Telstra having the flexibility of fixing service issues with common sense. I have been trying to get a phone line fixed for months and the lack of service is appalling. Telstra (or its contractors) can't even work out where the site requiring the repair is...wasting customer time and wasting resources. How much money is telstra wasting on such a basic repair ? Where is commonsense.

Telecommunications are an important part of our life, particularly in regional areas,and in years to come I would hope that people can communicate with each other no matter where they are, including in a desert. That means the way to go in the future is a satellite system for mobiles.

I'm not so sure about 10-20 years, That's an eternity in Telecommunications! 20 years ago, Telecom was a government monopoly, international calls cost upwards of $10/minute, mobile telephones were largely unheard of and Australians thought STD calling was the greatest new thing :-) In the next 5 years, I'd like to see a serious effort by many carriers (i.e. not just Telstra) to replace the aging copper network and install fibre networks to the majority of Australians in most cities and towns. This fibre network would be suitable for the majority of communications needs by both business and households for the next few decades. It would including multi-channel, multi-provider Pay and Free-to-air (free to fibre?) high definition Television, multi-megabit Internet and high quality Voice-over-IP telephony. Of course, It would need provision for IP delivered servcies that we have yet to even think of. Mobile telephones will likely become ever more powerful and will transmit data at ever greater speeds than today. I think it's likely that the concept of a 'home phone' will become obsolete as mobile telephones will be able to simply roam onto the household network when in range. In 10-20 years time I hope the whole music/movie copyright mess sorted so people are finally free to listen to music in what ever form they are comfortable with, at any time, wherever they are. By then, blockbuster movies will probably be released simultaneously in cinemeas, on TV and on mobile.

1. I reside approx 8 or 9km from the Melb CBD. No hills, no large buildings, a residential area. Our mobile reception is very very poor. It has been so for over 10 years.I would like good reception within the next 10 years.

2. Its good that Telstra is interested to receive comments from the public. But I'm not sure it listens. Lest point one above would no longer exist.

3. Its good that Telstra recognises the points in its current strategy statement. However, we have heard this sort of thing before; unless Telstra makes some serious cultural changes (especially within senior mgt) I expect it will either come to nought or not very much at all.

4. I would like to see all in the telco industry recognise the strength and capability of Australian ingenuity and get Aust back into the position of being a leader (not a sheep), as it once was. It's good to listen to and follow the market/customer, but that only makes you a good sheep. Aust ingenuity is capable of much more. It is capable of leading the way and providing customers with choices that they could never imagine. I challenge Telstra mgt to once again take the risk, show the strength of courage and place its trust in Aust ingenuity and stop using regulation as an excuse. Telstra has never been less regulated; remember it was once a public servant (the PMG etc) under total gov't control.

5. I would like to see the industry in Aust stronger, including Telstra. This will not happen unless you have the strength to grow. If you continue to accept downsizing, that is exactly what you will acheive for Telstra and for the industry, and Aust will be the worse off for it.

Total Independant mobile connectivity anywhere in the world via my laptop/phone/Internet/TV combo, extremely portable & compact & totally ultra fast broadband for all mediums & media content including face to face Voice over Internet Protocol.

I just read the guidelines and I'm afraid I'm likely to post ideas which may offend Sol, however I will anyway :)

Firstly, I see Sol trying to hold the country to ransom with his comments about a new generation broadband (fibre) network. I also see a simple solution to the whole issue of providing a new broadband network AND providing equal access to that network for all service retailers, AND providing availability to "the bush" not to mention literally millions of urban dwellers who currently can't access broadband for technical reasons. The Government should keep the telecommunications networking infrastructure in public hands. Sell the retail part of Telstra. Charge EVERY retailer the same for access to the infrastructure, and then build the new generation network from Government sourced funds. It's owned by the people, can provide access to ALL the people at the same wholesale prices, and it then becomes a matter for the individual to select a retailer and product they want in a level playing field. The result is:

1/ broadband to the bush and everyone else too
2/ same service offerings can be made everywhere
3/ true competition in the market place
4/ government control over the technology used

Lastly, the reasons why we should NOT take this path:

1/ Sol wouldn't like it
2/ John Howard won't get the millions he hopes to get from selling Telstra (T3) (which he wont get anyway due to the current market forces)

In summary, John Howard and Sol Trujillo would not be happy, but EVERYONE ELSE would be.

I have just read the post from your "Telstra Consultative Council" rep, Prof Barr and must say he is more guilty of using tired rhetoric than any politician I have read in a long time. Admittedly he is using all the right words; low income earners, people from non-english speaking backgrounds etc etc. It is also enlightening to learn the recent economic boom is due to gambling and high house prices not, the boom in China or anything else related to our exports - he should educate his Economics colleagues. Of course the solution is to provide broadband for all (Telstra broadband that is). Come on, I came to this site after reading about it as a feature in the Australian. The first and only story I read is pure propaganda, I won't be back for any more indoctrination. Thanks for spending my tax dollars on this!

Higher broadband speeds above 1.5mbit

Recent advances in chip capabilities, exemplified by the IBM/Toshiba/Sony Cell chip, have given telecommunications the means to realise the long awaited dream of a leased load sharing grid/cluster of Telco managed end user networked commputers on a broadband (or even dialup) network, delivering services, software and supercomputing power to home and business users, who would only use their own capital for user interface devices. The Telco managed grid would mean no more viruses, spam or inappropriate content, and would create a massive return to the land based network. In addition, each house and businesses premises could be fitted with an exterior wifi aerial to bring wireless phone services to all black spots, without the need for expensive and unsightly radio towers. I am sure a move in this direction would go a long way to increasing Telstra's share price, and making it the world leader in telephony, with the ability to sell its knowledge to the world's more conservative players. The monthly lease income on what would be an inexpensive networked computer and its connection fees, would mean end users pay on demand to extend the network and its services.

Cheaper Line Rental Costs. If Telstra wants to open up the market properly they need to lower the line rental costs or allow others to maintain the lines and charge at their own rates. $30 per month for residential HomePlus or wholesale to others', is just unrealistic and questionable. We can all guess it's a price set to maintain a monopoly. Come on Telstra, it's like jumping into water for the first time when learning to swim, without the risk you will always be seens as reserved and closed up.