TPG spends big to take on mobile rivals

TPG Telecom will build Australia's fourth mobile network, taking on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia.

THE KEY COMPONENTS OF TPG'S PLANS TO BUILD A MOBILE NETWORK

* Paying $1.26 billion for premium mobile spectrum - radio frequencies allocated to mobile industry and other sectors for communication over airwaves. This will support TPG's 4G mobile network, allowing it to compete with other spectrum owners Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia.

* Will spend another $600 million on a network to cover about 80 per cent of population. It will deploy equipment at up to 2,500 sites across Australia, and already has a fibre network.

* Already has 1.9 million fixed-line broadband subscribers and 500,000 mobile customers, who currently use Vodafone Australia's network.

* Expects its mobile network to breakeven with only 500,000 subscribers, or market share of about 2 pct.

* Telstra has about 17.4 million mobile customers, Optus 9.6 million and Vodafone Australia 5.6 million.