Footnotes / references Financials as of 30 June 2023[update][2]
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecommunications company by market share.[3]
Telecom Australia logo, 1975–1993Telecom Australia logo, 1993–1995
Australia's telecommunications services were originally controlled by the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG),[5] formed in 1901 as a result of Australian Federation. Prior to 1901, telecommunications were administered by each colony. On 1 July 1975, separate commissions were established by statute to replace the PMG. Responsibility for postal services was transferred to the Australian Postal Commission (Australia Post). The Australian Telecommunications Commission (ATC), trading as Telecom Australia, ran domestic telecommunication services.
In 1989, the ATC introduced new buildings and frameworks.
In 1993, the Overseas Telecommunications Commission, a separate government body established in 1946, was merged with the Australian Telecommunications Corporation into the short-lived Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (AOTC) which continued trading under the established identities of Telecom and OTC. The AOTC was renamed to Telstra Corporation Limited in 1993. The name "Telstra" is derived from the word Telecom Australia ("Tel" from Telecom and "stra" from Australia). The corporation then traded under the "Telstra" brand internationally and "Telecom Australia" domestically until uniform branding of "Telstra" was introduced throughout the entire organisation in 1995, following an unsuccessful attempt to register the trademark "Telecom Australia".
Telstra has faced competition since the early 1990s from Optus (Australia's second largest communication company) and a number of smaller providers. Telstra once retained ownership of the fixed-line telephone network, but since the nationwide upgrade to the National Broadband Network (NBN), the Australian Government now has legal ownership of these lines since 2007, though Telstra has played a big part in this upgrade supplying resources to the Government on the new network.[citation needed] Telstra also has pay TV and owns 35% of the Australian media company Foxtel.[6]
On 1 February 1992, it was merged with Australia's domestic telecommunications carrier, the Australian Telecommunications Corporation Limited ("Telecom"), to create the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited (AOTC). The new organisation underwent a corporate identity review and was subsequently renamed Telstra Corporation Limited ("Telstra") for international business in 1993 and domestic business in 1995.[5]
Privatisation
Beginning in 1997 and finalizing in 2011, the federal government began to privatise the corporation. The first three stages were initiated by the Liberal–National Coalition's Howard government: the first, informally known as "T1" (with shares priced at $3.30), occurred in 1997. "T2" ($7.40) followed in 1999; "T3" ($3.60) in 2006.[5][9]
In T1, the government sold one third of its shares in Telstra for A$14 billion and publicly listed the company on the Australian Stock Exchange.[9] In 1998, a further 16% of Telstra shares were sold to the public, leaving the Australian government with 51% ownership. In 2006, T3 was announced by the government and was the largest of the three public releases, reducing the government's ownership of Telstra to 17%.[10] The 17% remainder of Telstra was placed in Australia's Future Fund, a sovereign wealth fund established mainly to meet future liabilities for payment of superannuation to retired federal public servants.[11] In 2009, the Future Fund sold off another $2.4 billion worth of shares, reducing the government's stake in Telstra to 10.9%.[12] In August 2011, under Labor's Gillard government, the Future Fund sold its remaining "above market weight" Telstra shares, reducing its holding to 0.8% of the shares, effectively completing Telstra's privatisation.[13]
With more than one million shareholders, Telstra is currently the most widely held ASX-listed company.[14]
Telstra phone booths showing the current colour scheme, replacing the former orange logo with shades of green and blue.
On 26 November 2008, Telstra submitted a non-complying tender issued by the federal government to build a National Broadband Network, a 12-page letter proposing a $5 billion broadband network covering between 80 and 90 percent of the Australian population in major cities, despite the tender requiring 98 percent coverage.[15][16]
As a result, Telstra was removed from the National Broadband Network RFP process on 15 December 2008.[17] In response, Telstra announced that it would raise speeds on its existing Next G network and HFC "cable" network so that they both offer higher speeds than the RFP for the NBN requires.[18] Following Telstra's exclusion from the National Broadband Network bidding process Telstra's share price suffered the biggest one-day percentage fall in its history.[19]
NBN Co Limited signed a definitive agreement with Telstra on 23 June 2011, estimated to be worth A$9 billion post-tax net present value,[20] building upon the signing of a financial heads of agreement a year beforehand.[21] Telstra agreed to "disconnect"[22] its Internet customers from the copper and hybrid fibre-coaxial networks in areas where FTTP has been installed, and agreed to lease dark fibre, exchange space and ducts to NBN Co. As part of the agreement, Telstra would not be able to market their mobile network as an alternative to the NBN for a number of years.[20] Telstra remains the owner of its networks.[23] On 18 October 2011, Telstra shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal.[24]
On 14 December 2014 it was announced that in a A$11b renegotiated deal Telstra will transfer ownership of its copper and hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) networks to NBN while disconnecting premises from these networks. This ownership allows NBN Co to use these networks "where it sees fit in for its multi-technology NBN rollout."[25]
David Thodey era (2010–2015)
Under the leadership of David Thodey, Telstra embarked upon a transformation agenda to become more sales and service focused.
