Superloop granted telco licence for Hong Kong

Asia-Pacific fibre infrastructure company Superloop has secured a telecommunications licence to operate in Hong Kong, only two months after listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Superloop was founded by Australian technology entrepreneur Bevan Slattery in 2014, when Megaport's fibre assets were spun off so that Megaport could return its focus to expanding its layer 2 elastic connectivity platform outside of Asia and Australia.

Superloop's 130km fibre network in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane was subsequently sold off to Amcom. In return, Superloop secured a 15-year exclusive lease on the network, which services such customers as iiNet, M2, and Anittel.

After its successful IPO, which raised AU$17.5 million through more than 2,300 investors, the company then listed on the ASX.

The Superloop (Hong Kong) subsidiary was granted a Unified Carrier Licence (UCL) by the Hong Kong Office of the Communications Authority on Monday, with Superloop CEO Daniel Abrahams stating that this would enable the company to provide the Chinese territory with fixed-line telecommunications services.

"The UCL allows Superloop to build, operate, and provide telecommunications networks and services in Hong Kong," Abrahams said.

Abrahams had previously told ZDNet that from July, the company would focus on the completion of building out its Australian network and picking up customers.

"We said Q3 of 2015, and that's about to happen. We obviously have this fairly significant milestone under our belt now with the ASX listing, and we committed to make sure the investors understand the growth opportunity that Asia-Pacific represents in the telecommunications sector, and particularly in Singapore," he said.

"Post the IPO, it's getting the networks live, and getting the customers onto the networks."

In Singapore, the company acquired and has been installing a 120km duct network underground, with a fibre optic network also currently being rolled out to connect datacentres and submarine cable landing stations.

Abrahams said in June that the dark fibre company would also be targeting telcos and content providers in Asia-Pacific, predominantly in Singapore, with the swell in subsea cables and datacentres a major drawcard for the region.

"We see Australia as an important market, but we recognise growth is going to come from Asia-Pacific," he said.