Optus active
Australia's second-largest telco. Origins: AUSSAT (satellite carrier, 1981); relaunched as Optus Communications 1992 by a consortium including Cable & Wireless; traded as **Cable & Wireless Optus (CWO)** while C&W held control through 2001 (the 1997 IP index records CWO blocks: OPTUSCOM, CWO Customer/Infrastructure networks). Singtel acquired Optus in 2001 (US$8.5bn), trading as Singtel Optus (SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LIMITED, ACN 052 833 208). Consumer internet run as OptusNet and Optus@Home (cable broadband); related entities: at-home-network-australia (Optus/Excite@Home JV, control 2001).
Name history
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Optus | 1992 | |
| Cable & Wireless Optus | 1992 | 2001 |
| Singtel Optus | 2001 |
Aliases
- Optus Communications
- Cable & Wireless Optus
- CWO
- Singtel Optus
- AUSSAT
- Australian Satellite System Pty Ltd
Lifecycle
| Kind | Date | Details | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| birth | 1992 | AUSSAT (Australian Satellite System) established 1981; relaunched as Optus Communications 1992 (consortium incl. Cable & Wireless, BellSouth, AMP). Traded as Cable & Wireless Optus (CWO) while C&W held a controlling stake (1992-2001); Singtel acquired Optus in 2001 (US$8.5bn). | official |
| note | 1997 | The 1997 IP Network Index records Optus's then-current name as Cable & Wireless Optus (CWO), with netblocks OPTUSCOM, 'CWO Customer Network' and 'CWO Infrastructure Network' (202.139.x, 203.89.x) - matching the triaged 'not an ISP' corporate/infrastructure blocks. The Optus/Excite@Home cable JV was a separate entity (at-home-network-australia; Optus took control Sept 2001). | archive |
Transitions
| Direction | Type | Other party | Arm / notes | Year | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| incoming | acquisition | Microplex | 100% Optus acquired Microplex; subsumed into OptusNet. |
1998 | wikipedia |
| outgoing | split | Dingo Blue | founded by Optus Optus established Dingo Blue as a wholly-owned subsidiary web-based telco/ISP retailer; sold to AGL (Dec 2000, wound up May 2002. |
1999 | news |
| incoming | acquisition | @Home Network Australia | 100% Optus took control of the Excite@Home Australia venture in September 2001 (after Excite@Home's US parent collapsed, assuming 100% of the JV; the cable service continued under the Optus broadband umbrella. |
Sep 2001 | official |
| incoming | acquisition | Uecomm | 100% Optus acquired Uecomm (~A$227m, corporate fibre network. |
Aug 2004 | wikipedia |
| incoming | acquisition | Alphawest | 100% Optus acquired Alphawest; continued as IT services arm. |
Nov 2005 | wikipedia |
| incoming | acquisition | Unwired | 100% Unwired went Seven (2008 then Optus (2012; network shut Feb 2013. |
2012 | wikipedia |
| incoming | acquisition | vividwireless | 100% Optus acquired vividwireless from Seven Group (A$230M. |
2012 | wikipedia |
| incoming | acquisition | Amaysim | 100% Optus acquired Amaysim for $250m (agreement 2 Nov 2020; Amaysim delisted 6 Apr 2021. |
2021 | news |
References
- Wikipedia: Optus [wikipedia] Wayback
- ABR: SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LIMITED ACN 052 833 208 [gov] Wayback