As part of that, an ambitious customer service agenda was defined.[26]
Early in 2010, Telstra announced the creation of a $1 billion "fighting fund" to be used in a concerted effort to win back market share in key product categories. This effort seems to have paid off with strong sales momentum announced in February 2011.[28]
Customer service recovery
As part of its new strategy, Telstra announced that its "goal is for customer service to be fundamental to everything we do".[29] In August 2011, Telstra Digital announced expansion of customer service into social media with 24/7 coverage.[30] By November 2012, Telstra claimed 140,000 live chats for the month and a growth rate of this service of 600% p.a.[31] In October 2013, Telstra announced that it had grown its Live Chat workforce to 600 and its social media workforce to 30.[32] Customer Service became a pillar of the corporation’s social responsibility ethos according to Telstra’s head of social services Gerard Devan and the Telstra foundation.
The following table shows total complaints handled by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) 2010–2015, and of those, the ones made against Telstra.
In February 2011, Telstra announced the formation of Telstra Digital under the leadership of Gerd Schenkel who was hired from National Australia Bank/UBank.[39][40][41] Telstra Digital's initial purpose was to improve the use of digital channels for customer service. In April 2011, Telstra Digital relaunched its web homepage design.[42] In July 2011, Telstra Digital launched "CrowdSupport", an online forum to crowd source customer service.[43] As of July 2017, Telstra's "CrowdSupport" had 463,000 posts.[44] It was also cited as an example of "scaling at the edge" by Deloitte's Centre for the Edge.[45]
In September 2011, Telstra Digital launched a new account services portal to help achieve its goal of managing 35% of Telstra's transactions.[46] In October 2011, Telstra Digital announced a new mobile smartphone optimised version of its website.[47] In November 2011, Telstra Digital launched an iPhone app on a trial basis[48] as well as a new online mobile phone shop.[49]
In July 2012, Telstra Digital launched smartphone and Facebook apps for customers to manage their Telstra accounts[50] and in November 2012, Telstra claimed that over 700,000 customers had downloaded those apps.[51][non-primary source needed] In August 2013, Telstra revealed that the apps reached 2.5 million downloads.[52]
At a results announcement, CEO David Thodey remarked that "the group's new online strategy was delivering" in the context of a 28% reduction of inbound service calls.[53] Telstra estimated that its digital program will provide productivity benefits of $100 million in the 2013 financial year from lower printing costs, decreasing commissions to third parties, and reduced dependence on call centre staff.[54]
In October 2012, Telstra's CEO David Thodey stated, "The rise of online and social media had 'fundamentally changed the way' which the company communicated with its customers".[55] In a 2015 Deloitte report, Telstra disclosed that its "CrowdSupport" service community had generated 200,000 pieces of user-generated content.[56] In August 2016, Telstra disclosed that "more than 60%" of visitors to "CrowdSupport" manage to find an answer on the community.[57]
In February 2013, Telstra introduced the ability to pay its bills via PayPal.[58] And in June 2013, Telstra launched a new website, including the ability for customers to link their online accounts to their Facebook identity.[59][60]
In March 2014, Telstra announced a new digital development program called "Digital First" with a stated aim to conduct 65 to 70 percent of its transactions online.[61] Telstra published a white paper sharing some key metrics of its digital program:[62]
In September 2014, Telstra announced the opening of a "Digital Transformation Centre" in Sydney to design and built new digital tools for its service systems.[65][66]
In June 2014, Telstra disclosed that it had 3 million customers on "electronic billing" saving it $3 million per month in costs.[67] Telstra also mentioned that live chat accounted for 10% of total contact centre activity.[68]
In December 2015, Telstra Digital launched customer service on Periscope.[69]
In October 2016, the executive director of Telstra Digital Gerd Schenkel left Telstra[70] to become CEO of a fintech company.[71]
Telstra owns and operates a series of retail stores known as Telstra Stores. Some are directly owned and operated by Telstra and some are operated by licensees.[72]
As of May 2016, Telstra has a total of 360 retail stores across Australia.[73] This includes several new 'Discovery' stores, where Telstra has invested millions in redesigning key stores based on local requirements. These designs include new displays, accessory shops, digital tickets and free baristas.[74]
109 of Telstra's stores are owned and operated by Vita Group, a publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of approximately $600m (June 2016).
In February 2011, Telstra announced the creation of an additional 100 retail stores within three years.[39][75]
These developments built on Telstra's T[life] concept stores it had launched in the early 2000s.[77]
New brand
In October 2011, Telstra launched a new brand identity and colour scheme.[78] The new identity launched with the slogan "It's how we connect", and features the "T" from the previous logo in a variety of colors. This was followed by a "brand refresh" in February 2014 and again in 2016.[79] In 2013, Telstra was assessed as Australia's third most valuable brand, after Woolworths and BHP Billiton.[80] In 2016 Telstra became Australia's most valuable brand, which it maintained in 2017.[81]
Sponsorships
Telstra sponsors numerous awards around Australia, including the Australian Business of the Year award, the MYOB Small Business Award, and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) which has become known as the Telstra Award.[82] Notable past winners include Vaxine,[83]APS Plastics,[84] and eWAY.[85] Telstra also set up a social services CEO round table under Gerard Devan which acted as a "Think Tank" to the sector.
