NewsBite

Telecommunications

September

Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin testified at the Senate inquiry into the telco’s outage

Optus communications ‘manifestly inadequate’ in 2023 phone outage

Senators want new rules to force telco groups to keep the public updated when phone and internet connections fail.

  • Updated
  • Jenny Wiggins
Optus sold its tower network to a business majority-owned by AustralianSuper in 2021.

AusSuper’s mobile towers empire slumps deep into the red

The country’s largest superannuation investor was already at odds with its partner, Singtel-owned Optus, over a delay in rolling out network infrastructure.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telco companies don’t want to pay fees to add antennas to existing mobile phone towers.

Telco groups protest state ‘profiteering’ from antennas

Telecommunications companies are pushing NSW to scrap fees for adding antennas and other equipment to mobile towers on Crown land.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telstra Health is run by Elizabeth Koff

Telstra Health loses 300 jobs but stays on the block

The telco group is holding off from offloading Telstra Health as chief executive Vicki Brady restructures swathes of the company to boost profits.

  • Jenny Wiggins
TPG Telecom boss Inaki Berroeta needs to add at least another 100,000 customers to make the regional sharing deal break even.

Vodafone gets a start in the bush, now to make it work

Vodafone’s never been able to justify going to the bush. It needs at least 100,000 more customers to make its new deal work.

  • Anthony Macdonald
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Communications tower, Australia

TPG Telecom, Optus network-sharing deal gets ACCC approval

TPG Telecom will market its mobile phone services to more Australians after the competition regulator said it could share networks with Optus in regional areas.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Vocus Group CEO Ellie Sweeney will run the National Broadband Network from December.

NBN Co names Vocus’ Ellie Sweeney as next CEO

The Vocus Group boss will step into Stephen Rue’s shoes as he prepares to take the reins at Optus.

  • Jenny Wiggins

August

TPG Telecom chief executive Inaki Berroeta.

TPG Telecom cuts 120 jobs as interim profits slide

The telco group, which is carrying more than $4 billion in debt, says it needs to keep reducing its expenses.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telephone companies are gearing up for a battle over what kinds of technology can be used to replace traditional fixed phone lines

Telcos gear up for tech showdown

Australia’s biggest telcos are battling for taxpayer dollars in the debate over replacing ageing copper wires.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telstra boss Vicki Brady wants expand the company’s mobile and infrastructure businesses.

Telstra boss Vicki Brady retreats from the ‘telco for everything’

The era of hotchpotch acquisitions and experimenting with non-telco services such as selling energy plans is over.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady

Why Telstra’s latest strategy shift might pay off

Why Vicki Brady wants to keep Telstra’s infrastructure assets close and growing even if mobiles remain today’s success story.

  • Updated
  • Jennifer Hewett
Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said data usage had grown significantly on its network.

What’s behind Telstra’s pointed message for the government

Telstra isn’t getting the returns it should on its huge capital expenditure bill. Vicki Brady wants to change that by pulling three levers.

  • James Thomson
Telstra chief Vicki Brady this year announced a 10 per cent cut to the telco’s workforce.

Microsoft’s Telstra deal backs Vicki Brady’s $1.6b infrastructure bet

The technology giant will become the first client of a big intercity fibre network being rolled out after the telco decided not to sell its InfraCo division.

  • Paul Smith
TPG Telecom boss Inaki Berroeta has dusted off talks with private capital backed rival Vocus Group.

Vocus revives $6.3b dream to buy TPG’s fibre network

But sources said discussions between the ASX-listed telecommunications group and its Macquarie and Aware Super-owned rival were at a very early stage.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
ptus has incurred a $480 million annual net loss, confirming a slump in demand for traditional telecommunications services

Optus’ Australian accounts show $480m loss

Optus filed its own accounts with regulators this week showing its annual loss deepened more than six-fold from a year earlier.

  • Jenny Wiggins
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July

Former TPG Telecom email customers to be slugged up to $95 annually

Accounts with iiNet, Internode and Westnet addresses will start paying a yearly fee from September after they were transferred to a Norwegian-owned company.

  • Jenny Wiggins
The hacker was able to obtain the data after accessing an AT&T system through a third-party cloud platform, according to AT&T’s disclosure.

AT&T hack undermines US national security, experts say

The telco giant said a hacker had compromised its network and stolen records of calls and text messages from nearly all of its 100 million wireless customers.

  • Ryan Gallagher
Telstra boss Vicki Brady.

Telstra increases phone plan prices above inflation rate

The telco is lifting prices for most of its mobile plans – and analysts warn there could be more price increases to come.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Superloop and Aussie Broadband are stealing share of the internet broadband market from Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom

Competition for broadband intensifies as consumers crack down on bills

Small telcos such as Superloop and Aussie Broadband have been stealing internet customers from Telstra, TPG Telecom and Optus as consumers shop around.

  • Jenny Wiggins
The US has targeted Huawei on concerns its equipment may be used to spy for the Chinese government, an allegation the company refutes.

America’s campaign to kill Huawei has failed

After international sanctions drove profits down 70 per cent, the Chinese telecommunications company learnt that it didn’t need to rely on the West.

  • The Economist

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/telecommunications-62z