Telstra: Non-SMS data in the fast lane

Telstra claims to have broken out of the ‘SMS data trap’ with the announcement from its CEO, Sol Trujillo, that over 50 per cent of its data revenue now comes from non-SMS data.

“This is a significant breakthrough caused by a mixture of new data services,” says Trujillo. “This new revenue stream has demonstrated a near 80 per cent growth rate – twice as fast as that experienced by European mobile operators. Overall, our data revenue as a percentage of total ARPU is now 30 per cent, up over 12 per cent compared to last year.”

While painting a picture of fast technological transformation within Telstra – nationwide coverage of HSDPA at 14.4Mbps, with 40Mpbs planned for by 2009 – Trujillo cautioned that there was more to making a company successful than technology. “Any change to the business model must be based around the need to make money, and this is largely about improving the customer experience. Our ‘Single Click’ programme (where a service is accessed by a one-button press) has been vital, and we believe it has encouraged consumers to spend more on services.”