Telstra was a major sponsor of the V8 Supercarscar racing championship through its BigPond brand and directly sponsored the Sydney Telstra 500 event, the final round of the series held at Sydney Olympic Park.[86] The sport ended this deal at the conclusion of the 2012 season.[87]
Telstra also had the naming rights (under TelstraClear) for the TelstraClear Pacific events centre in Manukau City, New Zealand.[90][91]
In September 2021 Telstra solutions and Telstra Purple announced a partnership with eVTOL racing series Airspeeder. The deal centred around providing a service to transmit terabytes of data for vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications for the EXA series. This deal incorporated on-vehicle branding for Telstra.[92][93]
Share price development
In November 1997, the Australian government sold the first tranche of its Telstra shares, 4.29 Billion shares, publicly at a price of $3.40 per share to institutional investors and $3.30 to retail investors. This sale is commonly referred to as "T1".[94] In October 1999, the Australian government sold the second tranche of its Telstra shares under the "T2" program for $7.80 per share to institutional investors and $7.40 to retail investors.[94] In November 2006, the government sold a third tranche of its shares, "T3", at $3.60 per share.[95]
Since its privatisation, Telstra shares have hit a low of just over $2.50 per share in late 2010.[96] Since then, Telstra shares have risen to $5 per share in December 2013[96] and $6 per share in December 2014.[97]
On 17 May 2019 the shares closed on the ASX at $3.56 up from a twelve-month low of $2.547 per share[98]
In February 2014, Telstra raised its dividend from 14c to 14.5c per share.[99]
Amid the global pandemic crisis of the coronavirus in 2020, Telstra was one of three companies of the ASX 200 to gain in the week starting 15 March. It increased by 1.8 percent on the Australian Securities Exchange.[100]
Sale of Sensis
In January 2014, Telstra announced its intention to sell 70% of Sensis to Platinum Equity for $454 million.[101] Sensis was said to have once been "one of Telstra's most lucrative businesses" and reportedly "has been under pressure in recent years amid competition from more agile digital alternatives such as Google".[101]
In February 2014, Telstra was reportedly seeking to reduce Sensis employment by 400 to 1,000 positions.[102][103]
New health business unit
In September 2013, Telstra launched a new health business unit – Telstra Health and hired Shane Solomon as the head.[104]
In September 2016, Telstra Health was awarded a $220m government contract amidst claims of "lack of transparency".[105]
In December 2014, Telstra signed an agreement with the federal government's A.C.N. 86 136 533 741 (NBN Co) Limited. This agreement is said to retain the $11b value for Telstra of the original agreement from October 2011 and will see the company progressively sell its copper and Hybrid fiber-coaxial networks to A.C.N. 86 136 533 741 (NBN Co) Limited.[118]
Andrew Penn era (2015–2022)
On 19 February 2015, Telstra announced that CEO David Thodey would retire on 1 May 2015 and be replaced by successor Andy Penn.[119] Penn's era was marked by the very difficult transition to the NBN, a government policy decision which had significant implications for Telstra. Penn indicated new focus on growth in the core business with a pulling back from international markets,[120] including the discontinuation of a joint venture to build a mobile phone network in the Philippines.[121] On 14 March 2016, Telstra ended their talks between the company and the Philippine-based conglomerate San Miguel Corporation for a planned joint telecommunications venture in the Philippines due to several factors.[122]
In 2016, Telstra suffered a series of network outages[123][124] for which the company apologised.[125] In December of that year, Telstra announced the appointment of Robyn Denholm as its new COO, following the departure of Kate McKenzie who left after the network outages.[126] In December, Telstra announced the hire of a new CTO to replace the predecessor who left amongst allegations of CV fraud.[127] In 2016, the government raised the possibility that Telstra's regional mobile network may be forced to be opened to competitor' use under a roaming scheme. A prospect strongly being fought by Telstra.[128] Penn announced a $3bn investment program to strength its networks and as a platform for future digital investments.
In February 2017, Telstra announced that revenue had dropped 3.5%, Net Profit After Tax had dropped by over 14%[129] due to the impact of the rollout of the NBN by the Australian Government. As a result, Telstra's share price dropped by 4.5% on the same day.[130] In August 2017, Telstra announced that it would cut its dividend in response to the financial implications of the NBN and to fund its network investments, leading to a drop in share price by over 10% in a single day to reach a 5-year low.[131]
T22 strategy
In June 2018, Telstra announced its Telstra2022 strategy designed to face into headwinds from the NBN rollout and return the business to growth.[132] Composed of four pillars, the strategy was designed to remove $1 billion of operating costs from the business, simplifying its overall structure and leading to six key outcomes: improve customer experiences, simplify its products and operating model, extend network superiority and 5G leadership, achieve global high performance in employee engagement, reduce net productivity costs, and attain a return on capital investment post the NBN rollout.[132]
On 20 June 2018, Telstra announced a reduction of 9,500 jobs (8,000 net job losses after considering 1,500 new roles to be created) as part of its "Telstra 2022" (T22) plan.[133]
InfraCo
Created on 1 July 2018, Telstra InfraCo[134] would serve as the infrastructure business, owning an estimated $11 billion AUD in assets made up of data centres, non-mobiles related domestic fibre, copper, HFC, subsea cables, exchanges, poles, ducts, and pipes.[135] InfraCo opened its dark fibre network across six Australian state capitals in February 2021.[136] Telstra said the dark fibre network would open up a wealth of capabilities and control for its targeted audience of network operates and service providers such as global carriers, data centre operators, internet service producers and over the top providers according to Infrastructure Chief Ross Lambi.[137]
Retail store strategy
In February 2021, Telstra announced plans to take back full ownership of its 337 retail stores. At the time of the announcement Telstra owned and operated 67 of its stores, Vita Group owned and operated 104 stores, and the remaining 166 were operated by individual licensees.[138] The process of transitioning stores back to Telstra ownership took around 12 to 18 months to complete.[139] As part of the T22 program Telstra also brought its call centres back on shore.
