Primus Telecom Australia
Encyclopedia
Primus Telecommunications (Australia) Pty Ltd is an Australian telecommunications provider.
As a full service carrier, Primus operates its own fibre network in the five major capital cities, delivering a range of business direct-connect services including ISDN, frame relay, ATM
, telephone line, broadband x-DSL and mobile, as well as telephone line, broadband x-DSL and mobile services direct to residential customers.
The Australian business is a subsidiary of Primus Telecom
, a publicly listed company traded over the counter OTCBB under the ticker PMUG and headquartered in Mclean, Virginia
in the United States of America.
Primus Australia's head office is in Melbourne
with offices in Perth
, Brisbane
, Sydney
and Adelaide
.
between the former Australian Government owned Telecom Australia, later re-branded Telstra
and Optus, before the market was opened to full competition in July 1997.
1998 saw Primus expand their operations further in Australia with the acquisition of Eclipse Telecommunications Pty. Ltd. and Hotkey Internet Services Pty Limited.
In 1999 Primus' parent company Primus Telecommunications Inc. purchased the retail operations of Telegroup Inc., a long-distance telephone company based in Fairfield, Iowa
who was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
. This acquisition included the Australian subsidiary of Telegroup which allowed Primus to improve their capabilities in the Australian market.
1999 was also the year Primus Australia's U.S parent company launched the iPrimus brand to spearhead the organisations:
by actively pursuing those customers left in a lurch. They used this inertia to grow their customer base to approximately 750,000 retail customers including over 400,000 Internet customers by 2003.
Primus' acquisition would coincide with much industry consolidation as competitor Telstra purchased a 50% stake in mobile provider Hutchison 3G for A$450 million, Kaz Group for A$333 million and Damovo for A$64 million. Meanwhile competitor Optus purchased Uecomm for A$227 million, a 50.8% stake in Alphawest and A$50 million for remaining 74% of Virgin Mobile Australia .
In early 2007 Primus sold PlanetDomain to NetRegistry for over A$8 million .
Primus competes for Australian domestic fixed-line and mobile calls and internal call business, along with other companies including Optus, Vodafone, Telstra and other established retailers and resellers.
Globally, Primus is one of the world's fifth largest carriers of international voice traffic.
Other add-on services include; Broadband Top-Ups, Green Broadband (see below), Anti-Virus & Anti-Spam filtering, iSpeed Dial-up Internet acceleration, WebFilter proxy, Global Roaming, Wireless Hotspot access and Web SMS.
trials.
impact of their internet usage. For every Green Broadband customer, Primus plants an average of 5 native trees every year through their exclusive partner Landcare Australia – one of Australia’s most trusted and respected environmental organisations.
As a full service carrier, Primus operates its own fibre network in the five major capital cities, delivering a range of business direct-connect services including ISDN, frame relay, ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
, telephone line, broadband x-DSL and mobile, as well as telephone line, broadband x-DSL and mobile services direct to residential customers.
The Australian business is a subsidiary of Primus Telecom
Primus Telecom
Primus Telecommunications Group, Incorporated is an integrated facilities-based telecommunications services provider offering international and domestic voice, voice-over-Internet protocol , Internet, wireless, data and hosting services to business and residential retail customers and other...
, a publicly listed company traded over the counter OTCBB under the ticker PMUG and headquartered in Mclean, Virginia
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
in the United States of America.
Primus Australia's head office is in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
with offices in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
Market Entry 1997 - 1999
Primus originally entered the Australian telecommunications market in 1996 by acquiring Australia's fourth largest telecommunications service provider, Axicorp. Primus Telecom was one of the first carriers to be granted a telecommunications license in 1997.. Prior to this Australia's telecommunications industry was operated as a duopolyDuopoly
A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market...
between the former Australian Government owned Telecom Australia, later re-branded Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
and Optus, before the market was opened to full competition in July 1997.
1998 saw Primus expand their operations further in Australia with the acquisition of Eclipse Telecommunications Pty. Ltd. and Hotkey Internet Services Pty Limited.
In 1999 Primus' parent company Primus Telecommunications Inc. purchased the retail operations of Telegroup Inc., a long-distance telephone company based in Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...
who was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
. This acquisition included the Australian subsidiary of Telegroup which allowed Primus to improve their capabilities in the Australian market.
1999 was also the year Primus Australia's U.S parent company launched the iPrimus brand to spearhead the organisations:
...strategy of aggressively gaining retail market share by offering 'one- stop' shopping for bundled voice, data, Internet and cellular services...
Primus' Growth 2000 - 2003
During the period from 2000 - 2003 Primus achieved some significant growth. They were one of many telco providers to benefit from the collapse of One.TelOne.Tel
One.Tel was a group of Australian based telecommunications companies, including principally the publicly listed One.Tel Limited established in 1995 soon after deregulation of the Australian telecommunications industry, most of which are currently under external administration by court appointed...
by actively pursuing those customers left in a lurch. They used this inertia to grow their customer base to approximately 750,000 retail customers including over 400,000 Internet customers by 2003.
Industry Consolidation 2004 - 2008
In February 2004, AOL|7 was purchased by Primus Telecom. This acquisition added approximately 90,000 customers to Primus' existing residential iPrimus customer base.Primus' acquisition would coincide with much industry consolidation as competitor Telstra purchased a 50% stake in mobile provider Hutchison 3G for A$450 million, Kaz Group for A$333 million and Damovo for A$64 million. Meanwhile competitor Optus purchased Uecomm for A$227 million, a 50.8% stake in Alphawest and A$50 million for remaining 74% of Virgin Mobile Australia .
In early 2007 Primus sold PlanetDomain to NetRegistry for over A$8 million .
Primus' Business Structure
Primus Australia operates under two operational brands—iPrimus the residential division and Primus Telecom the business division.Primus competes for Australian domestic fixed-line and mobile calls and internal call business, along with other companies including Optus, Vodafone, Telstra and other established retailers and resellers.
Globally, Primus is one of the world's fifth largest carriers of international voice traffic.
Residential Products
- Broadband (ADSL & ADSL2+)
- Home Telephone
- Dial-up Internet
- Speedster (Mobile Broadband)
- Mobiles
- Lingo (VoIP)
- GlobeTalk Calling Cards
Other add-on services include; Broadband Top-Ups, Green Broadband (see below), Anti-Virus & Anti-Spam filtering, iSpeed Dial-up Internet acceleration, WebFilter proxy, Global Roaming, Wireless Hotspot access and Web SMS.
Business Products
- Internet & Data (ADSL, ADSL2+, SHDSL, FTTH)
- Voice (PSTN, ISDN, SIP Trunks, Hosted IP Phone Systems, Inbound 1300/1800, Intelligent Network)
- Speedster (Mobile Broadband)
- Mobiles & Blackberry
- Private IP Networks
- Domain Names & Web Hosting
- Data Centre Services (Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Co-Location, Managed Services)
Internet censorship
Primus is a participant in the controversial Internet censorshipInternet censorship in Australia
Internet censorship in Australia currently consists of a regulatory regime under which the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the power to enforce content restrictions on Internet content hosted within Australia, and maintain a "black-list" of overseas websites which is then...
trials.
Green Broadband
Primus Telecom Australia's 'Green Broadband' program allows broadband customers to minimize the greenhouseGreenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
impact of their internet usage. For every Green Broadband customer, Primus plants an average of 5 native trees every year through their exclusive partner Landcare Australia – one of Australia’s most trusted and respected environmental organisations.
See also
- Broadband Internet Access (Australia)
- Group of Four (Australia)