Telstra seals 10-year Coke deal

Australia's largest telecommunications company, Telstra Corp. yesterday executed a 10-year contract with beverages giant, Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) to provide next generation telecommunications capabilities for its offices in Australia.

Although financial details of the contract have not been disclosed, analysts estimate the value at around A$150 million. The contract is claimed to be the largest by Telstra due to its exclusive supply arrangement.

Melbourne-based Telstra is the largest provider of a full range of telephone, mobile and internet services throughout Australia. It has a customer base of 9.2 million fixed line and 9.7 million mobile, including 5.2 million 3G customers. The company reported sales of A$25.5 billion for the year ended in June.

Through the exclusive contract signed by the two companies, Telstra will provide a range of next generation telecommunications capabilities and fully managed services to CCA's 130 offices and become the preferred telecommunications provider for its international operations in New Zealand, Fiji and Indonesia.

Telstra's services would include IP telephony, mobile voice and data services including mobile handsets and blackberry devices, wireless broadband services, a Cisco contact centre solution for CCA's six national contact centres, managed computing and billing services.

The deal is expected to help CCA increase its revenues, reduce costs and improve productivity.