Telstra spruiks itself in NBN letter

Telstra has sent out a letter to selected businesses and government officials to inform them of what is going on in the National Broadband Network process and bring its bid into the spotlight.

(Credit: ZDNet.com.au)

The letter, signed by Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo and chairman Donald McGauchie, has been sent to CEOs of Australia's top companys, Premiers, state ministers for education and health, small business, industry groups, community organisations, airlines and financial institutions, according to a spokesperson for the telco.

The letter first informs the reader that Telstra has submitted a bid to build the national broadband network and then sets out the bid's main points, calling the rollout "a FTTN upgrade to Telstra's existing network, a core asset in the business for which Telstra shareholders paid $45 billion to the government in T1, T2 and T3". It explains Telstra's reasons for not wanting separation and desiring "competitive returns".

The letter also outlines Telstra's experience in building out networks such as Next G and Next IP, and states that it was the "only company that indicated [on 26 November that] it had the financing behind its response".

It finishes off by assuring readers that Telstra would "keep [them] involved as the process unfolds".

The purpose of the letter, according to a Telstra spokesperson, was to reach those who would be directly affected by a NBN rollout. "We're informing them directly and personally of what we can do and what we can deliver," the spokesperson said.

The mass letter to raise the profile of Telstra's bid echoed a bill board campaign which Terria, now backing the Optus bid, started a few months ago.