Optus
Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singtel.
This article is about the telecommunications company. For the satellites, see Optus (satellite).Company type
1981
(as AUSSAT)
Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia
Australia
- Paul O'Sullivan
(Chairman)
Michael Venter
(Interim CEO)
A$2.09 billion (2023)[1]
A$286 million (2023)[1]
7,572 (2023)[5]
History[edit]
AUSSAT and deregulation (1981–1990)[edit]
Optus can trace its beginnings back to the formation of the Government-owned AUSSAT Pty Limited in 1981. In 1982, Aussat selected the Hughes 376 for their initial satellites, with the first, AUSSAT A1, launched in August 1985.[7] AUSSAT satellites were used for both military and civilian satellite communications, and delivering television services to remote outback communities.
A number of notable wholly owned subsidiaries operate as part of the Singtel Optus group. These are:
Until 20 January 2013, Optus sold mobile services under the brand name Boost Mobile.[53]
Optus also has a 50% stake in the now defunct OPEL Networks.[47]
Other wholly owned subsidiaries of note no longer have a significant active role as individual entities. These are as follows:
Reef Networks was formed in 1999 to provide an optical fibre link between Brisbane and Cairns in Queensland. Optus gained exclusive access to this link in 2001, ahead of acquiring the organisation in 2005.[54]
XYZed was established by Optus in 2000 to provide wholesale business-grade DSL services under an individual brand, but today provides a collection of products only as part of the Optus Wholesale & Satellite division. XYZed established a network of DSLAMs inside Telstra telephone exchanges, utilising Unconditioned Local Loop services to reach end users.[55]
Outsourcing[edit]
Since 2005, Optus has outsourced some customer service functions to Concentrix and 247.ai, with the outsourcer providing 800 staff operating offshore in India, supplementing Optus' 3,000-plus onshore call centre staff.[70] Some functions have also been supplemented in the Philippines.[71] Optus also uses 24/7 Inc. for telephone & chat based offshore support.
In October 2006, Optus announced that it would outsource 100 contracting jobs to another Singtel subsidiary, IT company NCS, in Singapore.[72]