Home > Networking > 5G > COMMENT:Why The Telstra Board Needs To Dump Penn For An Entrepreneur

COMMENT:Why The Telstra Board Needs To Dump Penn For An Entrepreneur

Telstra boss Andy Penn was back on his soap box yesterday this time, claiming that Telstra will become carbon neutral this year and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030.

Last week he was complaining about NBN speeds and their quality of service in an effort to spruik 5G missing from his lame messaging is how he aims arrest a profit and sales decline.

His attack on the NBN was quite ironic from a person who runs a business that has a shocking track record when it comes to service network speeds and delivering for his customers what they have been sold.

Evidence to the court in the recent TPG Vs Australian Competition and Consumer Commission by industry expert Ian Martin, from New Street Research, revealed that Telstra’s post-paid average revenue per user had fallen by about $7.30 per month (4.1 per cent compound annual growth rate).

Sales of Mobile are down, and his network of resellers are fed up with having to deal with a Company that has constant revolving management.

In the Pre-Paid market Boost Mobile makes up more than 68% of the business on Telstra’s mobile network for the simple reason that they know how to market their product, are trusted by consumers and have an entrepreneur running their business and their business is growing.
As for Telstra, they are not trusted by consumers are living off the reputation of their 4G network and their management don’t have a clue as to how go forward other than bang on about 5G and whinge about the NBN.

What the Telstra board should consider is cutting a three-year deal with Boost boss Peter Adderton to come in and restructure Telstra.
Employing an entrepreneur to run Telstra has been done before with spectacular success.

Sol Trujillo and the management he bought with him not only built Telstra’s 4G network they restructured the Telstra billing system and hired local management such as David Thodey who ended up as the CEO of Telstra before Penn.
Since Thodey quit Telstra has been on a steady downhill slide under Penn.

Penn is one of the CEO’s whose pay packet increased 34 per cent to $5 million last financial year, despite sharp falls in profits and dividends at Telstra.

A bean counter and accountant more than an entrepreneur Penn is today using spin doctors to divert attention away from the fact Telstra is putting all their eggs on one 5G basket despite the fact there is no killer reason for consumers to go out and upgrade to 5G.

With 4G the killer app was video.

Looming for Penn is David Teoh the largest shareholder in TPG who managed to convince the Federal Court that his Company could merge with Vodaphone.

Teoh is a maverick who will strip share away from Telstra causing more pain for Penn.
Also coming is low cost satellite delivery of 4G which means that consumers on this network will get speeds up to 80Mbs wherever they are in Australia.

Currently Penn is using a buck load of PR tricks to divert attention away from the fact that Telstra is a struggling business, that is now wading through quicksand and is struggling to find level ground.

There is no clear plan other than to knock the NBN and spruik 5G which the bulk of Australian smartphone users are not buying.

It’s now time for the board to look for a CEO replacement along with a new head of Communications.

Buying up media Companies to spin your Corporate message may work for Telstra but most Australian’s don’t buy it which is why they don’t trust Telstra to deliver a simple and reliable communication service.



You may also like
Telstra Drastically Cuts Back On Problem Legacy Platforms
Does Telstra Love Losing When It Comes To Streaming? Now Developing A TV OS Despite Foxtel Share Ownership
Telstra Owned Fetch Has Developed Their Own TV OS
Telstra Builds Microwave Link Across Bass Strait
Lynk Global
MWC: Telstra To Test Texting Via LEO Satellites