ARN

Optus turns 20

The telco celebrates 20 years since it began commerical operations in Australia.

Optus is celebrating its 20th birthday.

While the telco was awarded the country’s first competitive carrier licence in November 1991, it was January 31, 1992, when it began commercial operations.

It started selling services on June 15, 1992, and opened its first store on Pitt St, Sydney, on the same day.

The company was the first competitor for telco monopoly, Telstra, and its name derived from “opt for us”, an allusion to the choice given to Australian consumers to opt for another carrier.

Optus now has over nine million mobile services as well as one million fixed and broadband customers.

The company was acquired by Singapore telco giant, SingTel, in 2001 and has continued to grow its market share in Australia.

The telco has long been associated with the word “Yes”, which began as part of a marketing campaign in April 1992. It represents a ‘can do’ attitude towards customers and is still a big part of the Optus brand.

From brick phones to smartphones, Optus has been a major part of the mobile telecommunications industry and will continue to play in that area.

The company is also excited about the opportunities offered by fixed-line.

“In the early 1990s fixed-lines were used primarily to make and receive calls,” Optus divisional manager, Vicki Brady, said in a statement. “Today they provide broadband and pay TV, as well as a host of other services.

“With the arrival of the National Broadband Network (NBN), broadband applications are only set to increase with health, education and entertainment among the many areas to benefit.”

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Brady, etwork, Optus, Telstra

Comments

1

William

Tue 31/01/2012 - 13:22

Happy Birthday OPTUS, we have been with you since the first day. The outstanding service and aftersales support is and has always been focus on service, and customer needs. Proud supporter, keep up the good work.
Bill

2

Roger King

Tue 31/01/2012 - 13:34

Happy Birthday OPTUS. Great service support etc., keep it up for the next 20 years and onwards !
Roger

3

John

Tue 31/01/2012 - 15:29

Happy birthday Optus, I guess that this makes it my birthday as well as I have been with Optus from day one and with the same mobile number, 015 analogue then 0412 digital and the last six numbers have stayed the same for 20yrs

4

Mark

Tue 31/01/2012 - 16:16

Happy 20th Birthday Optus. I had previously been with Telstra and Vodafone. I have now been with Optus 3 years on mobile and 1 year on mobile broadband, nothing but good service. Keep up the good work Optus.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: 20th birthday, mobile solutions, mobility, optus, telecommunications
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Anixter , Express Data , ICT Distribution , Multimedia Technology , VExpress Distribution
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2010-12-09_354_polycom
Transition Systems Australia

Polycom

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.