The apology arrived in millions of inboxes around the country brimming with the usual bloodless verbiage and condescending prattle we now expect from modern public relations.

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"Last week we let you down, and I am sorry for that," wrote Telstra's CEO, Vicki Brady, as she served up a familiar stew of turgid, tick-all-the-boxes corporate jargon reeking of insincerity.

For a company that had just paralysed transport networks, frozen retail commerce and dumped millions of Australians into a digital black hole, Brady's apology felt less like an expression of contrition and more like an insult to the collective intelligence of its long-suffering subscribers.

Brady spoke of networks being "large and complex". She boasted how Telstra invests "significantly in the resilience of our networks" before muttering something about "taking accountability" while offering absolutely none.

Another masterpiece of the genre, stitched together by panicked hacks and sanitised by trembling legal departments until every remnant of human warmth had been eliminated. It ended with this laughably lame claim: "Thank you ... for the trust you place in us. We don't take it for granted."

Really? Telstra has been taking Australians for granted for decades. No wonder it is having a Qantas moment. Just like that once-lauded airline, Telstra built its empire posing as a trusted Australian institution, only to exploit that faith by hiking prices, gutting customer service, shedding experienced staff and neglecting infrastructure maintenance.

How is it possible that, in an age of lightning-fast 5G connectivity, many inner-city dwellers in capital cities must still rely on a single bar of coverage while paying platinum rates?

That's embarrassing. But it's the ongoing betrayal of regional and rural Australia that remains a disgrace. Bush communities have remained loyal to Telstra in the absence of any credible alternatives - an allegiance repaid with complacency and disregard.

The myth of Telstra as the nation's most trusted communications carrier was exposed earlier this month when media regulator ACMA forced telcos to publish accurate coverage........

© The Examiner