Telstra, PCCW complete Reach restructuring

Australia’s Telstra and Hong Kong’s PCCW have completed the previously announced restructuring of their international carrier unit Reach, dividing the international assets in the 50/50 venture between both parties. The remaining joint assets will continue to be managed by Reach in Hong Kong. As a result of the restructure Telstra International announced it will have: direct ownership of more undersea cable assets, in particular the Reach North Asia Loop; an international PSTN voice capability currently carrying 4.5 billion minutes per year; additional global points of presence; the ability to transition the international voice network to Internet Protocol (IP) to allow more synergies between voice and data services; and, satellite services (and associated base stations) that reach over two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. Telstra is also acquiring additional global backbone and backhaul systems and a Global Roaming Exchange platform (GRX).