One.Tel
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One.Tel was an Australian based telecommunications company established in 1998 soon after deregulation of the Australian telecommunications industry. It was established by Jodee Rich and Brad Keeling and had high profile backers such as the Murdoch and Packer families. James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch sat on the board of the company.
One.Tel were youth orientated, attempting to create a cool and funky image to sell their mobile phones and One.Net internet services. It became Australia's fourth largest telecommunications company before collapsing in 2001. Rich and Keeling continued to pay themselves multi-million dollar performance bonuses while the company crumbled around them. The Packer and Murdoch families lost around a billion dollars between them, a significant embarrassment given the presence of the younger generation on the company's board.
Centrica acquired the UK business of One.Tel in 2001 and has run it successfully since then.