The carrier is launching its ADSL broadband self-install kit to its dealer network at functions in capital cities over the next two weeks, a move it claims will help it push towards its target of one million customers by 2005.
Telstra presently has around 250,000 ADSL broadband customers.
The kit has been available from Telstra shops and licensed outlets since late last year, as well as from some dealers since early this year. The carrier's intention is to make it available from more than 400 retail outlets by the end of February this year.
Telstra's new head of broadband, Justin Milne, said almost 70 per cent of new BigPond broadband ADSL connections were self-installed.
The kit - which retails from AU$129 - is priced significantly lower than the professional install service, which costs AU$249. It includes a modem with provision for USB or Ethernet connectivity, as well as added security through a feature known as network address translation.
Telstra officials declined to nominate a target for the percentage of broadband ADSL connections they would eventually like to have self-installed. However, a spokesperson pointed out that the target market extended upwards from the entry-level user and noted the average install time using the kit was only 12 minutes.
The carrier is also understood to have redesigned the packaging of the self-install kit, as well as its pre-paid product, to assist in sales to customers.
The launch comes as Telstra continues to consider proposals to restructure its charging plans to accommodate tech-savvy consumers' need for a lower - and consequently less expensive - tier of support than others may need.
