First to market pay-as-you-go Gigabit fibre plan

By Wholesale

There has been plenty of commentary about how Covid-19 has changed our lives and work practices forever. It’s fair to say that none of us know how this is going to play out in the longer term, but as Australia readies itself for workplace re-entry over the coming months, one thing is for certain: the need for flexibility; businesses will likely need to adopt more flexible work practices in terms of where staff conduct their work. As a result, offices may, on any one day, be operating at a fraction of the capacity of before the pandemic, and then the next, be at full capacity. This comes with its own set of telecommunications challenges: how much bandwidth do we need on any given day or hour?

To meet the needs of the changing business environment, Optus Wholesale has developed, what we believe to be, the most flexible Gigabit fibre plan on the market, where businesses only pay for what they use.

Recently, we caught up with OW’s Senior Director for the Fixed Portfolio, Peter Besser, to find out more about this exciting, ground-breaking service…

What exactly is Evolve EWAN Flex?

Evolve EWAN Flex is a brand new usage-based, pay-as-you-go pricing plan for Optus Wholesale’s existing Evolve EWAN services. With pricing from as low as $100 per month (ex GST), businesses can get 1Gbps synchronous fibre to the premise ‘on tap’, but only pay for what they use.

Does it come with options?

Yes, it comes with a number of product options including:

• With or without NTU
• Layer 2 
• Usage only or upgrade to traditional committed bandwidth and ability to swap
• Pricing structure is simple with caps to protect businesses from potential bill shock
• Access term options

What have been the drivers behind Optus Wholesale developing this product?

As mentioned in your intro, a big driver has been Covid-19 and the changing working environment that has resulted. With lockdowns ending and people gradually returning to work, I don’t think we know yet exactly how this is going to play out for businesses in terms of the balance between home and office working, but one thing is for sure, and that’s the need for flexibility.

Businesses will need to adopt flexible work practices, and fluctuating bandwidth usage requirements will result from that. So, what better way for a service provider to really differentiate in the market than to offer their business customers a layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet plan where they can be connected for as little as $100 per month (ex GST) and only pay for what they use, as and when they need it: it allows our customers to become “The telco that flexes with your business!”.

Another significant driver has been the expansion in uptake of paid Cloud computing, especially in small to medium businesses where over 75 percent now use these services, up 10 percent on 2017-2018^.

Can you expand on the use cases for Evolve EWAN Flex?

As well as potentially being a more economical primary connectivity option for businesses where staff no longer have to be in the office 5 days a week and usage is fluctuating, businesses can also use EWAN Flex as a back-up service should their primary connection go down; it can just sit there in the background and businesses can ‘turn it on’ if they need to and pay for what they use.

Similarly, if businesses want the option to top-up their primary capacity up to a Gigabit, as traffic loads change during the month, for say, critical private Cloud apps, then EWAN Flex provides that flexibility.

What are the benefits of the new service for businesses?

For us it’s all about providing businesses with control, flexibility, scalability, and reassurance. Instead of having to order connectivity in predetermined bandwidth blocks and then be committed to a term for the service, customers can have 1Gbps ‘on tap’ should they need all of it or part of it - and pay for it like a utility. We don’t consume power on a monthly pre-set Watt cap, we pay for what we use; so why not have a layer 2 Ethernet usage-based telco service on tap to consume as business needs fluctuate? 

Another major benefit of the service is that it can help improve compliance with Business Continuity Insurance policies, because EWAN Flex is a terrestrial service.

Which businesses do you think are going to be interested in the new service?

We think that the service holds strong appeal for any business with an Optus Evolve EWAN Ethernet service, which values that extra peace of mind of having a cost-effective terrestrial back up service should their primary link go down, and/or which is grappling with the challenge of fluctuating bandwidth usage requirements either due to changing workplace practices or increased Cloud usage.

What’s the opportunity for Optus Wholesale partners and other Service Providers?

We believe Evolve EWAN Flex has fantastic potential in the current business environment. There are thousands of multi-tenanted office buildings with Optus fibre. Many of the businesses within these buildings could potentially benefit from Evolve EWAN Flex, whether they switch to Flex as their primary service or use it for disaster recovery or extra capacity.

Telco Service Providers who take on EWAN Flex gain the opportunity to ride the wave of businesses returning to the office, demanding more flexible broadband connectivity options; they can demonstrate to their customers that they are willing and able to flex as they now need to flex in their business practices.

How will Optus Wholesale support Service Providers who want to sell the service?

As well guiding SPs through the simple onboarding process, we are exploring ways to 'open doors' for their sales efforts by doing ‘umbrella’ marketing and communications around the product to generate awareness amongst businesses as to how it can be used and how it will benefit them. We will include SPs, who sell EWAN Flex, on our Wholesale website, as well as equipping them with brochure ware, presentation decks and other tools to tailor and use with their customers.

What should Optus Wholesale Partners and other Service Providers, who are interested, do next?

We are aiming to officially launch the service in late November, but existing Wholesale partners with business customers who can already see new revenue opportunities, should contact their Optus Wholesale Account Manager immediately to organise connection.

If there are any other Service Providers out there, who do not currently sell Optus Wholesale products, but would be interested in finding out more about selling Evolve EWAN Flex, please complete the form indicating your interest in this product. We look forward to hearing from you.

^Source: ABS, Characteristics of Australian Business, 2019-20 FY.