time will tell tomyou're long term view of the company clearly...

time will tell tom
you're long term view of the company clearly appears to be based on short term circumstances
it's a highly profitable company, it's not just going to wither and die

but like i said earlier... i like that so many people have your view and mentality and short sightedness.. it will cause the sp to drop in the short term

that you don't approve of some strategies in the short term doesn't mean the eternal demise of the company.

take a look through history, the biggest $'s are to be made when 90% of the sheep (i mean population) thinks it's all doom and gloom for a company due to short term circumstances and changes

i'm at the forefront of tech by the way, computer science graduate.. work at a prominent IT company.. so don't try or bother with the tech argument..

the reasons most people bag telstra are because:
1. they don't truly know much about tech, but like to speculate anyway
2. they dislike america, therefore americans, therefore sol and co (and hence will see anything done by them that doesn't result in INSTANT sp growth as negative)

unfortunately.. businesses and the stock market aren't ruled by emotion..

ps: i'm 25, no need to ask my kids =)
pss: i'm not trying to convince anyone that tls is a buy, quite the contrary, i'm very comfortable with everyone thinking it's a sell and to see the price drop as much as it wants over the next couple of years.. i'm only posting because to be honest, peoples very superficial/shallow views and interpretations of events/actions and short term outcomes amuse me