consulting, and personalized one-to-one client interaction encompassing all areas essential to e-business success: Internet, electronic commerce, communications, wireless, computing, and enterprise applications. Established in 1970 and headquartered in Boston, the company maintains offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim.