Each year, TelSoc hosts the Henry Sutton Oration in Melbourne to commemorate the distinguished but scarcely known Victorian scientist, engineer and inventor from Ballarat. Please join us for TelSoc’s Henry Sutton Oration for 2025 on Thursday, 21 August.  The Henry Sutton Oration is named after Henry Sutton, a prolific Victorian inventor and innovator. His many accomplishments are detailed in a book by Lorayne Branch (his great granddaughter), Henry Sutton the Innovative Man.

This year's Orator is John Ieraci, Telstra Enterprise Executive.

His Oration is entitled Telstra’s Connected Future 30: Lessons from the Past, Vision for the Future.

Telstra’s Connected Future 30: Lessons from the Past, Vision for the Future

The telco industry is entering a new era—one defined by rapid technological change and evolving customer expectations. Over the past century, our industry has navigated through many waves of disruption, transforming Australia’s connectivity time and again. Now, we’re at the start of something we have not seen. The rise of AI. A super cycle of digital infrastructure investment. Rapidly changing competitor set. And many, many unknowns. The pace and scale of change ahead will be extraordinary.

To stay ahead, we must rethink how we deliver value in a shifting landscape. The challenges are real—but the opportunities are even greater. There are three questions we need to ask. What must telcos do to thrive in this next wave? What is our path forward? And what can we learn from the missed opportunities at previous industry inflection points?

John will step us through these challenges and Telstra’s response to them. He will explain what it means for the sector—and for us. As with all TelSoc Oration events, John’s oration will be followed by a Q&A session. These are invariably as informative and worthwhile as the main presentation. We are all looking forward to it.