---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Telecoms
status: done
latency_ms: 157506
conversation_id: 6aa4c956-17f0-4c17-85cc-3a9f60ca0806
citations: 6
created: 2026-05-31 18:24:22Z
---

# Who are the key customers and suppliers of Telstra?

# Telstra (TLS AU) — Key Customers and Suppliers

Telstra Group Limited is Australia's largest integrated telecommunications operator. Its commercial relationships span retail end-users, wholesale/B2B intermediaries, network-equipment vendors, cloud and software partners, content providers, and the nbn co (which is simultaneously a counterparty as customer/supplier/landlord). Drawing on internal CLSA research from Telstra's May 2025 Investor Day [7][8][9] and public filings/transcripts:

## Customers — by segment

Telstra organises its customer base into four reporting segments, each addressing a distinct end-market:

| Segment | Customer base |
|---|---|
| **Telstra Consumer** | Mass-market households — prepaid/post-paid mobile, fixed-line, fixed broadband, and media plans [4][6] |
| **Telstra Business (SMB)** | Small-to-medium businesses (off-the-shelf and standardised technology solutions) [4] |
| **Telstra Enterprise (Australia) + Enterprise & Government** | Large corporate, government, public-sector accounts via standardised and bespoke technology/managed-network solutions; the segment generated $13m of internal income in 1H26 versus $16m in 1H25 [6] |
| **Telstra International** | Multinational enterprise carriage and connectivity in Asia/EMEA |

Within these segments, the **revenue mix** is shaped by:
- **Mobile** (Telstra's main growth engine) — postpaid, prepaid, and wholesale handheld subscribers. FY25 mobile service revenue grew 3.5% with ARPU up 2.1%, postpaid ARPU +2.5%, prepaid +8.4%, wholesale +5% [5].
- **Fixed-C&SB** (consumer & small business broadband/voice) and **Fixed-Enterprise** [5].
- **Wholesale** customers — these include **MVNOs** (mobile virtual network operators) that resell Telstra mobile capacity, and **fixed active wholesale** counterparties [5].
- **InfraCo Fixed and Amplitel** — sell tower access and infrastructure to **third-party carriers** (i.e., Optus, TPG and other operators are paying customers of Amplitel's tower portfolio) [5].
- **Network capacity / IRU contracts** (Indefeasible Right of Use) — typically global carriers and hyperscalers buying long-haul fibre capacity [4].

Telstra's own customer-architecture chart presented at the 2025 Investor Day groups counterparties into: **End Users** (Consumers, Businesses, Enterprise & Govt); **Developers/B2B2X** (Hyperscalers, Software developers, OEMs & systems integrators, Carriers & MVNOs); **Aggregators** (Aduna and other B2B2X); and **Third Parties** (nbn, satellite operators) [7].

Other notable customer-relationships:
- **Foxtel** — Telstra historically earned revenue from its share of Foxtel cable subscriber revenue and from services provided to Foxtel [8].
- **nbn co** — Telstra performs **network design, build and maintenance contracts** primarily for nbn co [4], making nbn both a wholesale supplier (see below) AND a major contracting customer.

## Suppliers and Strategic Partners

Telstra's supply base spans network infrastructure, IT/software, cloud, content, and channel partners. Key categories:

### 1. Network infrastructure / wholesale upstream
- **nbn co** is the dominant fixed-line wholesale supplier. Telstra resells nbn access to retail customers and receives **nbn disconnection fees** under the Subscriber Agreement with nbn co [4]. The CLSA 2025 note explicitly lists nbn under "Third Parties" in Telstra's customer/supplier architecture chart [7].
- **Satellite operators** — also classified as "Third Parties" supplying capacity, including the new satellite-to-mobile text messaging service launched in FY25 (Australian-first), which "also increasing our cost of goods sold going forward" — implying a paid wholesale relationship with the satellite operator (publicly disclosed as SpaceX/Starlink) [5].

### 2. Network equipment vendors (radio, transport, IP/optical)
- **Ericsson** and **Cisco** are explicitly cited by Telstra management as "technology suppliers" — note the transcript misspells Ericsson as "Elton": *"technology suppliers like Elton and Cisco"* [2].
- **Cisco** is also called out as a strategic cloud-partner and recipient of Telstra's Collaboration Partner of the Year award [1].

