One of the filters renowned investor Warren Buffett employs when...

One of the filters renowned investor Warren Buffett employs when deciding whether to invest in a company is to consume its products. Is the company able to produce a quality product or service in a manner deemed satisfactory by clients?
Top quality products and loyal customers help underpin sales revenue and support share prices.

So - does Telstra pass the Buffett test? As a retail customer I have to say an emphatic "No".

Speeds are far, far too low - I pay over A$100 a month for a premium service, a paltry 500 KHz. A big step down from EIGHT years ago I paid about A$70 a month for a 1GHz connection with SingTel in Singapore; and 5 years ago I paid a similar amount for a 1GHz connection provided by PCCW in HK. And i will be returning to Malaysia soon, where again I will access a 1GHz service at a reasonable cost.

I need strong, stable connections to do my job, and whenever there was a problem with signal strength, I could call up SingTel/PCCW, go straight to the tech support, to someone who had both technical knowledge and empowerment to handle my problem promptly. And if the service was down, they could tell you what was going on, and not leave you wondering what on earth is going on. Nothing could be further from this experience in my dealings with Telstra - it is a dreadful company.

I made the mistake of moving house recently from one place with a NBN connection to another with a NBN connection installed within weeks of each other. Telstra ever helpful (sic) website says this should be done in 2 business days. As of today, this job is running 5 weeks late. I have called Telstra 7, 8 times - calls get routed to a "virtual assistant" that is completely useless. It runs on a very basic FAQ system, that routinely directs you to a website, and will then cut off your call. If you able to attract the attention of a human being, they will not know very much, they are not empowered to do anything. And 50% of the time, they put you on hold and then drop the call ! So you then redial go through the process of revalidating, provide endless retelling of the situation, told something will be done - and nothing happens. And 5 weeks in, I still don't know what is the nature of the problem!

It never used to be this way - in the 1980s, prior to deregulation and privatization, Telstra was a real innovator - the EFTPOS system roll out was a triumph. The company was profitable, and routinely reinvested its profits back into the network. These days Telstra spends money in 2 areas: (a) on executive pay; and (b) on marketing. I have never known a company where there is such a disconnect between the image presented in its corporate communications, versus the dismal reality. And it loves to present its executives embracing woke causes, which is all fine and good - but guys - can you just do your jobs properly?

In a space of a single generation Australia has moved from having one of the best telecommunications systems in the world, to a system that a developing country would apologize for. I don't hold TLS shares. And I would recommend selling them.