simon ehrenfeld delusional, page-78

Now there is something that would come in handy in long "strategic" discussions with your old mate from the Younger Liberals days ..... too bad it doesn't seem to be of any use in running a publicly listed company.


But we digress (as is apt to happen in any conversation between CEO & COO!!)
Back to this pesky problem with the number of active accounts.


You say EFTel has “around” 140,000 active accounts.”

Yet the EFTel website says:

“We provide telephone and Internet services to over 120,000 customers throughout Australia.”

As the COO you would be in the position to know EXACTLY what the number is …. So, how about it?


Further from the EFTel website:

In late 2003, Datafast acquired ISPs KeyPoint, EZ Web, and Impaq. These purchases raised the size of the customer base to 85,000 and extended broadband coverage to Tasmania, completing the national roll-out.

In January 2004, Datafast acquired NSW ISP Planet Netcom, adding a further 15,000 accounts and bringing the total customer base to over 100,000

In June 2004, Datafast acquired Bunbury based ISP OzzieNet, and in October Datafast acquired Affinity, a Melbourne based ISP and its umbrella of brands, taking the total number of active accounts on the Datafast network to 120,000

So in the ensuing 4+ years EFTel has managed to increase its user base by between 0 & 15% (depending on who is guestimating the number of accounts).
That is a compounding growth rate of at best 3% per annum & at worst 0%

Further, how much of this is “organic” growth?

Perhaps you could remind us of how many acquisitions were made over that 4+ year period (VianetAIP, My Acces, aaNet, Instant Communications, etc) and how many customers these acquisitions ‘delivered’

From EFTel’s 2006 Annual Report (pg 8) “EFTel’s commitment to quality and service is backed by technical competence and extensive industry experience with over 140,000 active accounts.”

So according to EFTel’s own releases and your current guestimate, EFTel has netted no new customers since 2006FY despite a number of acquisitions that were described as, for example: “aaNet, one of Australia’s fastest growing broadband communications providers”!!!!

It would seem, Mr Lane, that your tenure as COO has not been overly awe inspiring either.

Little wonder that you can spend so much time on a chat room defending the performance of a board that has taken you from yellow pages sales to public company management.

So now you would have shareholders believe that the auditors’ comments are praise of EFTel’s “a bold and exciting project”

Wasn’t BPL (Broadband over PowerLines) supposed to be a bold and exciting project too???
And what about PocketSurfer2?