### 3. Cloud and software suppliers
Telstra's NAS (Network Application Services) business depends on commercial agreements with major cloud and software vendors:
- **Cisco, VMware, IBM SoftLayer** — "enabled new cloud partnerships with some of the world's largest cloud suppliers, companies such as Cisco, VMware, SoftLayer, which is a subsidiary of IBM" [1].
- **Microsoft, Amazon (AWS), Google** — named by Telstra management as core cloud "partners" Telstra works with to address vertical solutions [2].
- **Polycom** — collaboration vendor (Global Cloud Provider of the Year award) [1].
- **Third-party software for dynamic network management** — CLSA flags this as a structural risk: *"we do see risks with increasing reliance on 3rd party software positioned as the customer interface"* — software-defined networks could erode Telstra's infrastructure advantage [9].

### 4. Systems integrators (channel partners)
- **Accenture and Infosys** — explicitly named as integrator partners Telstra uses to deliver vertical solutions [2].

### 5. Aggregators / new channel partners (developer ecosystem)
- **Aduna** — Telstra is a participant in this global telco API aggregator. However, CLSA notes this is **NOT exclusive**: *"both Singtel and Vodafone (major TPG telecom shareholder) are parties to the agreement meaning it is hard for us to see meaningful opportunities for Telstra to differentiate"* [8]. Aduna and similar B2B2X aggregators are positioned in Telstra's architecture chart as the **interface layer between developers/hyperscalers and Telstra's "Network as a Product"** [7].

### 6. Content / media partners
- **Foxtel** — content/cable partner relationship (Telstra both supplied services to Foxtel and shared cable subscriber revenue) [8].

## Forensic synthesis — the key debate

The customer/supplier map is the heart of CLSA's bearish (HOLD, A$4.10 TP) call:

- **Bullish view (Telstra management):** Mobile capex of ~A$800m extends Telstra's network lead; the Aduna/B2B2X/NaaP architecture creates new monetisation channels via developers and hyperscaler customers [7][9].
- **Bearish view (CLSA):** Telstra's "supplier list" is increasingly the same one its peers use — Aduna is shared with Singtel and Vodafone-backed TPG [8]; software-defined-network suppliers are global-scale and serve every operator, eroding the relative importance of Telstra's physical infrastructure [9]. In other words, when your suppliers become commoditised and your channel partners are non-exclusive, your differentiation thesis depends entirely on execution at the **customer-engagement** layer (NPS, mobile network experience), which is a much narrower moat.

---
**Sources**

[1] Q4 2015 Telstra Group Limited Earnings Call — TFS Manticore (NAS/cloud partner commentary, Cisco/VMware/SoftLayer)
[2] Telstra Corporation Limited — Analyst/Investor Day transcript — TFS Manticore (Microsoft/Amazon/Google partners; Ericsson "Elton"/Cisco suppliers; Accenture/Infosys integrators)
[3] Telstra Group Limited, H2 2020 Annual Report — TFS Manticore (customer contract taxonomy by segment)
[4] Telstra Group Limited, H1 2026 Half-Year Report (1H26) — TFS Manticore (segment income split; Telstra Consumer/Business/Enterprise/International/InfraCo/Amplitel)
[5] Telstra Group Ltd., Q4 2025 Earnings Call (13-August-2025) — TFS Manticore (mobile ARPU, postpaid/prepaid/wholesale; satellite-to-mobile)
[6] Telstra Group Limited, H2 2006 Annual Report — TFS Manticore (Foxtel cable subscriber revenue, segment allocation)
[7] Telstra – HLD (Dreamtime journey) — CLSA, 27 May 2025 — 607960654LinqAlpha.PDF (Telstra's product-line / customer architecture table: End Users, Developers/B2B2X, Aggregators, Third Parties)
[8] Telstra – HLD (Dreamtime journey) — CLSA, 27 May 2025 — 607960654LinqAlpha.PDF (Aduna partnership non-exclusivity; Singtel, Vodafone/TPG also parties)
[9] Telstra – HLD (Dreamtime journey) — CLSA, 27 May 2025 — 607960654LinqAlpha.PDF (third-party software / SDN risk to Telstra's infrastructure advantage)

## Citations

- [1] **Q4 2015 Telstra Group Limited** · external
- [2] **Telstra Corporation Limited - Analyst/Investor Day** · external
- [3] **Telstra Group Limited, H2 2020 Report** · external
- [4] **Telstra Group Limited, H1 2026 Report** · external
- [5] **Telstra Group Ltd., Q4 2025 Earnings Call, 13-August-2025 7** · external
- [6] **Telstra Group Limited, H2 2006 Report** · external

