The biggest problem with Telstra in the coming decade is going to be switching from copper wire to fibre. This is a massive undertaking it's estimated to be about $30bn. You'll never be able to get that from private investment in this country.
Because it is a matter of infrastructure like roads and rail, I say Telstra should be split up with the infrastructure part entirely in the hands of the government. Only the government will be able to raise that necessary $30bn through loans and debt, not a privatised company.
When you look at privatisation, you seem to forget that the rural component of Telstra makes up shit all of their profit. Their main profit comes from the built up urban areas with businesses and so on - this is where their main base is. So logically, if they privatise, why would they pay any attention to an area where they have almost no growth and no profit?
What I think would be the smartest idea is to remove control of the infrastructure from the private Telstra. If a private company like Telstra has in its hands basically the key to the whole system then there will never be competition. If the government has the instrastructure and you allow competition to flourish in the provision of services such as internet, telephone, etc etc then things become cheaper, new technology is introduced to make use of the new fibre and the government will be pressured by these companies as new technology comes available to improve and build on the infrastucture.
A private Telstra that doesn't own infrastructure can own however much of Foxtel it wants
