Australian telecom giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) announced on Friday the launch of its Digital Media Division.

Telstra Chief Executive Officer David Thodey said the new unit will include Sensis, BigPond, Trading Post, IPTV and Foxtel, a pay-TV network 50 per cent owned by Telstra.

With their integration into one company, the assets of these companies would come together for the first time and allow Telstra to have a co-ordinated media strategy. The two companies that formed Telstra monopolised the industry's domestic and international telecommunications service until 1991 when Optus Communications was granted the second carrier licence by the government.

Mr Thodey said Telstra would build network infrastructure that would meet the growing demand for digital media and video content, and deliver long-term shareholder value as well.

To do that, Telstra, which reported $25.09 billion revenue for 2010-11, would invest $100 million over the next four years to upgrade its media infrastructure and improve delivery of broadcast quality video streaming to customers through the Internet.

Mr Thodey added that Telstra would continue to integrate content and make it available to clients using different channels such as mobiles, tablets, home entertainment systems and the Internet.

Telstra outgoing Chief Financial Officer John Stanhope disclosed that the company is on the last stages of discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for its $11-billion participation in the national broadband network. He said Telstra hopes it could ink an agreement with regulators before the end of 2011.

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