Telstra 2003 Annual Report Download - page 14

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 14 of the 2003 Telstra annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 64

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64

P.12
Telstra‘s copper wire infrastructure is an important strategic asset. It forms the basis of our fixed
line telephone network and, as such, is the backbone on which our traditional businesses have
been built over many years. Telstra’s fixed line business continues to be innovative, competitive
and profitable. It is a solid source of revenue and cash flow for the Company, making up more
than a third of Telstra’s revenue stream. This year, Telstra introduced a number of new products
aimed at enhancing the fixed network’s capability and providing customers with innovative ways to
manage calls. We continually look for new ways to utilise the existing network. A good example
of this is ADSL (broadband internet over the copper phone line).
Telstra is gradually rebalancing line rental charges upwards with lower call prices. This follows a 2001
finding by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that Telstra was not recovering
the cost of providing access to the network. The line rental increase is consistent with the Federal
Government’s price control requirements and has been accompanied by a fall in calling charges.
New features over fixed line In the past 12 months, Telstra has invested a significant amount in
developing and introducing new fixed line products. We launched state-of-the-art technology that
enables customers to tell the phone what to do.‘1# Telstra Feature Assistant™’ is a voice command
system for activating features such as Call Waiting and Call Forward. There have been more than
150,000 users of this Australian-first service since its launch in May 2003.
A further investment was the launch, in July 2003, of ‘Telstra Home Messages 101™’ – a free
message service for our residential customers.
Inbound services provide businesses with a single number that their customers can use from
anywhere in Australia. Telstra now provides two new inbound services, Computer Telephony
Integration (CTI) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR). These services allow Telstra’s business
customers to better manage their incoming calls with technology that enables them to store
and retrieve important information such as customer history and account details.
Telstra Country Wide® Through Telstra Country Wide, Telstra is meeting its commitment to
upgrade telephone services throughout regional and rural areas to provide a reliable service for
its customers. As part of the Rural Network Taskforce program, we spent $166 million reducing
recurring network faults in these areas.
fixed line
Products include:
• Line rental
• Local calls
• National long distance
• International long
distance
• Fixed to mobile
• MessageBank®
• Calling Number Display
• Inbound
1993 2003
8.5 MILLION FIXED LINES IN OPERATION
500,000 KILOMETRES OF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FIBRE
SERVICES:
• VOICE CALLS ONLY
10.3 MILLION FIXED LINES IN OPERATION
3.5 MILLION KILOMETRES OF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FIBRE
SERVICES INCLUDE:
• VOICE CALLS• CALL BACK
• CALL WAITING • MESSAGEBANK®
• CALL FORWARD• CALLING NUMBER DISPLAY