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Shares surged by 69 per cent in early trading this morning for challenger telco Pentanet (ASX: 5GG), following news of a deal to deliver its exclusive cloud gaming platform GeForce NOW to Optus customers for one year.
It marks a major milestone for Perth-based Pentanet’s towards commercialising its streaming service, which was launched in collaboration with US tech giant NVIDIA to an eager market of gamers across Australia and New Zealand in late 2021.
GeForce NOW removes the need for expensive gaming hardware, allowing gamers to play supported titles in the cloud, streaming gameplay directly from the company's RTX Blade Servers.
From today, the GeForce NOW user management platform CloudGG will be integrated into the Optus SubHub – a platform that allows the telco giant’s customers to sign-up, transfer and manage subscriptions from one place.
This morning saw Pentanet trade as high as 27cps, recovering ground lost since mid-December when it was trading at 29cps but well off its all-time high of $1.10 per share in April 2021.
At the time of writing, shares are trading 23cps.
“This is a big step towards solidifying our position in the gaming market, being the wholesale digital distribution channel for GeForce NOW in our territories,” Pentanet managing director Stephen Cornish said.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Optus and putting this game changing platform into the hands of new users."
Founded in 2017 by Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs lister Stephen Cornish, Pentanet is a NextGen internet service provider that delivers high-speed internet through its private fixed-wireless network and resells fixed-line services such as NBN, where its wireless service is still unavailable.
The company recently announced it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based Cambium Networks to accelerate its 5G network roll out under a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solution, without the need for upfront CAPEX costs.
Under the NaaS proposal, Cambium will provide Pentanet with a variable financing facility worth up to $5.95 million for Pentanet’s 5G rollout plan, including hardware, cnMaestro X, software updates and the option for technical support as a monthly service.
5G fixed hardware will be purchased as a fixed monthly subscription instead of higher upfront capital expenditure, assisting Pentanet in spreading its CAPEX profile for the 5G network expansion plans over future years.
Three months ago, Pentanet also announced it was expanding its NVIDIA agreement in Australia by introducing next-gen RTX3080 computer hardware and higher-tier plans to its subscribers. The deal gives the telco rights to expand the NVIDIA offering to New Zealand and potentially other neighbouring territories.
Under its latest agreement, Optus has been granted a minimum of six months of reseller exclusivity and has the option to extend based on subscriber volume. The deal excludes Pentanet and non-telecommunications industry companies.
“Our mission is to break down the barriers to gaming and offer our customers the freedom to play anywhere and anytime,” Optus managing director of marketing and revenue Matt Williams said.
“Cloud gaming is an ideal example for 5G in the home and on the go, given the need for high speed, low latency connectivity, and we are excited that we will be able to offer that to our customers very soon.”
As at 31 December 2022, more than 311,676 gamers across Australia and New Zealand have registered as members for GeForce NOW – reflecting a fivefold increase year-on-year.
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