Ultimately the T22 strategy proved to be very successful with a significant improvement in customer metrics, employee engagement, a return to profitable growth supported by a $2.7 bn reduction in annualised costs. Telstra's share price increased more than 50% from a low in 2018 of $2.63 to more than $4 in 2022.
Vicki Brady era (2022–present)
On 30 March 2022, Telstra announced that Vicki Brady would become the new chief executive officer effective 1 September 2022.[140] In December 2023, Telstra acquired Versent, a provider of cloud transformation and security products and services, for $267.5 million.[141]
On 21 May 2024, Brady announced plans to lay off 2,800 employees by the end of 2024. Most of these roles would be in the B2B Telstra Enterprise division, with 377 roles in consultancy for redundancy. Brady said the changes were part of the company's transition towards AI technology. Communication Workers Union national assistant secretary James Perkins criticised the lack of staff warning prior to the announcement.[142][143]
In December 2024, Telstra announced it would acquire Boost Mobile, an MVNO which operates on its mobile network.[144]
Products and services
Fixed-line and mobile telephony
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2020)
Telstra is Australia's incumbent and largest provider of fixed-line services.[145][146] These include home phone, business and other PSTN products.[147]
Telstra outsources a significant portion of network installation and maintenance to private contractors and joint ventures, such as ABB Communications and STCJV (Siemens Thiess Communications Joint Venture).[148]
Telstra also owns and maintains the majority of Australia's public telephones.[149] In 2006, Telstra announced it would remove many of the phones, citing vandalism and the increasing adoption of mobile telephones.[150] Telstra's support page has a payphones section where information about their plans to add, remove, or move payphones can be found.[151]
Telstra Mobile is Australia's largest mobile telephone service providers, in terms of both subscriptions and coverage.[152][153] Telstra operates Australia's largest GSM and 3GUMTS (branded as Next G) mobile telephony networks in Australia,[154] as well as holding a 50% stake in the 3GIS Ltd 2100 MHz UMTS network infrastructure, shared with Hutchison (Three).[citation needed] In September 2007, Telstra had an estimated 9.3M mobile subscribers.[152] Telstra Mobile services are available in post-paid and prepaid payment types, known as Telstra Pre-Paid (formerly communic8 Pre-Paid).[155]
Telstra's GSM network was the first digital mobile network in Australia. It was launched in April 1993 on the 900 MHz band as "Telstra MobileNet Digital".[156] The GSM network has carried the majority of Telstra's mobile subscribers for the last 10 years and has seen numerous upgrades.[citation needed] 1800 MHz capacity channels were added to the network in the late 1990s as well as GPRS packet data transmission capabilities. As part of the UMTS Next G deployment, the GSM network was also upgraded to a full EDGE data transmission capability in 2006 providing data transmission capabilities greater than 40 kbit/s on its GSM network.[157]
In 1981, Telstra (then Telecom Australia) was the first company to provide mobile telephony services in Australia. The first automated mobile service operated in the major capital cities on 500 MHz using the '007' dialling prefix. This network only provided "car phone" capabilities to subscribers as portable hand-held terminals were not practical at that time. The first cellular system in Australia offering portable hand-held phones was launched by Telstra in 1987 using the AMPS analogue standard on the 800 MHz band. This network at its peak had over 1 million subscribers, but was mandated by the government to be closed down by 2000, partially due to privacy concerns which resulted from the AMPS technology, but also because of arrangements undertaken to secure sufficient interest in the GSM network licenses offered in 1992 to competitors. A license condition placed on Telstra to maintain an equivalent coverage footprint at the time resulted in Telstra deciding to deploy an IS-95 CDMA network in its place.
Telstra operated over 7,400 Next G Base Stations in 2010.[158]
Internet
Wholesale
Telstra logo on the side of an exchange building.
Telstra Wholesale[159] provides products such as Data, Mobile, Voice, and other Facilities (including Co-location and Duct Access)[160] to other companies and organisations for re-sale.[161] Telstra Wholesale also provides operational support for its customers,[162] and facilities for international customers such as International Data Transport and IP Transport.[163]
Due to Telstra's position as Australia's incumbent telecommunications provider, Telstra Wholesale is the incumbent and dominant wholesaler of ADSL services to other Internet Service Providers. Telstra installed the first DSLAMs in exchanges prior to 2000, and began wholesaling access in late 2000.[164] Telstra Wholesale has a comprehensive network of ADSL DSLAMs (the largest in Australia) and allows competitors access to each Telstra DSLAM at up to ADSL2+ speeds if available, and at ADSL1 speeds should 2+ be unavailable.
