Telstra Europe, one of the UK's leading alternative business telephony and internet suppliers, has appointed Les Johns as Director of Sales, Enterprise, as the company continues to experience strong growth and develop further its presence in the small and medium-sized enterprise market.

In this new role, Les reports to David Thorn, Telstra Europe's CEO, and will focus on  working with Telstra's suite of voice and data products, hosted services and online service platforms, to further simplify the purchasing process and management of communication services for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Previously a consultant for Vanco, Les brings 25 years telecoms industry experience to Telstra and has held senior sales positions at Premiere Conferencing, TeleCity, Level 3 Communications and MCI-WorldCom.

Commenting today, he said, "In a rapidly changing market, where technologies are evolving and services converging, small to medium-sized enterprises want to concentrate on running their businesses, rather than worrying about which technology is right for them and managing numerous contracts with multiple service providers."

He added, "Telstra's aim is to simplify this process, and be the natural partner of choice for all the communication needs of UK SMEs by providing expert advice, leading edge technology, consistently high levels of service and transparent account management, all through one supplier and on one monthly bill."

Earlier in May, Telstra launched a range of combined business broadband and telephony packages for SMEs and, as part of his role, Les will be responsible for developing these packages further  to also include VoIP, conferencing, hosting and security services.

Over the next twelve months, Les will also oversee the recruitment of new sales account managers to strengthen Telstra's existing telesales team.

David Thorn concluded, "The small and medium-sized enterprise market is a core focus for Telstra Europe and I am delighted to welcome Les to the company.  He has a wealth of knowledge and industry experience that will further enhance our customer offering and build upon our good momentum in this sector."

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Media Contacts:

Telstra Europe

Peter Fitzpatrick, hbl media, 020 7612 1830 / peter@hblmedia.com

Kathryn Hughes, hbl media, 020 7612 1830 / kathryn@hblmedia.com

Notes to Editors:

Telstra Europe, www.telstra.co.uk, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX:TLS). Operational in Europe for over 14 years, Telstra offers an extensive range of voice and data services including total managed network solutions using Global IP-VPN (MPLS), Internet, ATM, Frame Relay, Private Lines, hosting and co-location services and enhanced voice solutions to medium sized business and multinational corporations in the UK. Additional value added services include fully managed CPE, network reporting, consulting, planning, project management, service tools, which enable customers to monitor and view their network status 24x7 and customer support seven days a week.

Delivering connectivity business solutions, value-added services and complex managed IP solutions, Telstra Europe’s portfolio is complemented by its independently-owned and managed switched network. Switches are located in London, Birmingham and Manchester working alongside 14 co-location points throughout the UK. Additionally, state-of-the-art, resilient data centres are located in London, Docklands, Cambridge and Sunderland.

Parent company, Telstra Corporation Limited, is a full service global telecommunications company.