***unw signs major partnership with austar*****

This is Great Great news for UNW. Its not a matter of if but WHEN they were going national. Check out the announcement and the regional map coverage. This stock has potential to hit 80c on a trading basis, and ??? potential in terms of Wireless regional growth- its a blue sky stock. Check your provider for the full announcement.

7 July 2005
Company Announcements Office
Australian Stock Exchange Limited
Exchange Centre
20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Dear Sir or Madam
Please find attached a company announcement from AUSTAR and Unwired Group Limited.
Yours sincerely
Deanne Weir
Company Secretary
Media Release – July 7, 2005
AUSTAR AND UNWIRED ALLIANCE TO SET THE BROADBAND AGENDA
AUSTAR (ASX:AUN) and Unwired Group Limited (ASX:UNW) today announced a spectrum
swap deal that is designed to deliver interoperable wireless broadband services in both
metropolitan and regional Australia, as their networks are rolled out.
Under the agreement, AUSTAR will trade a portion of its 2.3GHz spectrum licences to Unwired.
Unwired will trade a portion of its 3.5GHz spectrum licences to AUSTAR and the licence
boundaries will be redrawn with new licences issued. Unwired will also make a supplementary
cash payment to AUSTAR of $15 million. As a result, the agreement would see AUSTAR
holding 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz licences in areas that roughly align with its current subscription
television market in regional Australia, whilst Unwired would hold the 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz
licences for the majority of metropolitan Australia.
The 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum bands are at the core of the planned WiMAX standard.
Unwired and AUSTAR have agreed to ensure that any new network rollout would be compatible
with the new standard, capitalising on the real opportunities presented by interoperable, longrange,
mobile broadband.
AUSTAR CEO Mr John Porter said, “Our arrangement with Unwired is great news for the future
of broadband services in regional Australia. By rationalising our spectrum holdings into our
regional markets, AUSTAR will be in a position to develop plans to launch a broadband service,
which is a logical extension of our core business.
“We have spent the last 10 years building a business that specialises in dealing with regional
Australian needs, from our television service to mobile and dial-up internet services. Wireless
broadband is ideally suited to regional markets, and we want to build on our well established
brand and operational capabilities to serve our regional customers.”
Unwired Chairman Mr Peter Shore said, “The beauty of building WiMAX-compliant networks is
interoperability. As the networks are rolled out, Unwired would be able to sell a national service
to all regions where AUSTAR builds its network, in addition to its own city network and services,
enabling Unwired wireless broadband customers to roam seamlessly from city to country and
vice versa.
“Central to this deal is the realisation of true competition in the telecommunications sector.
Unwired is Australia’s fastest growing wireless broadband provider and this alliance enables
Unwired to focus on the delivery of wireless broadband to most of the capital cities and major
metropolitan areas. Our motivation has always been to ensure both companies play to their
strengths to the ultimate benefit of the customer in pricing, performance and future potential.
“AUSTAR and Unwired will now be the Australian champions of WiMAX in their respective
markets, enabling their customers to roam nationally and, ultimately, internationally with the
imminent ratification of the WiMAX mobile standard. WiMAX will revolutionise broadband and
data access in much the same way as the GSM standard transformed voice and its associated
technologies.”
…cont’d
Media Release – July 7, 2005
Mr Porter said that this deal presents the opportunity for regional Australians to gain access to
cutting-edge technology at the same time as their metropolitan counterparts. “We are looking
forward to finalising our business case and rollout plans and sharing those with the market in
due course. With analysts predicting that wireless broadband will grow at three times the pace of
the overall broadband market in 2005, AUSTAR wants to ensure that regional Australians will be
among those making the leap to this great service.”
-ends-
For further information:
Deanne Weir Antonia O’Neill
Group Director, Corporate Development and Legal Affairs Media Relations
AUSTAR Unwired Group Ltd
02 9295 0103 02 9270 0240
0402 865 300 0417 252 805
[email protected] [email protected]