Mobile phone prices are only going one direction, and that's down. Telstra faces a lot more competition in the wireless market, so the margins are nowhere near as impressive as those for fixed-line.

He had a simple maxim for all competitive or adversarial situations: work out what the other party least wants you to do, and then do it. Relieving your feelings was fun, but the best course of action was to make things as difficult as possible for the person trying to make things difficult for you.

Sentiment amongst institutional investors is very poor. There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new management's strategy.

I don't think they will be pressured into re-thinking, by Telstra trying to talk down their earnings.

We had some bright spots and it was very good competition overall. We're going in the right direction and I'm looking forward to some good marks in the next couple of weeks.

We need to get some direction,