Telstra’s Massive AI Infrastructure Bet

Welcome to This Way Forward, the podcast where C-suite leaders unpack the bold strategic bets that changed everything.In this episode, Charlie Newark-French sits down with Josh Blandy, Head of Performance Strategy at Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company.Together, they explore a strategic bet that is happening right now: Telstra’s massive investment to rebuild its network for the unprecedented demands of the AI era.The bold strategic betThe demand for bandwidth is exploding, but the type of demand is changing. AI requires synchronous (two-way) data flow, not the one-way (asynchronous) traffic of the streaming age. The old networks weren't built for this.While facing intense competition and regulation, Josh and the Telstra team made the call to invest heavily in new, core network infrastructure capable of handling this new wave of AI-driven demand. They also bet on "Network as a Product," exposing core capabilities, like on-demand bandwidth, directly to customers.To maintain focus, this meant divesting other parts of the business (like its cloud services) to go all-in on connectivity. It’s a high-stakes bet on a future where the network is the critical enabler of the AI revolution.In this episode:Why AI demand is different (Synchronous vs. Asynchronous)The high-stakes trade-offs required to focus (like selling their cloud business)What "Network as a Product" means for B2B customersHow Telstra is betting on core connectivity when others are diversifyingLeading a strategic bet when the full implementation plan isn't yet known👉 Subscribe to catch new episodes each month. Every conversation is under 15 minutes and laser-focused on one transformational decision that changed the trajectory of a company.