SYDNEY, June 30, 2026, 08:02 (AEST)
- Telstra Group Limited ASX:TLS ended Monday at A$5.16, gaining 0.19%. The S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.68%. ASX cash trading was still in pre-open at the dateline.
- Telstra’s advertised coverage drops to 2.14 million sq km from around 3 million under a new mobile coverage-map standard. TPG Telecom Limited (ASX:TPG) now shows 1.2 million sq km.
- Telstra wrapped up its A$1.25 billion buyback at an average price near A$5.08 a share. Shares closed Monday 1.5% higher than that.
Telstra Group Limited ASX:TLS heads into Tuesday with shares trading close to the price set in its recent buyback. New data is also eating away at the network advantage Telstra uses to support its mobile pricing.
ASX cash trading hadn’t started by 08:02 AEST, with the market still in pre-open. Trading on the main cash market is set for 09:59:45 to 16:00 Sydney time.
Telstra ended Monday at A$5.16, gaining 0.19%. The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,823.40, up 0.68%. That left Telstra trailing the index by 49 basis points for the session.
The key figure is the buyback cost. Telstra’s final notice on June 4 said it spent A$1.25 billion buying 245.9 million shares. That means Telstra paid an average of A$5.0835 per share in the buyback. Shares closed on Monday 1.5% higher than that average, but still 4.4% under the A$5.40 high the company paid during the buyback.
| Measure | Figure | Read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Telstra close, June 29 | A$5.16, +0.19% | Lagged the ASX 200 by 49 bps |
| S&P/ASX 200 close | 8,823.40, +0.68% | Market outpaced Telstra on the day |
| Buyback average price | A$5.0835 | Stock trades 1.5% above what Telstra paid in the buyback |
| Shares retired | 245.9 mln, about 2.16% of prior class issue | Share count drops; buyback support is gone |
The new coverage-map standard is a clearer metric for investors. Mobile carriers in Australia now have to use a set signal threshold, with anything below -115 dBm counted as no coverage. With the new rule, Telstra’s mapped mobile area drops to 2.14 million sq km, down from about 3 million sq km.
| Mobile coverage metric | Before | Current / new standard | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra advertised area | About 3.0 mln sq km | 2.14 mln sq km | Down about 29% |
| TPG Telecom Limited (ASX:TPG) area | 1.0 mln sq km | 1.2 mln sq km | Up 20% |
| Optus/Vodafone population claim | 98.5% | 99.0% | Up 0.5 percentage point |
| “No coverage” threshold | Varied by carrier | Below -115 dBm | Now a common map basis |
Telstra didn’t shut down any sites with the map cut. “No sites have been switched off,” Shailin Sehgal, Telstra’s group executive of global networks and technology, told the Guardian in April as the rule change faced pushback. The Guardian
Price is still in play. Telstra’s lead in regional mobile has been a key sales pitch for years, but now a shrinking network gap lets rivals go harder with value deals against Telstra’s premium brand. The A$1.25 billion buyback isn’t creating extra demand for the shares anymore, either.
Chief Executive Vicki Brady told investors back in February the on-market buyback was “expected to support earnings and dividend per share growth.” Telstra raised the buyback to A$1.25 billion at that point, and its June filing shows that full amount has now been used. Telstra.com
Zavier Wong, market analyst at eToro, said after the February results, “Telstra remains one of the most defensive names on the ASX.” Now the stock’s defensive tag leans more on earnings than on buyback support. Reuters
Telstra reported a 5.5% gain in first-half FY26 underlying EBITDAaL, coming in at A$4.2 billion. Cash EPS jumped 20% to 14 cents. The company also tightened its FY26 underlying EBITDAaL guidance to between A$8.2 billion and A$8.4 billion.
Telstra’s next market event is set for Aug. 13, when it reports annual results. The company’s key dates show Aug. 26 for going ex-dividend, with the final dividend set for payout on Sept. 24.
