David Thodey has announced he is stepping down from his role as CEO of Telstra, to be replaced by CFO Andrew Penn.

Laurie Patton, CEO of the Internet Society of Australia, says Thodey is smart enough to leave when he’s on a high. Does that mean Telstra faces more of an uncertain future? After all, it can’t be as strong as the last six years, which has seen the company double in value.

There’s still plenty of growth to come, according to Nathan Burley, Director Telecommunications for Equities Research at the Commonwealth Bank. He says Thodey had a lot of respect from the market and is surprised to see him leave before seeing through more of his initiatives.

The big question is, where does the telco go next? Growth in mobiles is likely to slow and the telco will need to show it can deliver much more in the corporate space and from its overseas investments.

Meanwhile, on the home front, could TPG be the player most likely to be nipping at its heels?