Telstra Country Wide general manager Chris Taylor probably thought he had been through some pretty tough press conferences. This was until he came across the Monaro Group CWA, who held its annual conference at Jerangle last Tuesday.

As guest speaker, Mr Taylor was quizzed on the new administration fees for Telstra customers, the proposed national broadband network, overseas call centres, satellite technology and the size of mobile phone keypads.

As for the ladies concerns about the new $2.20 administrative fees for paying your Telstra bill at a local post office, Mr Taylor wanted to reiterate that there were fee free alternatives.

“You can pay by B-Pay, online and direct debit. Certain groups are also excluded from the charge including pensioners. The charge has been introduced to cover transfer costs,” he said.

The Telstra general manager said services were still being improved in country areas.

“We have expanded our mobile coverage, we have a new satellite at Michelago. This will help improve coverage along the Monaro Highway and in the Michelago area,” he said.

However, Mr Taylor said some older technology would become redundant with the National Broadband Network and that was a consideration when deciding to improve infrastructure in rural areas.

Mr Taylor said this did not mean Telstra would stop trying in rural areas with Dalgety in with a chance of Government funding.