Australia’s Telstra to split into three in major shake-up, seek investment for towers

Australia’s biggest telecom firm Telstra Corp said on Thursday it would split into three units as part of a restructuring plan, citing heightened demand for infrastructure assets, sending its shares up as much as 6.5%.

The health crisis has driven businesses and entertainment online, but pressured telcos to spend more to service surging demand. With fixed pricing structures, it has also left them with no quick way to monetize the investment.

As a result, Telstra froze job cuts in March and brought forward significant capital spending at a time when most other Australian firms were cutting costs.