Aussie telecom firms Telstra, TPG will not appeal block of asset transfer deal

(Reuters) – Australian telecom firms Telstra (OTC:) Group and TPG Telecom on Monday said separately they would not appeal the country’s competition tribunal’s decision to block an asset transfer deal between the two telecom giants.

In June, the Australian Competition Tribunal upheld the competition regulator’s decision to block the deal between the telecom firms, under which Telstra would have bought spectrum and transmission towers from TPG, while TPG would have kept selling 4G and 5G coverage using Telstra infrastructure.

The country’s competition regulator had ruled against the asset transfer deal in December citing competition concerns and potentially impacting the no. 2 wireless internet provider Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications.

Telstra did not provide any details about its decision to not appeal the tribunal’s decision in the exchange filing, and did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for further details.

TPG Telecom, which also did not provide any reason, said it would “continue to explore commercial options to expand its mobile network”.