Rick Clarke is a 19 year old who lives in Essendon, VIC, and has been a Telstra shareholder for 9 years since T1 (on and off).

If I were Telstra’s CEO I would...Telstra needs to lower it's prices to stay relevant to metropolitan customers. Telstra is failing to capitalise on it's incumbency and market strength because the competition is consistantly undercutting them in terms of pricing. Infrastructure which is difficult and expensive to duplicate such as a fibre network needs to be owned by the government if Telstra wants to be treated as an equal with it's competitors in a regulatory sense. The government should pay Telstra to build a fibre network (which will remain in the hands of the government). This will allow Telstra to compete on a level playing field.

If you asked me what I did, I'd say...Work part-time|Student

I bought most of my Telstra shares in...2004

I bought Telstra shares because...The dividends are very strong (and fully franked), and telecommunications is a strong growth area.

My first successful investment was...BHP

The best investment I ever made was...CSL - price has more than doubled in only a couple of years!

What I learned from my worst investment decision..."Blue chip" investments aren't always reliable.

The best investment advice I’ve ever been given...Invest in socially and environmentally responsible companies.

How I use telecommunications now...I'm a heavy internet user - chatting to friends, etc. I use a prepaid mobile to make most phone calls, but I'm not a heavy phone user and have no interest in fancy features, just calls and SMS.

How I see the future of telecommunications in Australia...Landlines (via the copper network) are quickly becoming outdated - VoIP will quickly take over once high speeds become widespread. Broadband will continue to fuel telecommunications growth.