Telstra gets five-year AU$1 billion contract renewal with Department of Defence | ZDNet

Telstra has extended its arrangement with the Department of Defence, gaining a five-year AU$1 billion contract renewal. The telco said the deal was its largest ever for Telstra Enterprise.

The contract has options for Defence to extend the contract multiple times for up to three years.

The deal includes a Wi-Fi 6 rollout, 5G connectivity, SD-WAN, and other software-defined networking elements.

“We are very pleased to extend and deepen our partnership with the Department of Defence and use our unique sovereign capabilities, decades of experience, and cutting-edge technology to co-design solutions for today and into the future,” Telstra CEO Andy Penn said.

Telstra added it currently works with over 30 local suppliers to provide around AU$50 million of technology and services each year to Defence.

In 2013, Telstra picked up an initial six-year contract with Defence worth AU$1.1 billion to build a new terrestrial communications network for the department.

Last week, the telco announced it would acquire Digicel Pacific.

For a total cost of $1.6 billion, Telstra said it would be contributing $270 million, with the Commonwealth to stump up $1.33 billion via “combination of non-recourse debt facilities and equity-like securities”. Telstra said it would have 100% control of the entity and has preferred equity over the government.

Telstra said the Commonwealth made the initial approach.

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