Since 2013, Telstra has wholesaled its 3G and 4G network. However the wholesale product only gives access to 7000 of Telstra's over 8000 base stations, and does not include access to its faster 4GX and 5G networks.
At the end of the 2007 financial year, BigPond had over two million broadband subscribers.[166] In 2007 a survey of 14,000 people by PC Authority[167] magazine found BigPond users rated poorly for customer service, and less than a third considered their service value for money. However, BigPond argued that the survey's structure had encouraged people to provide extreme opinions.[168] In January 2009, Telstra was ranked as the top Australian ISP in terms of performance by Epitiro.[169]
Cable internet
Cable – Telstra is Australia's largest provider of Cable Internet access, which covers parts of Australia's main cities (Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and the Gold Coast). Speeds available are 'Turbo' (8 Mbit/s downstream, 128 kbit/s upstream), 'Elite' (30 Mbit/s down, 1 Mbit/s up) and 'Ultimate' (100 Mbit/s down, 2 Mbit/s up).
Telstra owned and operated the largest cable internet Hybrid Fibre cable network in Australia.[citation needed] Telstra Cable operates in selected cities and areas of Australia including (Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast), providing downstream speeds of up to 30 Mbit/s in selected areas. The upgrade to 100 Mbit/s was complete in Melbourne by Christmas 2009, and launched the new DOCSIS 3.0 services on 1 December 2009 before the deadline.
This network has since been acquired by the National Broadband Network Company (NBNCo) for public cable broadband but is still used to distribute Cable TV under the Foxtel brand.
ADSL internet
ADSL – Telstra provides both ADSL and ADSL2+ services where available, with speeds ranging from 256 kbit/s down/64 kbit/s up to 20 Mbit/s down/1 Mbit/s up. The current speeds available on ADSL plans that Telstra offers are "up to" 1.5 Mbit/s down/256 kbit/s up, "up to" 8 Mbit/s down/384 kbit/s up and "up to" 20 Mbit/s down/1 Mbit/s up.
Naked DSL – A six-week trial of two kinds of naked DSL to "assess customer demand" was launched on 1 June 2010. 'Pure DSL' having the ability to receive incoming calls and make emergency calls, and 'Naked DSL' being offered without a dial tone.[170]
On 10 November 2006, Telstra made two major changes to their ADSL network. The first was an increase of wholesale ADSL speeds from 1.5 Mbit/s/256 kbit/s to 8 Mbit/s/384 kbit/s. Telstra also released an ADSL2+ broadband service offering download speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s from exchanges where competitors were already offering ADSL2+ services.
On 6 February 2008, Telstra announced that it would activate high-speed ADSL2+ broadband in a further 900 telephone exchanges serving 2.4 million consumers across every state and territory in Australia. Telstra also claimed that it has received assurances from the Government that it would not be forced to wholesale these services to other providers, and that the move came "after the Government made clear it did not consider a compelling case had been made for regulating third-party access to the service – an assurance sought by Telstra for more than one year".[171]
On 10 June 2008, it was announced that Telstra was in discussions with some wholesale customers in reference to wholesaling ADSL2+ services.[172]
Mobile broadband
Mobile Broadband – Through their Next G network, Telstra provides the largest wireless network coverage in Australia, reaching 99% of the population.[173] Download speeds on the 3G network range from 256 kbit/s to 3.5 Mbit/s in regional and interurban areas, and "up to" 21 Mbit/s in metropolitan and city areas. Download speeds on the 4G Network are "up to" 100 Mbit/s. The Telstra mobile network now has 4GX and 5G in all capital CBDs and selected suburban and regional areas and is progressively rolling out. In other coverage areas around Australia, Mobile devices that are capable will automatically switch to the fastest available 5G 4G or 3G. Typical download speeds in 4GX areas are 5 -300 Mbit/s with category 16 devices, 5–200 Mbit/s with category 11 devices, 5–150 Mbit/s with category 9 devices, 2–100 Mbit/s with category 6 devices, and 2–75 Mbit/s with category 4 devices. Telstra also provides wireless 'hot spots'.[174]
Satellite internet
Satellite – Telstra provides satellite internet mainly for regional customers who are too far away from the exchange to get ADSL, and cannot get Cable. Satellite is delivered via 2 way Satellite with speeds ranging from 256 kbit/s down/64 kbit/s up to 800 kbit/s down/128 kbit/s up.[175]
Dial-up internet
Dial-up – Telstra offered dialup internet from 1995 until early 2015. However they have now ceased selling the service, and existing retail and wholesale customers have been migrated off of Dial-up.[176]
Low-cost mobile and internet brand
In October 2013 Telstra launched "Belong", a low-cost mobile and internet service provider.[177] As of February 2020, Belong has over 600,000 services made up of almost 340,000 mobile services and around 300,000 broadband internet services.[178] Belong is Australia's first carbon neutral telecommunications provider[179] certified by Climate Active, a partnership between the Australian Government and businesses that encourages voluntary action to reduce the impacts of climate change.[180]
Subscription television
