Telco to boost its spending

TelstraClear is keeping quiet on its investment plans after the Government's unbundling announcement but chief financial officer Michael Boggs hinted the company would soon be increasing its spending.

Boggs said TelstraClear had invested $120 million in each of the past three years and "we already have a bigger budget to spend next year and that's not going to be spent internally".

During his speech at the Tuanz telecommunications conference yesterday, Boggs said TelstraClear had spent the past few months "getting its house in order" and had thus far refused to specify its investment plans because it did not want to "engage in a bidding war".

Boggs also said recent media commentary calling for the resignation of Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung was "in poor form".

Despite TelstraClear's often confrontational relationship with Telecom, it had always been about business and never personal.

"There's always been a level of respect," he said.