28 Sep 2012

Moutter promises strategy in 2013

10:52 pm on 28 September 2012

Telecom's new chief executive Simon Moutter plans to deliver his new strategic vision for the company at the start of next year.

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting on Friday he told shareholders while his initial observations of the company are positive, there is still work to do.

Mr Moutter says that Telecom is now at the start of a long process of reshaping itself as it adapts to a new operating environment.

"The company's still working through a process of significant change in how our our revenue is made up," he says.

"The mix is moving between fixed access, and old ... calling and moving into mobile and broadband, and new ICT services".

"The way to get the revenue back into positive territory is to do it with the new engines of growth, and to manage that shift of the services that people buy.

"I think that's about Telecom staying on the front (foot) with the best technology and the best products and services delivered to customers with the best service wrapped around them.

"The new Telecom ... is really a mobile-centric reseller of broadband services.

"The technology today that we'll centre our products around will be mobile technology and broadband and data services, which in today's world power even the old services - like voice - which have become software services that run over those data networks."

"It's really about a transference from old switched voice and copper (wire) systems onto wireless and (optical) fibre and broadband."

Mr Moutter replaced Paul Reynolds - who was paid $25 million over five years, including $10 million in his last year at the helm - and shareholders sought assurances that the new chief executive was not being over-paid.

Mr Moutter is being paid a base salary of $1.35 million a year, with another $2.35 million in performance pay and shares if he meets certain targets.