Why pay a premium fee for a service that isn’t? How the nationwide outage could hurt Telstra

<p>The telco has long banked on its reputation as having the most stable, widest mobile telco coverage. That is now badly dented</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jul/10/australia-news-live-pauline-hanson-one-nation-modi-anthony-albanese-royal-commission-antisemitism-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>Telstra has long profited from its reputation of having the largest and most stable mobile telco coverage in Australia, allowing it to charge premium prices.</p><p>When its main rival, Optus, suffered a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/01/optuss-triple-zero-outage-could-boost-telstras-customers-and-allow-it-to-charge-even-more">series of operational issues</a> that culminated in a damaging triple zero outage last year, Telstra attracted new customers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/11/why-pay-a-premium-fee-for-a-service-that-isnt-how-the-nationwide-outage-could-hurt-telstra">Continue reading...</a>