Telstra's Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) (commonly referred to as "cable") network is one of the delivery systems used by the Australian Subscription Television provider Foxtel. Telstra owns 35% of Foxtel in a joint venture with News Corp Australia who own the remainder.[181] Telstra also sell Foxtel's "iQ digital-video-recorder" to customers in Foxtel's service area (as "Foxtel from Telstra"). Telstra offers discounts for Telstra full-service fixed-line customers, with internet, pay TV and/or mobile services with Telstra. Such discounts can include free installation and the first month of the best Foxtel package (all channels) for free.[182]
Entertainment and content
BigPond Music
MOG, a subscription online music service and blog network, announced a partnership with Telstra offer their product in Australia – the first region outside of the United States to have access.[183] Telstra and MOG launched under the BigPond Music branding on 21 June 2012,[184]
BigPond Games and GameArena
GameArena was a website dedicated to video gaming operating under the BigPond brand that was managed by Mammoth Media and based on the east coast of Australia. The site provided news, downloads and servers primarily for the PC, and Mac, though it later branched out to include console sites. GameArena provided an online game shop GameNow, which sported various benefits to Telstra customers.[185]
Usage of the GameArena file library, gaming servers and booking service were freely available to anyone, but provided specific advantages to Telstra customers such as preference in downloads and unmetered usage, as well as various bonuses in competitions. In 2005, GameArena went through a new shift with the merging of GameNow and Gameshop into itself. The name became simply BigPond GameArena.[186]
GameArena once operated over 100 gaming servers, which were monitored by a volunteer force of administrators, known as GameOps. GameCreate was a service offered free of charge where users may book a server for a specific game for a 2-hour period of time. This server was private and could be used for either ladder training or social events.[187]
GameArena servers and its website closed on 20 October 2014.[188]
The Pond in Second Life
Telstra BigPond owned and operated a number of virtual islands in the online game Second Life[189] for approximately three years. BigPond closed its Second Life presence in December 2009.[190]
Facebook
In 2011, Telstra launched "Blurtl", a Facebook application that allows the user to leave audio messages on their Facebook walls.[191]
Originally used from 1987 for the 1G AMPS network which was decommissioned in 2000. In 2006 the disused frequency spectrum was reallocated for the initial Telstra Next G 3G network which now covers 99% of the Australian population. The 3G 850 MHz network is scheduled for shut down in June 2024 so the spectrum can again be reallocated, this time for 5G. The 2008 shut down of the Telstra CDMA network in favour of the by then well established Next G 3G network allowed that further spectrum to be used for 3G 850 MHz as well. Telstra closed their 850 MHz 3G network also known as 'NextG' on the 4/11/2024.
Acquired in the digital dividend spectrum auction and live as of 1 January 2015. Advertised as "4GX".[192] The 700 MHz spectrum was made available by the national conversion of all analog TV broadcasts to digital.
Originally used as a capacity layer for the 2G GSM 900 MHz network it was decommissioned as 3G traffic overtook 2G allowing it to be reused for the LTE roll-out in major capital cities and a significant range of regional centres has been completed, now covering most major metropolitan areas and major regional centres.
Supplemental to the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz network in areas of high load. This band was acquired in the digital dividend spectrum auction and activated in major capital cities October 2014.[193][194] Will be the first LTE band to be used and refarmed for 5G, as their spectrum holdings in 2600 MHz allow for impressive upload capabilities on their network. [195]
3500 MHz
n78
NR
5G
Channel bandwidth varies by geography and equipment configuration.
26000 MHz
n258
NR
5G
Channel bandwidth 1000 MHz as purchased via auction in April 2021 and will be used for so called Millimetre Wave (mmWave) technology.
February 2011: Ericsson wins the LTE contract with Telstra. The LTE network is being deployed in capital city CBDs and select regional centres throughout 2011. It will operate at 1800 MHz and integrate with a HSPA+ service at 850 MHz. A dual mode (LTE/HSPA+) mobile broadband device has been developed for the network.[196]
January 2012: Initial major LTE rollout complete. Incremental rollout continues, widening the coverage in capital cities and introducing new LTE coverage to regional centres.
July 2012: Telstra commences retailing a pocket-sized battery powered 4G WiFi router (ZTE MF91) for prepaid data customers, locked to Telstra, complementing its range of 4G-capable devices. Apart from the ZTE MF91, the Telstra 4G hardware range now comprises two dual mode (4G/3G) voice-capable handsets by HTC and ZTE (available for purchase outright or on a post-paid plan), a Sierra USB wireless modem (outright or post-paid plan), a ZTE USB wireless modem (prepaid, locked to Telstra) and a Sierra 4G Wifi battery powered pocket-sized router (outright or post-paid plan). Telstra is reported to now be operating LTE facilities from more than 3,500 transmission sites.
August 2013: Telstra demonstrates the world's first ever LTE- Advanced Carrier Aggregation network using the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum bands in the Sunshine Coast.[197]
May 2014: Telstra and Ericsson demonstrate world first 450 Mbit/s LTE-A downlink speeds in a commercial network with a Category 9 device.
