Telstra welcomes ACCC’s announcement to not declare roaming
Telstra has welcomed the ACCC’s final decision to not declare mobile roaming.
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Penn said it was the best outcome for customers in regional Australia.
“We welcome the final decision as the right decision for the people, businesses and communities of regional Australia,” Mr Penn said.
“Australia has world class telecommunications networks with strong incentives to invest and it was important to ensure that the policy settings continued to promote that investment. It was particularly important for people in regional communities because of their reliance on coverage and future technology innovation.
“Today’s announcement also continues to create a competitive environment to encourage others to invest as well.
“Telstra has always been a strong investor in regional Australia and leader in mobile telecommunications.
“In August this year, we delivered on our promise to expand our 4G coverage to reach 99 percent of the population in 2017. As a result, Telstra now has more than 9,000 mobile sites across the network. This includes 7,300 4G sites, with more than 1,100 of these upgraded to 4GX since the beginning of the year.
“Telstra’s 3G and 4G coverage combined also now reaches 99.4 percent of the population and covers 2.4 million square kilometres of the Australian landmass, including hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of regional and rural Australia not served by any other carrier.
“Today’s decision now paves the way for ongoing investments in coming years. Through our own direct investment, as well as co-investment, we expect to see up to $1 billion flow to small towns and regional centres across the country over the next five years.
“We recognise that there are a number of regulatory and policy recommendations set out in the announcement aimed at addressing concerns raised during the consultation process. We will continue to work with government, industry, the ACCC and regional stakeholders on improving the experience we deliver our customers, “Mr Penn said.
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Andy Penn became the CEO and Managing Director of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, on 1 May 2015. At Telstra Andy is leading an ambitious change program transforming Telstra to be positioned to compete in the radically changing technology world of the future with 5G at its core. Andy has had an extensive career spanning 40 years across 3 different industries - telecommunications, financial services and shipping. He joined Telstra in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2014 he took on the additional responsibilities as Group Executive International. Prior to Telstra, Andy spent 23 years with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, part of the AXA Group, one of the world’s largest insurance and investment groups. His time at AXA included the roles of Chief Executive Officer 2006-2011, Chief Financial Officer 2000-2002, Chief Executive Asia and Chief Executive Australia and New Zealand. At AXA, Andy was instrumental in building one of the most successful Asian businesses by an Australian company that was sold to its parent in 2011 for more than A$10bn. Outside of work Andy has a deep passion for the visual arts. He is Patron, on behalf of Telstra, of the National and Torres Straights Islanders Arts Awards (NATSIAA) and he paints in his spare time. Andy is also active in supporting community and social causes. He is Life Governor of Very Special Kids and an Ambassador for the Amy Gillet Foundation. He serves on the advisory boards of both The Big Issue Home for Homes and JDRF. In 2018 he was voted by the Financial Times number 8 in the top 50 male leaders globally in their HEREOS champions of women in leadership report.