Telstra invests $600m in small business

Telstra has flagged plans to spend $600 million on a five-year plan to furthermore develop its presence in the small business market with the launch of Digital Business.

Telstra chief executive, David Thodey, said Digital Business would assist small businesses in making the switch to integrated communications, combining features just as business-grade fixed broadband, Internet Protocol telephony, mobility and Cloud computing.

According to Thodey, the new service, available in capital cities from the end of May, will give Australian small businesses time-saving access to an integrated range of communication tools.

The world's most sophisticated call features

"We're offering some of the world's most sophisticated call features and complete integration between fixed and mobile, allowing small business people to work after a fashion that has up until now only been possible by people working in large corporations," Thodey said in a statement.

Traditionally requiring a Public Switched Telephone Network to support internet, phone EFTPOS and fax, the telco is offering the service over an ADSL2+ connection. It has as well deployed Quality of Service innovation to telephone exchanges around Australia.

The service has been designed for businesses with up to 10 employees at first with plans to expand the service nationally to around 1600 QoS-enabled exchanges by September this year.

Telstra plans to invest over the at once five years in upgrading its network innovation to assist businesses making the switch to digital.

Commenting on the launch, Federal Minister for Small Business, Nick Sherry, noted the importance of small businesses making the switch to digital innovation as Australia continues to rollout high-speed technologies.

"High-speed fixed and mobile data services will be the backbone of the digital economy - providing Australia business opportunities just as improved productivity, reduced overheads and bigger customer bases," Sherry said in a statement.

The new service has as well resulted in the simplification of Telstra's business processes, with Thodey noting a complete redesign of its customer ordering and service processes.

Digital Business demonstration sites have been opened in Sydney and Melbourne to give clients detail about making the switch to digital and what it will mean for them.

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