Talk could get expensive for telecom company

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded Telstra’s long-term and short-term credit ratings to A+/A-1 from AA/A1+, primarily on the back of the company’s plans to invest in and form mobile phone and IP backbone joint-ventures with Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW). The move also reflects increasing competition in the Australian telecoms market, S&P says.