Telstra boss Andrew Penn may need to change his game plan as analysts grow impatient with his Asia focus.
Mr Penn vowed to transform the telecom company into a tech giant with a strong focus on Asia when he was promoted to chief executive 20 months ago.
"The Telstra board and leadership team has developed compelling plans to 2020, and beyond, which will expand our capability as an increasingly global connectivity company and position us for future growth," he said in February, 2015, just before starting as CEO.
Instead, Telstra has abandoned ambitious plans to enter the Philippines mobile market, and continues to make minor investments in start-ups.
Recently Telstra bought into C88 Financial Technologies - owner of consumer financial websites in Indonesia and the Philippines - in the latest of about 30 start-up investments since 2012.
Daniel Mueller, senior equities analyst at Forager, says Mr Penn will struggle to deliver on his international expansion strategy and should focus on cementing Telstra's position at home.
"I think he's really talked up a big game that he can't possibly win," Mr Mueller said.
Telstra has suffered multiple network outages this year, with $250 million committed to improvements. It also pledged an extra $3 billion in network spending to meet future data demand, raising eyebrows of some analysts.
A share price down about 20 per cent under Mr Penn's tenure has also not gone unnoticed.
Foad Fadaghi, principal analyst at research firm Telsyte, said Mr Penn faced a hefty legacy from predecessor David Thodey.
During his six years, Mr Thodey turned around financial performance, improved customer service and rebuilt relations with the federal government after a troubled four years under CEO Sol Trujillo.
"Mr Thodey's ambitions in his final year were grand, maybe too grand, and Penn (and the entire organisation) was left to deliver difficult outcomes," Mr Fadaghi said.
"If there was a failure of Penn, it was that early in his tenure he did not change the expectations left behind by Thodey quickly to more modest ones that the organisation could actually deliver."
Despite Telstra's global ambitions, Australia is still its main revenue source and competition from the likes of Optus, TPG Telecom, Vodafone and Amaysim has intensified.
"Penn's competitors are stronger and more audacious than they were with Thodey. On top of this, Penn was brought in to re-ignite Telstra's Asia growth ambitions which time and again have proven difficult to make work for an Australian telco," Mr Fadaghi said.
Mr Penn - who helped insurer AXA Asia Pacific expand across Asia before moving to Telstra - needs to rethink the focus on Asian acquisitions and growth, Mr Mueller says.
"He's just not at the right company to be talking that way - its a low-growth incumbent. I think shareholders expect dividend, capital management, cash flow."
Mr Fadaghi says Telstra must reconsider its Asian strategy, start-up incubators and minority investments in US tech companies where it has "little competitive or information advantage".
Mr Penn should also usher in 5G faster and set realistic goals that suit Telstra's advantages, including scale and relationships with technology partners in Australia.
"For Telstra and Penn, 5G cannot come fast enough, but will he still be in charge in 2018-2020?" Mr Fadaghi said.