September 2015: Telstra, in collaboration with NETGEAR, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies announce that it is bringing the world's first 4G LTE Advanced 600 Mbit/s Category 11 device to customers.[199]
September 2016: Telstra conducts the first live 5G trial in Australia with Ericsson, demonstrating 5G capabilities in a real world environment, including speed and beam steering tests.[200]
December 2016: Telstra shuts down the 900 MHz GSM/EDGE network on 1 December.[201] Prior to this, EDGE data capabilities were available on 100% of the GSM networks used.
January 2017: Telstra launches world's first Gigabit LTE-Advanced mobile network.[202][203]
March 2019: Telstra closed the 2100 MHz (Band 1) section of its 3G network on 25 March.[204]
May 2020: Telstra made available Australia's first 5G network using 3500 MHz spectrum.
April 2021: Telstra purchased via Auction 1000 MHz of 26 GHz (26,000 MHz) Spectrum nationally for 5G mmWave technology.
December 2021: Telstra purchased via auction an additional 10 MHz paired of 850 MHz spectrum to put to use for their network.[205]
November 2023: Telstra purchased via auction 55-110 MHz of additional 5G spectrum to boost capacity on their 5G network. Key markets such as Melbourne and Sydney gained an additional 80 MHz.[206]
On 28 October 2024, Telstra will be closing its 3G network, saying "It's about providing a better experience for our customers." Telstra says that the closure of its 3G network will allow them to "repurpose spectrum to support [Telstra's] 5G rollout."[207] In October 2019, Telstra had announced 3G's closure to be in June 2024, but has since been moved to 28 October 2024.[208]
Next G network
In 2005, Telstra announced a plan to upgrade its ageing networks and systems; which includes a new 3G network to replace the then current CDMA mobile network.[209][210]
The network was built between November 2005 and September 2006, and launched in October 2006. As of 2007[update], Next G was the largest mobile network in Australia, providing greater coverage than other 3G providers in Australia and over three times greater than any 2G provider in Australia.[153] In December 2008, the Next G Network was also the fastest mobile network in the World, delivering theoretical network speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s[needs update]
[211] using features of HSPA+ and Dual-Carrier HSPA+. In February 2010, Telstra increased the speed up to 42 Mbit/s making the Next G Network once again the fastest mobile network in the world.[212]
On 26 September 2011, Telstra launched its 4G 1800 MHz LTE network, claiming typical download speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s.[213]
The network is currently[update] used for BigPond's wireless broadband service and Telstra Mobile, which is Australia's largest mobile telephone service provider, in terms of both subscriptions[152] and coverage[153]
Network design
It was built to replace Telstra's CDMA network which operated from 1999 until 28 April 2008.[214] Telstra opted to use the 850 MHz band for Next G in preference to the more common 2100 MHz band, since it requires fewer base stations to provide coverage, providing a lower capital cost.[215] This network was implemented under contract by Ericsson as part of a project internally dubbed "Project Jersey" and launched on 6 October 2006.[216]HSPA technology was included in the network to provide Australia's first wide area wireless broadband network. The efficiency of the Next G network and its coverage has been challenged and scrutinised since its launch, requiring Telstra to go back to areas with average coverage, particularly rural towns to improve its coverage footprint. On 18 January 2008, Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communications, declined the proposal for Telstra to switch off its CDMA network on 28 January 2008, stating that whilst the Next G network provided coverage equal to or better than the CDMA network, the range of handsets available was not yet satisfactory.[217] On 15 April 2008, the Minister gave approval to close the CDMA network after 28 April 2008.[218] Telstra closed the network nationally during the early morning hours of 29 April 2008.[219]
While most wireless modems[220] offered by Telstra allow peak download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbit/s, a modem by Sierra Wireless was announced in 2009 that supported increased throughput.[221] The "USB 306" is marketed and sold by Telstra as the "Telstra Turbo 21 Modem", and was available in limited quantity in early 2009. By April, the "Turbo 21" was available to customers and offered peak download speeds of 21 Mbit/s, although actual speeds vary between 550 kbit/s and 8 Mbit/s.[222] As of June 2009[update], Next G network HSUPA upgrades in selected regional and metropolitan areas, combined with software updates for the "Turbo 21" modem, will allow peak uplink speeds of up to 5.76 Mbit/s.[needs update]
On 1 January 2015, Telstra launched, what it calls "4GX": a 700 MHz based component of its mobile network claiming speeds of up to 75 Mbit/s with compatible devices.[224] 4GX has been expanded up to a 5 x Carrier Aggregation LTE Advanced Pro network, with up to two gigabits of capacity in selected locations using 700, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz frequencies.
