Latest news with #StephenRue
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
AI to transform telecoms but technology won't completely replace humans, new Optus CEO says
Optus's new chief executive, Stephen Rue, says artificial intelligence will play a significant role in the future of telecommunications, but humans will remain central to the company. Rue joined the Australian mobile network operator, a subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singtel, in November last year after six years at the helm of the federal government's National Broadband Network (NBN). His appointment came after two tough years for the telco, with a massive data breach affecting millions of customers, and a 14-hour national mobile network outage that led to new rules around emergency calling. The previous chief executive, Kelly Bayer-Rosmarin, quit the company two weeks after the outage. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Customers have slowly returned to Optus, with the company adding 238,000 new mobile subscribers, including 52,000 on postpaid plans, in its financial year ending 31 March 2025, results released on Thursday showed. As companies across the globe begin to examine how to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their business, Rue said the technology would have a significant role in the future of telecommunications, particularly in helping customers. 'One of the things we need to do in terms of IT and data and, indeed, process redesign is to look at how we incorporate AI into that,' he said. 'It will help us with customer experience. It will help us with identifying faults, for example, by identifying customers' issues so that they [can be] dealt with, enabling them to simply solve their own problems, enabling us to look at customer segmentation in a more granular way, so that we can actually deliver offers, deliver products to customers.' He said while AI would find efficiencies in the company, humans would always have a role. 'On top of AI, there's clearly decisions that would need to be taken by humans,' he said. 'AI can help bring a lot of data analytics quickly to humans so they can make better decisions. 'For example, you'll always need technicians in the field. You always need people building, you'll always need people making decisions around creative, people making decisions in call centres for customers, so AI can actually supplement that.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Rue said his focus since starting at Optus had been examining the company's governance, risk management and how to rebuild trust in the community. 'The other focus I've had is clearly in looking at our longer-term plans in terms of network, with not just a focus on resilience, which you'd expect, but also a focus on [the] company longer-term,' he said. 'It's simplifying the organisation, managing our costs and ensuring that we can continue to have a range of products that are competitive in the marketplace.' After spending endless hours over the past few years answering questions from senators in Senate estimates about the state of the NBN, Rue said he was not surprised the government-owned national broadband network had not been a key focus of the federal election this time around. 'There was a lot of debate over the last decade. I think with the National Broadband Network that has now clearly been not just built out, but there's clear plans to upgrade technology to more fibre-based and to higher speeds, and the NBN has obviously also increased the capability of the fixed wireless network,' he said. 'In some ways, a lot of the policy debate has either been settled or has moved on in the last decade.' Rue said there was more to do on mobile coverage across Australia, and he was looking forward to working with the government, including the new communications minister, Anika Wells, on the universal outdoor mobile coverage plan that would leverage commercial low-earth orbit satellite networks, such as Starlink, to supplement mobile networks in places where there was no coverage for text and calls. 'I think that clearly will be a discussion of policy and how that can be implemented,' he said. 'Personally, I'm very supportive of these discussions with government, and it will, I think, provide operators like Optus and an ability to provide cost-effective ways to provide those services.' Optus reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $2.2bn, up 5.7% on its previous financial year.
AU Financial Review
22-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Optus CEO focused on costs as profit rebounds
Optus chief executive Stephen Rue says he will keep a tight lid on costs to improve profit margins at the Singaporean-owned telco group, after annual earnings rebounded following last year's hefty write-downs. 'We need to manage our costs very judiciously,' Rue told The Australian Financial Review, adding Optus aimed to keep increasing its profit margins from the 27.2 per cent reported in the 12 months to March 31.
