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Telstra aims to extend 5G coverage to 95% of Australia by 2025 – Metro US

Telstra aims to extend 5G coverage to 95% of Australia by 2025

FILE PHOTO: A man looks at his phone as he
FILE PHOTO: A man looks at his phone as he walks past a Telstra logo adorning a phone booth in the central business district of Sydney

(Reuters) -Australian telecom Telstra outlined a plan on Thursday, under which it aims to extend 5G coverage to 95% of the country by the end of 2025 and cut A$500 million ($366.85 million) in net costs.

The cost reductions under the new plan, dubbed T25, are on top of the A$2.7 billion already being targeted under its current T22 strategy, the company said.

The plan will kick off on July 1, 2022, and includes the potential rollout of a 6G network.

Telstra also said it was confident of maintaining a minimum 16 Australian cent per share fully franked dividend through T25.

The company, which was split into three in November, sold a 49% stake in its mobile tower business for A$2.8 billion in July.

Telstra has been trying to restructure its operations as it faces persistent headwinds on its fixed-line business from the rollout of a state-owned broadband network.

($1 = 1.3630 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Anil D’Silva)