TELECOMMUNICATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Telstra stands by its $1m backing for Voice

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Oct-23

Telstra’s support for the ‘Yes’ campaign for an Indigenous Voice to parliament came under scrutiny at the telco’s AGM on Tuesday. Chairman John Mullen said the decision to contribute $1m to the campaign had been deemed to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders; he emphasised that the personal views of Telstra’s executives and directors played no role in the decision. However, Australian Shareholders’ Association CEO Rachel Waterhouse contends that companies should only support a social cause if it aligns with their strategy and shareholders are fully informed.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Optus complaints up nearly 40pc after data hack

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Original article by Joseph Lam
The Australian – Page: 16 : 8-Feb-23

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s report for the December quarter shows that it received 17,903 complaints during the period, which is 9.9 per cent higher than the September quarter. Complaints about Optus rose by 39.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, in the wake of the data breach that affected some 11 million customers. The TIO received a total of 6,346 complaints against Optus, which accounted for 36 per cent of all complaints against the nation’s 10 biggest telcos. Telstra received the most complaints overall (6,819); however, this was lower than the previous quarter.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

TPG could lift mobile prices despite block on sharing deal

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 23-Dec-22

Morningstar analyst Brian Han says the proposed regional mobile network sharing deal between TPG Telecom and Telstra is "not completely dead", given that both telcos intend to appeal the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s ruling. Amongst other things, the ACCC took the view that approving the deal would have given TPG an incentive to increase its mobile prices as soon as the network-sharing arrangement was completed. However, Eric Choi of Barrenjoey contends that TPG would have been likely to increase its mobile prices even if the ACCC had approved the deal. He notes that TPG is the only major telco that has not yet increased its consumer prices.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPG, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, BARRENJOEY CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Optus tells customers affected by data breach they can no longer use passports as online ID

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

Sydney Optus customer Daniel Reeders says he is angry that the telco did not tell customers whose passports were exposed under its recent data breach that it would ask the federal government to block those numbers from the national Document Verification System. Reeders does not drive so his passport number is his main means of identification, and he was one of over 100,000 Optus customers who had their passport numbers exposed by the hack; he had been told that he did not need to begin the process of getting a new one, prior to learning what Optus had asked the government to do.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

A majority of Australians have no trust in telcos

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Oct-22

A special Roy Morgan telecommunications industry Trust Survey asked Australians about the telecommunications companies they trust and distrust, and what worried them about the recent data breach at Optus. The survey reveals that the data breach has driven distrust across the industry, with a majority of Australians indicating that they have either no trust in any telco or that they distrust all telcos. Unsurprisingly, Optus is currently the most distrusted telecommunications brand in Australia with more people now saying they distrust Optus than trust, which is a substantial difference to what was seen in the recent Roy Morgan Risk Report of August 2022 which had only a marginal Net distrust score. The normally deeply distrusted Telstra appears to have been the main beneficiary, with results indicating that more respondents say that they trust Telstra compared to those who distrust the brand. We also asked respondents what worries them about the Optus data breach; what is clear from the responses is that the data breach has made Australians highly aware and concerned about the risks of data piracy and privacy in general. This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,241 Australians aged 18+ on September 28-29, 2022.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Telstra CEO Andy Penn would support a Foxtel IPO

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Original article by David Swan, James Madden
The Australian – Page: Online : 17-Sep-21

Telstra CEO Andy Penn says the telco would retain its stake in Foxtel should the pay-TV and streaming group pursue a sharemarket float. He regards Telstra as a long-term investor in Foxtel, but concedes that its 35 per cent would most likely be diluted via an IPO. Penn adds that Telstra would be open to an IPO if it provided more opportunities for Foxtel in the future. He also says Foxtel’s focus on digitisation has allowed it to meet the challenges presented by streaming rivals such as Netflix.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Hot price for Telstra’s $2.8bn tower sale

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Jul-21

Telstra has struck a deal to sell a 49 per cent stake in its mobile phone tower network to a consortium that includes the Future Fund. The telco had previously flagged plans to divest a stake in the InfraCo Towers business via an auction process later in 2020, but Telstra CEO Andrew Penn says the consortium approached it with a "compelling" proposal. Telstra will return about half of the net proceeds of the $2.8bn transaction to its shareholders. Optus is also looking at selling its communications towers.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Telstra reveals immediate 5G plans as it awaits innovation

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Jan-21

The first auction of 5G millimetre wave spectrum will be undertaken in March, with each bidder to be given the opportunity to buy up to one gigahertz of spectrum. Telstra head of networks Nikos Katinakis says that one of the telco’s first uses for the spectrum it intends to purchase will be for 5G fixed wireless products that will aim to compete with the NBN. He says Telstra will target these products at locations where "the NBN does not provide what the customer wants", and that it will target neighbourhoods rather than individuals

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPG

Telstra fined $50m for unconscionable sales

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 27-Nov-20

Telstra has agreed to pay a $50 million penalty over the sale of mobile phone plans to 108 Indigenous consumers between 2016 and 2018. The sales were made at five Telstra stores in Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stating the sales were made despite the telco knowing that the Indigenous consumers did not understand the product and could not afford it. The ACCC has described Telstra’s action as "unconscionable", while it noted the customers had been left with average debts of $7,400.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Upgraded NBN a more attractive takeover target

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Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 28-Sep-20

Telstra chairman John Mullen has welcomed the federal government’s decision to upgrade the national broadband network by rolling out fibre-to-the-premises to more households and businesses. He says the NBN will be easier to maintain than the current hybrid system, which includes fibre-to-the-node and the existing copper network. Amid speculation that the NBN will eventually be sold, Mullen says the upgraded network will be more attractive to potential investors, including Telstra’s own infrastructure division. However, InfraCo would need to be demerged in order to buy the NBN.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS,INFRACO,NBN CO LIMITED