Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company, today announced it has officially acquired Digicel Pacific in partnership with the Australian Government.
Telstra will continue to invest in and operate the business across its six South Pacific markets – Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Oliver Camplin-Warner, Telstra International CEO, said the deal was an exciting milestone for the Digicel Pacific business and its customers in Tonga.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Digicel Pacific into the Telstra family. The Digicel Pacific team in Tonga have amazing local expertise and are leaders in digital experiences for their customers. Together, we’ll work to ensure Digicel remains the top provider in Tonga,” he said.
Mr Camplin-Warner confirmed there would not be any local job losses in the Pacific as part of the acquisition and the current Digicel Pacific team would continue the day-to-day running of the business.
“Digicel Pacific will still have the same people and products that their Tongan customers know and love today,” he said. “Telstra will add to these strengths with our more than one hundred years’ experience building and operating the largest mobile network in Australia, and our operations in more than 20 countries world-wide.”
Shally Jannif, Regional CEO, Digicel Pacific Hub Markets, said Telstra’s expertise in rolling out a world-class network and connecting remote communities would greatly enhance the work to date of Digicel and benefit the people and businesses of Tonga.
“Telstra has experience connecting regional and remote customers in challenging geographies across mountains, deserts, rainforests and coastlines,” Ms Jannif said.
“We’re looking forward to Telstra applying its network experience as well as its innovation and technology solutions to Tonga to continue increasing connectivity in the region.”
Mr Camplin-Warner said the values of both Telstra and Digicel Pacific were a natural fit, with the companies committed to working together to build a connected future for everyone.
“We strongly believe we are “better together”, and this includes how we both work to support some of the most vulnerable in our communities,” he said.
“Telstra strongly supports Digicel Pacific’s grass roots community investments and disaster recovery efforts in Tonga, and we are committed to seeing this work continue.”
“Our joint commitment to community was evident in January when Digicel Pacific and Telstra acted quickly to help reconnect Tonga to the rest of the world and provide valuable on the ground support for the impacted communities.”
Mr Camplin-Warner said Telstra had been working closely with Pacific Governments and regulators on the acquisition and thanked them for cooperation and support.