About Us

Back in 2000, people communicated differently. While we were still using the home and business phone, mobile phone coverage was building, internet speeds were slow and there was a feeling in regional areas that the digital divide between city and country areas needed addressing.

Telstra made a commitment to turn around the digital divide. Extending our commitment to regional and rural Australia, Telstra Country Wide was established. This group became the local face of Telstra - charged with understanding and meeting the needs of Australians living outside metropolitan areas and delivering the best in telecommunications for regional and rural customers.

We've come a long way since then. By introducing non-timed local calls in remote areas, upgrading our mobile network, improving mobile coverage and increasing internet availability and speeds, we have delivered on the original commitment made to customers - but it hasn't stopped there.

Change through innovation

Telstra’s innovation in regional areas has changed the shape of many communities. Local businesses can compete on the world stage with improved internet capabilities; regionally-based health care can offer remote diagnosis and monitoring; rural-based schools can provide the same opportunities for their students as those in the city with online learning; and environmental and farming businesses have improved their productivity through mobile telemetry, possible with the advancements of Telstra's Next G™ network.

We're there when you need us

Telstra Country Wide staff live and work in regional and rural communities. They have a greater understanding of the situations that are unique to regional Australia.

When tragedy hits, be it bushfires, floods or cyclones, the Telstra team is committed to helping the community through at every turn. On top of this, we are there in the small ways as well, helping community groups with grants and sponsorships. We know that this is important, because we are part of the community too.

Telstra has been servicing regional and rural Australia for over 100 years. Telstra Country Wide's 10 year anniversary is a testament to this dedication and service. This will carry on into the future.

TCW major advancements

	2000	2010
Local Presence	Telstra Country Wide established on June 4 2000 becoming the local face of Telstra with 30 offices across regional & rural areas	We have strengthened our local commitment with 50 TCW offices, supported by a network of 145 Telstra Stores in regional Australia
Home Phone - Local Call Availability	28,000 customers living in the most remote parts of Australia could not access untimed local calls	All Australians have access to untimed local calls (since 2004) and HomeLine plans that provide greater cost surety
Fixed Internet - Availability & Speed	Access to narrowband internet services with dial-up speeds of 20 - 56kps and some customers paying timed call access.	Broadband available to 92% of Australians with internet speeds ranging from 8Mbps for ADSL up to 20Mbps for ADSL2+*. These super-fast internet speeds are 10 - 1000 times faster than in the year 2000...
Mobile & Wireless - Availability	An Analogue network covering 500,000 square kilometres and 91% of the population progressively being replaced by the CDMA network	The Next G™ 3G network now covers 99% of Australia's population at over 2 million square kilometres, allowing more people to connect in more places
Wireless Internet – Speed	CDMA Wireless providing modest speeds of 14.4 kbps	Our Next G™ 3G network now provides typical downlink speeds of 550kbps to 8Mbps in all CBDs and many regional areas when using our latest Telstra Elite modem* allowing customers to do more online in more places

Telstra Country Wide was established in 2000 and became the local face of Telstra - charged with understanding and meeting the needs of Australians living outside metropolitan areas and delivering the best in telecommunications for regional and rural customers.  The local management model now extends to all areas of Australia and provides an extensive national field coverage model comprising all consumer retail points of presence, local community leaders and support teams.

It is Telstra Country Wide's vision that all customers in each local area across metropolitan, regional and rural Australia have access to the same innovative communications that are available in technology centres across the world.

They are dedicated to keeping metropolitan, regional and rural Australia in touch, ensuring rural communities and businesses can compete equally on the world stage.  With advancements in communication technology, improved internet and mobile capabilities, remote health care diagnosis and monitoring and on line learning rural, regional and metropolitan communities are kept connected.

Rebekah O'Flaherty
Executive Director
Telstra Country Wide