NBN Co cleared to buy TransACT FTTP network

NBN Co has secured approval to buy the FTTP network owned by Canberra-based ISP TransACT for $9 million.

The ACCC last week announced it will not stand in the way of the proposed acquisition, on the grounds that it is unlikely to impact competition.

TransACT’s fibre network covers around 8500 ACT premises and is being expanded to pass another 4500 premises.

Under the deal, NBN Co will also be granted long-term access to TransACT’s extensive network of underground ducts across the territory.

TransACT is owned by iiNet, which acquired the company in 2011 for $60 million.

Announcing the decision, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the regulator “concluded that the proposed acquisition represents a bare transfer of assets and wholesale market share from TransACT to NBN Co. Accordingly, the proposed acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant wholesale or retail market.”

In a statement, NBN Co said the planned TransACT network acquisition fits the remit of speeding up and reducing the cost of the rollout.

The Coalition’s Statement of Expectations to NBN Co also instructs the company to continue rolling out FTTP while the Strategic Review is underway.

Image courtesy of Richard Gifford under CC