Telstra-owned Digicel Pacific will tear out its Huawei-built equipment on its mobile infrastructure at its next refresh, the AFR reports.
“In terms of any refreshes or upgrades in future dates, then that’s when we’ll look to fall in line with the standards we have here in Australia,” said Oliver Camplin-Warner, Telstra International chief executive.
Camplin-Warner said the Digicel acquisition had given his business new subsea cable options and would combine well with its existing operations in Asia.
“(Digicel Pacific) is performing well, and I think it is going to provide us with a lot of upsides,” he said.
“We are market leaders in Asia, and with the Digicel Pacific acquisition, we’re really now stretching that into Asia-Pacific.
“The financials are ahead of plan.”
Telstra contributed US$270 million (about K951.5 million) to the July takeover, with Australian taxpayers picking up the rest of the US$1.6 billion (about K5.6 billion) bill.
Still, the telco will get priority dividends in a deal with the government, which pushed for the buyout fearing Chinese interests could purchase the struggling Digicel.
Digicel Pacific operates as a standalone entity within Telstra International, partly because of the government’s involvement, but Camplin-Warner said it would not mean it receives any less attention. –
Islands Business / Tech Pacific