Business Technology Services (BTS)
In January 2016, Telstra announced its acquisition of cloud service provider Kloud.[225] This was followed closely by the acquisition of application development company Readify in July 2016.[226]
Market position
Since the Australian telecommunications industry was deregulated in the early 1990s, Telstra has managed to remain the largest provider of telecommunications services[227] despite the emergence of rivals Optus and TPG Telecom. A Harvard Business Review article from 2005 authored by a consultant to Telstra on this topic, reported "that a strategy of offering lower rates on some routes and at certain times of day, even though its prices, on average, were higher than its rivals", helped Telstra retain several points of market share it otherwise may have lost.[228]
In early 2011, Telstra successfully extended its market share lead by discounting its mobile phone products.[229]
By 2020, Telstra's revenue was $26.2 billion,[230] Optus' was $9.0 billion,[231] and TPG Telecom's was $4.4 billion.[232]
Telstra has over 200 subsidiary businesses as of 30 June 2016. The full list can be found at their website.[234]
A list of major businesses that Telstra owns can be found here under:
Year
Name
Type of ownership
Comments
1992
Telstra Europe
100%
Telstra has been operating in Europe since 1992. Telstra Europe has a customer base of over 7000 customers, who buy data, voice and complex managed network and hosting services.[235]
This partnership was created during the late 1990s telecommunications boom – it struggled and had its book value downgraded to zero by Telstra in February 2003. Reach's debt was renegotiated in 2004 and it was restructured to operate mainly as a vehicle for its owners' international requirements.
2005
Adstream Australia
58%
In early 2006 Telstra offers $20 million cash to increase its total stake from 33 to 58 percent.[236]
Communications cable linking Sydney and Hawaii. The cable went live in October 2008,[238] with a capacity of 1.28 terabits per second in the future (currently at 100 gigabits per second.)
2008
Norstar Media
>50%
Telstra acquired controlling stakes in the two businesses, Norstar Media and Autohome/PCPop, for an undisclosed amount.[239]
2008
Autohome/PCPop
>50%
See above
2011
iVision
100%
Integrated telepresence video conferencing solutions
Licence for long-distance and ISP data services in Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune[241]
2011
Telstra Singapore
100%
Facilities Based Operator (FBO) licence allowing voice and data networks, systems and facilities. Also enables Telstra to build the local backbone required to support its plans for new cable submarine capacity to Singapore.
2011
Telstra Japan K.K.
100%
Own and operate large scale telecoms circuits and facilities in multiple cities and prefectures in Japan, along with products and services delivered over those facilities and networks.
Acquisition of Dr Foster Intelligence to form part of Telstra Health.
Controversies
WotNext
In January 2007 Telstra launched WotNext, a video-publishing website that allowed users to upload videos. The video content was then sold to mobile users for A$1, which the uploader and Telstra split equally.[242] The website was shut down in December 2007 after a media backlash over uploaded semi-pornographic videos.[243]
2011 Privacy investigation
On 12 July 2011, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) released the findings of its investigation into a mailing list error that resulted in approximately 60,300 Telstra customers' personal information being sent to other customers. The Australian Privacy CommissionerTimothy Pilgrim said that the OAIC investigation confirmed that while Telstra breached the Privacy Act when the personal information of a number of its customers was disclosed to third parties, this incident was caused by a one-off human error. The OAIC concluded that Telstra had taken steps to protect the personal information of its customers including privacy obligations in agreements with mailing houses, privacy impact assessments, and procedures to ensure staff handle personal information appropriately during mail campaigns. After becoming aware of the mailing list error, the commissioner determined that Telstra had acted "immediately" to prevent further breaches, notify customers, review its data security practices, and counselling staff involved the accidental data leak.[244]
In March 2024, the planned shutdown of the 3G network in June raised concerns among those with limited access to 4G/5G networks or newer devices. A Hillston farmer voiced fears that losing 3G connectivity could disrupt communication with her family in other rural places, posing potential risks to their safety and well-being.
As of November 4th 2024 the 3G Mobile Network has been fully decommissioned after 2 delays extended the closure date to October 28 2024.
[4]
^Information sources: OTC annual reports (Australian state and national libraries, OTC Australia Archive, Telstra Archive), OTC magazine Transit, (Australian state and national libraries, OTC Australia Archive, Telstra Archive).
^Information and Research Services, Department of the Parliamentary Library (2003). "Telstra Sale: Background and Chronology". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
^Michael Sainsbury (26 November 2008). "Telstra enters NBN race". The Australian. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^Allison Jackson (15 December 2008). "Telstra's NBN bid rejected". The Australian. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^Peter Martin (16 December 2008). "Telstra not beaten yet on broadband". The Age. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^Eyres, James (19 October 2016). "Tyro turns to Gerd Schenkel as new CEO to disrupt the banks". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Australia's newest bank, Tyro, has appointed the founder of National Australia Bank's UBank and Telstra Digital, Gerd Schenkel, as its new chief executive, in a sign the payments disrupter plans to ramp up its attack on the big banks' small business lending customers.
^Department of Industry, Science (24 July 2020). "Climate Active". Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
^Telstra Corporation Ltd (13 August 2020). "2020 Full Year Results"(PDF). Telstra. Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
A$23.25 billion (2023)
A$15.41 billion (2023)
Telstra Europe
Reach Asian undersea cable
Adstream Australia
SouFun
Telstra Endeavour
Telepresence Solutions
Telstra Singapore
Telstra Japan K.K.
Telkomtelstra
Dr Foster Intelligence
Media related to Telstra at Wikimedia Commons
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