Southern Phone (also known as Southern Phone Company) is an Australian

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s company. It is located at

Moruya, New South Wales Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4,29 ...

. Southern Phone was established in 2002. It operated as an

unlisted public company An unlisted public company is a public company that is not listed on any stock exchange. Though the criteria vary somewhat between jurisdictions, a public company is a company that is registered as such and generally has a minimum share capital an ...

until December 2019. It was acquired by

AGL Energy AGL Energy Ltd () is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. AGL is Australia's largest electricity generator, and the nation's largest carbo ...

for from 35 district councils.

History

In 2002, Southern Phone was formed by councils in New South Wales, Australia in order to extend affordable telecommunications into regional communities. The company received $4.77 million in initial funding from the Australian Government's Networking the Nation scheme. Local councils were

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s, retaining profits in the community. Councils purchased two shares for $1 each. In 2017, Southern Phone had 35 shareholders including the

Upper Lachlan Shire Upper Lachlan Shire is a local government area in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in February 2004 from Crookwell Shire and parts of Mulwaree, Gunning and Yass Shires. The mayor of Upper Lachl ...

Council, Coffs Harbour City Council and

Bellingen Shire Bellingen Shire is a local government area in the mid north coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Pacific Highway, Waterfall Way and the North Coast railway line. The Mayor of the Bellingen Shire is ...

Council. Optus Satellite partnered with Southern Phone in October 2017 to launch the

national broadband network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provider ...

(NBN)

Sky Muster The Sky Muster satellites are two geostationary (GEO) communications satellites operated by NBN Co Limited and built by SSL. They were launched in 2015 and 2016 to provide fast broadband in areas where NBN didn't want to either lay fiber or i ...

. Southern Phone uses the Optus 4G network, as well as parts of the Telstra 4G/3G network for its mobile services. By 2018, Southern Phone had delivered over $14.8 million in dividends to local councils with shares in the company.

References

{{reflist 2002 establishments in Australia Australian companies established in 2002 Telecommunications companies of Australia Companies based in New South Wales