What we learnt: Telstra’s mobile dominance is making investors say OMG
Telstra gets its balancing act right, Wesfarmers deregulates itself, Transurban goes for growth and Fortescue struggles to get its shiny new project up and running.
The big result | There’s a little bit of Commonwealth Bank in the strategic shift announced by Telstra on Thursday, which will see the telco prioritise capital investment in its mobile business, by pumping another $800 million into the latest hardware and software under a new deal with Ericsson.
Like CBA, Telstra is the dominant player in the Australian market, and in the December half it grew its total mobile handset customers by another 2.45 per cent to 14.6 million. But like CBA boss Matt Comyn, CEO Vicki Brady wants to hammer home her leadership through investment in technology; the new Ericsson kit will make Telstra’s 5G network faster, more efficient and more reliable.
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James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine. Connect with James on Twitter. Email James at j.thomson@afr.com
Anthony Macdonald is a Chanticleer columnist. He is a former Street Talk co-editor and has 10 years' experience as a business journalist and worked at PwC, auditing and advising financial services companies. Connect with Anthony on Twitter. Email Anthony at a.macdonald@afr.com
