In a statement on Friday, Coles said the tie-up would mean that high-capacity fibre services would link the company's retail, distribution and support centres nationally.

The deal represents a loss for Telstra as Coles was one of its major Australian corporate customers.

Optus will work with Coles' digital and technology teams to train them to use the capabilities of the network and increase innovation and productivity. The telco will also provide corporate mobile telephony services for Coles for voice and data.

Optus will partner with NBN Co, the company rolling out the NBN, to deploy fibre connections to Coles supermarkets, liquor stores, Coles Express convenience stores, distribution centres and store support centres.

"The increased speeds and capacity of this new network give us the flexibility to rapidly increase the speed at which our stores can access and transfer data," said Coles chief information and digital officer Roger Sniezek.

"Optus is pleased to be partnering with Coles to provide an enterprise-grade network and a range of information and communication technology services that will accelerate the digitalisation of the Coles store network and enable an even better shopping experience for customers," said Optus Business managing director John Paitaridis.

"Both Coles and Optus Business share a passion for customer service, which is at the heart of our strategic partnership. Our collaboration will help make the lives of more than 115,000 Coles team members easier and we look forward to working with Coles on future initiatives.”

NBN Co chief customer officer for Business, Paul Tyler, said: "We look forward to working with Optus on a network solution that will help enable digital innovation for years to come."

The deal includes Optus joining the flybuys program, along with existing partners such as Coles, Coles Express, Liquorland, First Choice, eBay, Velocity Frequent Flyer, Medibank, Citi, AGL, eBay, NAB, Kmart, Target, Budget Car and Truck Rental, AGL and Adidas.

"flybuys is excited to welcome Optus as a strategic partner to Australia’s most popular loyalty program," chief executive John Merakovsky said.

"Optus joins our coalition of services, retail, and travel partners providing great value to members and new ways to earn points."