BigAir Group Limited yesterday announced the acquisition of iBurst customers from T3 Wireless, a subsidiary of Pacific Internet.

Additionally, T3 Wireless will assist with the migration of its existing iBurst retail channel distribution agreements across to BigAir, further enhancing BigAir's distribution capability.

BigAir will acquire about 800 iBurst customers which will expand its iBurst subscriber base by almost 10 percent to around 8500.

The acquisition will add more than $600,000 in annualized revenues to BigAir.

The iBurst service delivers high-speed mobile Internet access enabling customers to access their e-mail and office network and to surf the Internet while away from the office or on the road.

BigAir CEO, Jason Ashton said the customers being acquired are mostly professional users with higher than average ARPU (average revenue per user) and higher than average margins.

"This acquisition also represents a significant opportunity for expansion of BigAir's retail distribution channels which in turn will help us to grow the BigAir brand and customer base," Ashton said.

Information technology and telecommunications market intelligence and advisory firm, IDC, predicts the total Australian market for wireless broadband will exceed 386,000 subscribers and $243 million by 2009 with a growth rate almost three times that of the overall broadband market.

Furthermore, IDC expects wireless broadband to carry a significant pricing premium versus other broadband services due to the benefits it offers.