When you start seeing the same headlines – “growth in regional markets,” “improving customer momentum,” “strong Felix Mobile uptake” – repeated across outlets, you begin to wonder: who’s really driving the narrative?
Because behind the PR gloss, real stories are being buried.
2GB: Silence After Airing
They publicly stated they’d be asking Vodafone for comment, several times.
Weeks later: no comment, despite follow ups.
No follow-up.
No transcript.
Silence.
News.com.au: The Story That Died
News.com.au showed strong early interest. An interviews, quote and photo request, fact-checks. Even that it was being written up that day or the next.
Then – nothing.
Completely dead in its tracks.
No explanation, no decline, no editorial feedback.
Just quiet disappearance.
AFR: The Felix Advertorial Problem
The Australian Financial Review (“AFR”) initially engaged.
A senior contact showed strong interest and introduced me to a journalist – there was a brief interview, follow-ups, and multiple emails exchanged.
Then suddenly, I was told “it’s not for us.”
Just weeks before, two articles appeared:
“TPG Telecom says regional push is growing customer numbers” and ‘Netflix subscribers of the telco world’ boost TPG profits
Both read more like marketing collateral than independent journalism – written by the same senior reporter, AFR results-day coverage, whose piece quotes TPG’s CEO Inaki Berroeta extensively, echoing the company’s advertising talking points almost word-for-word.
No mention of consumer complaints, regulator scrutiny, or TIO data showing a 32%+ quarterly surge in complaints across TPG brands.
When I emailed the AFR journalist directly – no reply.
When I followed up with a senior editor – interest vanished overnight.
The Question No One Wants to Ask
The question of media independence is one worth asking in any market where major advertisers also generate coverage. When stories are pursued then quietly dropped without explanation, it raises a legitimate question:
Do commercial relationships between advertisers and publishers affect editorial decisions?
This publication cannot answer that question definitively – but the pattern of engagement and withdrawal documented above warrants transparency.
Industry, Investor and Analyst Concerns
Industry chatter now privately notes that Felix Mobile’s churn is multiples higher than Netflix, with customer tenure less than half of Netflix’s reported average.
Many customer cohorts fail to recover their CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), meaning TPG may be spending more to acquire users than they ever earn back.
Worst of all, there are reports that at least some of felix’s customer base was cannibalised from Vodafone’s higher ARPU and AMPU postpaid mobile segment, meaning that each incrimental customer that is poached from Vodafone postpaid, magnifies the losses.
Strange none of that was being reported. The absence of this context from public coverage raises a separate and more important question: if TPG’s internal data on Felix churn, tenure, and CAC recovery contradicts the public narrative being promoted, does that gap engage continuous disclosure obligations under ASX Listing Rule 3.1 and 3.1B? That is a question for regulators, not journalists – but it is a question that deserves an answer.
Yet the narrative being sold publicly?
“Growth.” “Momentum.” “Improved performance.”
It’s the oldest trick in the investor-relations playbook – flood the market with positivity when the fundamentals are eroding.
ABC and CHOICE: Still Standing
Thankfully, not all media can be bought or silenced.
Both ABC and CHOICE have engaged with the material and are independently reviewing the growing number of customer cases, including vulnerable Australians who have come forward. Namely, the elderly, widows, and domestic violence victims.
While some outlets may be muted by commercial incentives, others still remember that journalism is about accountability, not advertising revenue.
Corporate Governance Questions
If media silence coincides with increased ad spend, what does that say about corporate governance?
And if senior executives are allegedly contacting complainants’ workplaces, how deep does the culture problem go?
When transparency threatens profit, silence becomes currency.
The Campaign Will Continue
voda.fail was founded on one simple principle – truth deserves daylight.
No amount of advertising, intimidation, or back-channel pressure will change that.
The facts are the facts.
And they’re now visible to millions.
🧩 Related Reading:
- Post 25 – The Hidden Cost of Vodafail: Why TPG’s Investor Story No Longer Adds Up (EGM Edition)
- Post 27 – When CEOs Cross the Line: Alleged Contact with My Workplace
📨 Right of Reply & Disclaimer:
TPG Telecom, AFR, and News Corp are invited to provide clarifications or corrections to any information presented here. Verified correspondence can be sent to info@voda.fail.
This article reflects the author’s honest opinions and analysis based on publicly available information, first-hand experience, and documented correspondence. References to media coverage reflect the author’s observations about publicly published articles and editorial decisions as experienced by the author. No allegation is made that any media organisation, journalist, or editorial team acted improperly, corruptly, or in breach of any professional obligation. The question of media independence and commercial relationships is raised as a matter of public interest, not as a finding of fact. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, financial, or investment advice. No allegation of criminal conduct is implied or asserted unless determined by a competent authority. All commentary represents the author’s understanding of the facts as known at the time of publication.
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