West Australian
22-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Optus rings up revenue growth as customers flock back
Optus may be starting to put the past behind it and regain the Australian public's trust after 2022's massive cybersecurity breach and a nationwide outage the following year as mobile phone customers flock back to the telco. The Singapore-owned telecommunication giant on Thursday reported it added 238,000 customers to its mobile base in the year to the end of March. The surge was led by healthy prepaid growth at mobile virtual network operator amaysim, with the number of Optus postpaid customers also increasing by 52,000. Revenue over the year hit $8.2 billion — up 1.4 per cent from a year earlier. Operating costs were flat at $6.1b. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 5.7 per cent to $2.2b and EDIT leapt 55 per cent to $446 million. Chief executive Stephen Rue — who joined Optus early last year after a decade-long stint at NBN Co, including as CEO — hailed the results but conceded Optus still had work to do to rebuild its tarnished reputation. 'Optus is committed to providing real choice for telecommunications customers as we prioritise exceptional service, competitive offers and a reliable network,'' Mr Rue said. 'Our mobile results, led by the strong performance of amaysim, show customers are responding to our commitment to offering a range of choices that suit their everyday telco and communication needs.' Sales of high-end mobile devices boosted mobile equipment revenue by 5.2 per cent, as mobile service revenue grew 4.1 per cent, with blended average revenue per user rising 2.4 per cent year-on-year. Overall mobile revenue was up 4.4 per cent. Home revenue was 3.9 per cent higher, with NBN and fixed wireless access revenue up 3.5 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively, mainly due to higher average revenue per user. Wholesale and enterprise and business fixed revenue fell 5.3 per cent for the second half, reflecting lower project-based satellite revenue and declining fixed revenues. Up to 10 million Optus customers were affected in September 2022 when hackers breach the telco's data defences. Just over a year later, a nationwide outage that affected internet, mobile and fixed-line services caused mass disruption across the country and forced the exit of under-fire CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.
The Guardian
09-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Greens say Labor must slash NBN chief's salary in exchange for support on anti-privatisation bill
The Greens say Labor must drastically cut the pay of the national broadband network's CEO, in exchange for their support on a bill to block any future privatisation of the publicly owned network. The party's amendments to Labor's bill include a salary cap for senior executives, placing a legal obligation on NBN services to remain 'affordable and accessible' to consumers, and providing cost-of-living relief for those who can't afford essential communication services. The latest NBN Co annual report showed then-CEO Stephen Rue on a remuneration package of $2.85m, including a $645,000 bonus. This is more than four-and-a-half times the prime minister's $607,471 annual salary. The year before, Rue earned $3.03m. Former Telstra executive Ellie Sweeney commenced as NBN Co's CEO and managing director in December – the company's first female leader. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email If Sweeney is on a similar package to Rue, the new rule would cut her pay by about $2.5m, as the amendment specifically limits senior executive pay to five times the average Australian's weekly earnings. The latest data from the ABS in May 2024 showed average weekly earnings for an adult working full-time was $1923.40, which would result in a cap of senior executive salaries at $500,084. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the current CEO's salary in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis was 'obscene'. '[The amendments] will cap the obscene salaries of the NBN Co CEO and other executives,' she said. 'Something is clearly wrong when the publicly owned NBN Co pays its executives millions of dollars while some Australians are struggling to pay their monthly internet bill or access a reliable service for a network Australians built and own.' The bill as it stands would make it an objective of the NBN Co Act that the company remains owned by the commonwealth, and removes the legislative conditions that could enable private ownership and control. Those conditions include a report by the Productivity Commission on the impact of the sale of NBN Co on the future affordability of services, telecommunications competition, and commonwealth budgets, as well as a declaration by the finance minister that the conditions are suitable for a sale. Labor will need the Greens and other crossbench support to pass the bill. The Coalition has refused to back it, calling the legislation a 'political wedge'. Hanson-Young is due to meet with the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, on the amendments this week. If the Greens make a deal, Labor can count on support from independent Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell. Tyrrell told Guardian Australia a privatised NBN would 'come at the cost of regional areas like Tassie'. 'I'm happy to support something that will safeguard Tasmania's connection to the rest of the country. Any bill that protects regional areas from potential NBN privatisation is worth it,' she said. Independent Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe is also likely to back the bill, while Jacqui Lambie is yet to formalise her position, but has previously opposed the privatisation of commonwealth assets. The independent ACT senator, David Pocock, is also yet to make his position public. Last month Labor also announced $3bn to fund a national upgrade of the NBN's fibre-to-the-node infrastructure, which requires the ongoing use of copper lines. The government said the upgrades would reach 622,000 premises by 2030.
