John Linton
....can a leopard really change its spots?
I read this article earlier this morning:
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/98651,telstra-wholesale-goes-hunting-for-a-boss.aspx
and apart from sighing at Telstra's transparent contempt towards its wholesale customers (evidenced in this instance by removing yet another GM of Wholesale without bothering to replace them) I was reminded of seeing Ms Mckenzie lunching at the next table with one of the Tudhopes (I can never remember which is which) at one of the CBDs beautiful food restaurants on Wednesday of the week before last (4th March?) and that restaurant is of the better type where the tables are set at sensible distances from each other so conversations cannot be overheard unless expressed at levels above that of politeness and consideration for other diners. From the bits and pieces of conversation that it was impossible not to overhear it was an interesting lunch.
I didn't recognise the third person and, as I am not an impolite person (having a grandmother who declaimed that eavesdropping was the height of rudeness before going on to the practical aspect and saying eavesdroppers never heard anything good about themselves), I thought no more of it other than it was the head of a Telstra division having lunch with one of her largest and oldest customers - perhaps in this instance it was a 'personal goodbye and re-assurance of the future when I'm gone' lunch and I had misinterpreted the 'snippets' I couldn't help but over hear - perhaps not.
So with Trujillo almost gone and his Denna Shiff replacement (a step down from Deena Shiff who in turn was a step down from her predecessor) now also gone by the end of the month I wonder what direction will now be set for Telstra Wholesale by the interregnum/caretaker management and what person will be chosen to replace Ms McKenzie? Will it be another step down in pecking order power within Telstra's middle management candidates signaling a further lowering of interest in wholesale customers (though on reflection that's hard to see how that would be possible) or is there going to be some brave new initiative 'win back' program along the lines of the pricing offered to iinet to retain the Westnet business on the Telstra network and the latest round of "would you like to sell our ADSL2 approaches apparently being made to some smaller ISPs?
In the Labor Party world of "you're excluded forever from participating in the "NBN":
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/13/2515448.htm?section=justin
http://business.smh.com.au/business/telstra-wont-be-allowed-to-jeopardise-network-conroy-20090313-8xvt.html
maybe Telstra has 'discovered' a compelling reason to attempt to ensure the "NBN" never gets built and certainly one way of doing that (on top of their new found love affair with reviving their cable business and their increasing investments in faster HSPA) is to sign 'exclusive' contracts with some of the bigger 'independent' communications providers (such as Macquarie Telecoms) on deals that would make it hard for them to buy services from Optus/the NBN winner both now and in the unlikely event that the NBN ever does get built somewhere and in some form and in some time frame.
Personally I have absolutely no first or even second hand knowledge of Telstra's current approaches to the larger Australian 'independent' communications providers and, as a company that doesn't fit within that category, I'm not sure whether anyone else within Exetel has had any recent contacts other than on the topic of Telstra's attempt to destroy Exetel's credit rating - which while they grudgingly removed the false references have yet to apologise for their unconscionable actions and we will now have to address that issue via other means.
From what I have heard or seen there seems to be some sort of change in some of Telstra's ultra unhelpful and more belligerent attitudes but without a complete medical equivalent of a de-coke and re bore of the brains of their wholesale employees it would seem impossible that four years of "all wholesale customers are parasites" can be 'reversed' simply by a new edict to the people who have for so long treated wholesale communication providers with such a breath taking level of contempt. However I understand that Exetel is both too small and too 'unusual' in its business methods to get enough first hand information to make an informed judgment on whether or not that is the case.
Perhaps I'll take a different view when McGaughie is forced to "resign now his mission has been accomplished" by the wimpy and clueless Telstra board and the Telstra board itself is fired by the share holders who continue to see their share value head South at an increasing rate courtesy of four years of stupidity lead by El Sol and his ridiculously unskilled and unknowledgable chairman whose every utterance seems to confirm the view that he can't even spell "ADSL" let alone understand what it does.
No spot changing to see here - move along.