TIDMBBB
RNS Number : 2864O
Bigblu Broadband PLC
08 February 2021
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the
publication of this announcement, the inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain for the purposes of MAR.
Bigblu Broadband plc
('BBB' or the 'Company' or the 'Group')
Expansion into New Zealand with Kacific
Bigblu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB.L), a leading provider of
alternative super-fast and ultra-fast broadband services, announces
that it has signed an exclusive Preferred Partner Agreement (the
"Agreement") with leading next-generation Asia Pacific broadband
satellite operator Kacific Broadband ("Kacific") to provide a
high-speed broadband internet service initially across New
Zealand.
Kacific will provide internet bandwidth via its Kacific-1
satellite, which was launched in December 2019, and will provide
financial support including the investment in customer terminals
and marketing. In return, BBB will provide all sales, marketing and
end user support functions including billing and installation of
equipment.
It is anticipated that the Company will invest up to GBP1.0m in
the first year of the Agreement as the new business scales up
through the provision of in-country field operations and reseller
activities as the business attracts new customers and sales. The
investment will be partially offset by revenue share earned from
new customers, and BBB anticipates that given the scale of the
expected roll out, the project will breakeven within c.20 months of
launch and will be earnings accretive thereafter.
The expansion into New Zealand will be managed from the
Company's Australasian headquarters in Brisbane and will initially
target up to c.3,500 new customers over the next 18 months. The
revenue share model will be split across a range of broadband
packages being offered through this exciting new venture with
Kacific, including packages offering download speeds of up to
75Mbps. This is the first time that super-fast satellite broadband
has been made available to consumers in New Zealand.
In line with all of the Company's previous ventures, the
Agreement provides potential customers with an attractive pricing
structure that presents a genuine alternative to comparable
terrestrial broadband offerings. As a result, the Board are
confident that through the Agreement, the Company will continue to
increase customer volumes, recurring revenues and reduce churn
rates - leading to increased profitability following the initial
investment.
BBB has proven via its its experience in growing its European
operations before its highly successful sale, that it has the
management skills and capabilities to roll out a complex logistical
expansion. Thus, management actively targeted Australasia as a
region with confidence of repeating its previous successes.
The initial investment into Skymesh in Australia has enabled the
Company to create a market leading, and multi award winning,
presence in the region. While simultaneously growing the Company's
presence in Australia, management has spent over two years
researching New Zealand and the wider Australasian marketplace.
Recognising the market opportunity, we have been negotiating with
Kacific regarding potentially managing their high-speed broadband
service across certain territories. Consequently, we are delighted
that BBB has reached this agreement with Kacific and to have the
opportunity to expand our reach initially into New Zealand.
The Market Opportunity
New Zealand has approximately 1.7m homes and with Fibre to the
premises much lower than Europe this presents a strong opportunity
for growth: the broadband market has experienced a c 5%* growth
year-on-year over the last few years and this is set to expand with
the launch of Kacific market leading products. The local
topographic constraints limit the possibility to roll out fibre in
certain regions.
With an ageing rural copper network, and unchallenged small
Satellite operators, the market is ready for a new offer that will
reduce the digital divide. The Kacific solution supports higher
speeds and data caps than legacy satellite in New Zealand, which
could allow BBB to win over existing satellite subscribers and
rural households that can currently only access FWA or ADSL
broadband. Bigblu has successfully pursued similar strategies in
the past, entering adjacent markets to where it has existing
operations.
Andrew Walwyn, Chief Executive Officer of Bigblu Broadband,
commented : " We are really excited to be working with Kacific in
this region. As per the European operations that we successfully
sold, we aim to deliver faster, cheaper broadband with increasingly
attractive data packages. Importantly, this will provide us with a
basis to further grow recurring revenues and also provides an entry
point into the wider Asia Pacific region."
* Source: World Data Bank, Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100
people
For further information:
Bigblu Broadband Group PLC www.bbb-plc.com
Andrew Walwyn, Chief Executive Officer Via Walbrook PR
Frank Waters, Chief Financial Officer
finnCap (Nomad and Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500
Marc Milmo / Simon Hicks / Charlie Beeson
(Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Richard Chambers
(ECM)
Walbrook PR (PR / IR advisers) Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780
or
Nick Rome/Tom Cooper/Nicholas Johnson BigbluBroadband@walbrookpr.com
About Bigblu Broadband plc
Bigblu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB), is a leading provider of
alternative super-fast and ultra-fast broadband solutions
throughout Australia, the Nordics and significant parts of the UK.
BBB delivers a portfolio of super-fast wireless broadband products
for consumers and businesses unserved or underserved by fibre. The
Group has a significant target market with 3m customers in the
territories we operate in with speeds of under 4 Mbps.
High levels of recurring revenue, increasing economies of scale
and Government stimulation of the alternative broadband market in
the countries we operate in provide a solid foundation for strong
organic growth as demand for alternative super-fast broadband
services increases in the territories we operate in.
Acquisitive and organic growth enabled BBB to grow rapidly since
inception in 2008 during which time the Company completed 21
acquisitions across nine different countries. In September 2020,
BBB concluded the sale of its UK and European Satellite business to
Eutelsat, offering an excellent return for shareholders. With the
remaining businesses - consisting of its Australian operations
(Skymesh Pty Limited), its majority interest in Quickline (QCL
Holdings Limited) and its Nordics business (Bigblu Norge AS) , BBB
is extremely well positioned to continue growing as it targets
customers that are trapped in the 'digital divide' with limited
fibre broadband options.
BBB continues to provide customers significant ongoing services
in the territories present including hardware supply, installation,
pre and post-sale support billings and collections, whilst offering
appropriate tariffs depending on the requirements of each end user
in each territory. BBB's range of solutions includes satellite,
next generation fixed wireless and 4G/5G delivering between 30 Mbps
and 150 Mbps for consumers, and up to 1 Gbps for businesses.
Importantly, as core technologies evolve, and more affordable
capacity is made available, BBB continues to offer ever-increasing
speeds and higher data throughputs to satisfy market demands for
'video-on- demand'. Its alternative broadband offerings present a
customer experience that is similar to that offered by wired
broadband and the connection can be shared in the normal way with
PCs, tablets and smart-phones via a normal wired or wireless
router.
Kacific
Kacific is a leading next-generation broadband satellite
operator. It is committed to providing universal, fast,
high-quality broadband access at an affordable cost using robust
technologies and an agile business model.
Founded in 2013 by a core team of senior satellite
professionals, Kacific is backed by a group of investors with
experience in global telecommunications and infrastructure. Its
first Ka-band high throughput satellite, Kacific1, launched in 2019
to stream high-speed, low-cost, ultra-reliable broadband to rural
and suburban areas of the Pacific and South East Asia.
Kacific is a wholesale business selling to telecommunications
operators, internet service providers, governments and other
service providers.
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