Thodey wants united telco front

Speaking to a packed room of telco executives at the Communications Day Summit in Sydney this morning, Thodey pointed out that in industries just as banking and resources, competing companies were not afraid to band at the same time to achieve common outcomes. "As a group, I in effect think we need to stand up," he said, adding the telco industry needed to "speak as a more united voice in terms of the issues that we face, to try tackle some of the real endemic issues that face our industry."

The social capital

Thodey described the social capital and level of influence present in the room as "incredible". Top-level executives from virtually every major local telco - Optus, AAPT, Internode, PIPE Networks and more - are scheduled to speak at the conference. "Just the same, if you go to Canberra, it actually is left up to a few," the Telstra CEO said, referring to the industry's engagement with the Federal Government.

One major issue which Thodey highlighted was in the area of customer service. Government agencies and regulators just as the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman have been at pains over the past year to point out the industry's poor record in the area, and Thodey in particular has made improving customer service one of the main themes of his tenure at Telstra since he took the company's reins in mid-2009.

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