It’s been a sad week for us at Telstra, with news of the departure of our much loved colleague ‘Dr Phil’ Burgess. This website is just one of many communication innovations instigated by Phil that may never have happened without his intelligence, drive and force of personality.

As many in the media have commented since Phil announced his decision, few people have come to Australia and made such a public impact in so short a time.

We were reminded of that this very week when one of Telstra’s major competitors announced (business.smh.com.au) it had forged a commercial deal to gain roaming rights to Telstra’s Next G™ network in rural and regional Australia.

It underlined the many achievements Phil has clocked up since coming to Australia and leading the charge to defend the rights of Telstra shareholders. Achievements that will benefit all Australians for a long time to come.

Before Phil it was automatically assumed that any investment Telstra made, competitors had every right to gain access at below-cost rates set by the ACCC.

As the more informed commentators (www.commsday.com) noted, Phil changed the story. Recent landmark decisions have held back ACCC 'giveaway' access to ADSL2+, Next G™ as well as metro phone lines. The ACCC now accepts that Telstra has a right to negotiate commercial access on its terms where competing infrastructure exists. Previously, the ACCC automatically gave in to every demand of Singapore Telecom and Telstra didn't put up much of a fight.

The ACCC’s controversial decision to reject SingTel’s demands for access to Next G™ resulted in both Vodafone and Optus going ahead with their own multi-billion dollar 3G investments, meaning most Australians will soon have access to three competing high-speed wireless networks. More choice, more innovation and prices are coming down.

Australian consumers have Phil Burgess backed by Sol Trujillo, Donald McGauchie and the Telstra board to thank for this. Phil can also claim credit for really putting the issue of broadband availability on the national agenda and making it a crucial issue in last year's election campaign. Those who claimed this week that Telstra had no wins under Dr Phil's leadership (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) are - to borrow one of Phil's sayings - living on another planet.

For those of us who had the privilege of working closely with Phil, there is even more to be thankful for. A load of happy memories, funny stories and important life lessons.

I was lucky to accompany Phil on many of his first public outings for Telstra. I remember sitting with journalists in the audience at one such event in Melbourne, listening to Phil telling his home-spun stories about frogs jumping off logs. We looked at each other and asked “who is this bloke?”

We were all amused and somewhat stunned by Phil's ability to project his voice. It took some of us a while to appreciate the methods behind what at first seemed a little unusual to say the least.

And while Phil’s public contributions have been widely analysed and commented upon, you can’t begin to imagine the impact he’s made inside Telstra, and on a more personal level to the lives of those of us who’ve been privileged to work with him. There are many.

One of the stand outs for me has been how he’s completely changed my view on working and retirement.

Soon after Phil arrived I learned he was exactly one week older than my own father. I also learned he was battling prostate cancer. He was going for chemo every morning before coming to the office and working with Sol to lay the foundations for the new Telstra until well into the night.

His energy and drive were just amazing. No doubt it was this, his lovely wife Mary Sue and his incredible faith that helped him ultimately beat the Big C.

It was fitting that in his farewell message Phil chose the words of General Douglas Macarthur, “I will return”. As an American visiting our shores, Phil stands alongside Macarthur in terms of what he has tried to achieve for a more modern Australia in his very own 'war' on many important fronts.

Given his mother is still going strong in her 90’s, we can only hope he will return often in the years to come.

He will be missed. In the meantime you can be sure we'll be carrying on the good fight for Telstra.