Telstra and TPG won't appeal ACCC decision further

The news: Telstra and Vodafone-owner TPG Telecom have separately stated they won't appeal the Australian Competition Tribunal decision to uphold the ACCC's rejection of a planned asset transfer deal.

The numbers: The scrapped deal would have involved TPG decommissioning roughly 700 Vodafone towers and using 3,700 Telstra mobile sites in a network sharing agreement, while Telstra would have gained access to 169 TPG sites. It was estimated the deal would have increased Vodafone's coverage from 96% to 98.8% of Australia's population.

The context: In December 2022, the ACCC found the deal would negatively impact coverage, network quality and innovation. In June, the Australian Competition Tribunal upheld the ACCC decision, and found the deal would not significantly effect TPG's market condition, but would strengthen Telstra's significantly. The tribunal said the deal would also disincentivise Optus from investing in its 5G network expansion, undermining competition and connectivity in regional Australia.