The merger of US telecom giant Verizon and Australia’s Fairfax Media is a massive shakeup of the telecommunications landscape, bringing together the largest companies in the US and Australia.

The deal was announced on Wednesday as Fairfax Media’s share price climbed sharply, with shares of both companies up more than 8 per cent in early trading.

The merger, which would be Australia’s biggest deal, would create the world’s largest broadband company and would create more than 3,000 jobs.

It was expected to take five years to complete, but Fairfax Media reported on Thursday that it had reached a deal with US technology giant Microsoft and Australian tech giant Amazon.

In a blog post, Fairfax Media chief executive David Simons said the deal would create jobs in both companies.

“We have been fortunate enough to have a company like Amazon, who are among the world leaders in cloud computing, who understand our technology and our customers,” Simons wrote.

Mr Simons added that the combined company will have a “massive impact” on Australia’s future.

However, the deal is being hailed as a big step forward in the evolution of the internet.

With the merger, Fairfax is moving away from a single market, where companies compete for customers, into one that has the ability to deliver services to all Australians, Simons stated.

More:The deal is also expected to bring in more than $8 billion to the Australian economy, according to Fairfax Media.

According to Fairfax, the combined companies will create more US jobs than the combined US jobs created by Amazon and Microsoft combined.

Australian government sources told the ABC that the merger would create about 10,000 US jobs.

Mr Simont said the merger was a win for consumers, who would receive “a much better and more affordable internet service”.

“They would be able to choose from an increasingly diverse and vibrant range of internet services,” Simon wrote.

“These services include the likes of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix.”

“The combined companies’ combined workforce would also be the largest in the world and in Australia’s history.”

He added that this merger would “create tens of thousands of jobs across the US, Canada, and Australia”.

Mr Simon said the company’s Australian operations will remain in the United States, while its Australian operations would move to Singapore.

“We expect to achieve significant synergies in our US operations and to establish a strong, global presence,” he said.

“This combined company would also have an extensive portfolio of products and services across the entire internet, from broadband to TV, email, games and apps.”

Mr Samuels said Fairfax Media was looking forward to working with both companies, and to “develop the next generation of Australian content”.

“This deal will deliver huge economic benefits to Australia, and we look forward to the future of Fairfax Media,” he wrote.

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