In the next twelve months, TPG plans to double its on-net fixed wireless business and upgrade its residential FTTB network to G.fast gigabit capacities. In the telco’s results announcement where it reported a 3.1% decline in revenue to $5.293 billion and net profit after tax of $110 million, the company revealed its plans. It can be noted that the telco’s net profit was down to 10.1% for the 12 months ended 31 December. Gross margin also fell 3.7%, operating expenditure 4.4%, and EBITDA 3.2%.

TPG CEO Inaki Berroeta believes the margin advantage over substitute NBN resold products will increase from $15 AMPU to $30 as it transitions from 4G to 5G.

 “This is a material near-term opportunity of requiring a limited incremental capital investment as we leverage existing mobile networks and spectrum investments. We avoid 50 million dollars of NBN costs for every 100,000 (fixed wireless) customers,” he said.

 In addition to this, the telco is also planning a major ramp-up in its enterprise division this year. “In December, we refreshed our brand and go-to-market strategy for business customers who set a target to achieve revenue of one billion dollars in 2025. That compares with about 700 million dollars today, which is 70% of our corporate segment of revenue,” Berroeta also said.

 “As market headwinds begin to ease, we enter the year ahead with confidence. The re-opening of Australian borders will support the return of positive momentum in consumer mobile numbers, and we expect great enthusiasm from customers for the products and services we can offer,” Berroeta further added.

 “While the competitive environment in mobile remains robust, we are optimistic we are entering an environment in which margins can stabilise and recover as consumer uptake of 5G plans accelerates.”

 Meanwhile, CFO Grant Dempsey also revealed that TPG is bringing forward up to $150m of capex on its mobile network this year. “Strong low-band spectrum holdings post-merger have enabled material reduction in spectrum spend ... (and) short to medium term acceleration of mobile network capex to accelerate 5G rollout, radio access network upgrade,” Dempsey said.

 In terms of merger savings, TPG CEO said, “In technology and operations, there are considerable additional opportunities in the rationalisation of systems, hardware, and physical locations.”

 “I believe we are now entering a period in which the industry will drive greater efficiency in capital deployment, which will be good for both customers and shareholders as the investment carriers undertake becomes more value-added,” the CEO concluded.