Telstra Calls On Government To Invest More On 5G Rollout

Telstra has called for substantial Government investment in both equipment and spectrum for the 5G network in Australia.

In a submission to the Federal Government’s 5G inquiry, Telstra said: “The regulatory and policy framework must enable providers to generate a sufficient rate of return on the services they sell, while still meeting the goal of fostering open and fair competition.

“It is vital that government policies support investment, delivering true product and service differentiation that underpins healthy investment returns.”

The submission also called for regulations to be reviewed across every Australian sector to support technological innovation and to address the “digital divide” between metropolitan and regional areas. Telstra says it has spent $4 billion in capital expenditure in the last 12 months. Overall it has spent $8 billion, including nearly $1 billion on the deployment of 5G by the end of financial year 2020.

By comparison, Telstra notes that the entire telecommunications industry has spent between $9 billion and $11 billion a year over the last three years.