The Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is in the spotlight after the telco announced its latest spectrum win.
Spectrum win
Telstra said that it had successfully secured up to 110 MHz of extra ‘mid-band’ spectrum in the 3.4 / 3.7 GHz spectrum auction held by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which finished on Tuesday.
The telco announced that it had invested $546 million to deliver “even better 5G experiences” for mobile customers. This included securing an additional 80 MHz of spectrum in the key capital city markets of Sydney and Melbourne.
Telstra said it acquired a large portion of the available spectrum at a “highly competitive price, setting up its mid-band spectrum assets for the next 20 years.”
This spectrum “is the foundation for increasing capacity to support growing demand across metro and regional areas and will enable a significant enhancement in customer network experience and speed.”
Telstra boasted that it has the largest 5G network, covering more than 85% of the Australian population and available in more than 450 towns and cities across Australia. The network strength is a long-term key driver of Telstra shares, as it attracts more subscribers.
Management commentary
The Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said:
5G has completely changed how we use mobile devices and we continue to see customers’ demand for data growing. Adding this mid-band spectrum to our network means our customers will get an even better and more consistent mobile experience through more capacity to carry data.
This investment moves our mobile leadership forward and enables Telstra to continue to pioneer future capabilities and generations of mobile technology for Australia. Alongside our existing spectrum holdings, the additional 55 to 110 MHz means we’ll continue to differentiate ourselves in a competitive market.
It’s particularly pleasing that we’ve also secured a significant amount of spectrum covering large parts of regional Australia. This will mean that even more customers in more places will enjoy our world-leading 5G network.
Final thoughts on the Telstra share price
I think Telstra is trading at attractive value for a long-term buy. It’s seeing growing revenue thanks to CPI inflation price rises, a bigger Australian population and more international visitors. Profit is also rising, which is what investors usually value a business on, and this helps grow the Telstra share price.
This is a good move for Telstra to invest in its network, as well as investing in fibre too. I’m not expecting huge returns, but I’d rather buy Telstra than ASX bank shares.
