"We must position ourselves to drive and participate in the value created by AI and the digital infrastructure boom, with sovereign capability and assets working in our national interest," Telstra boss Vicki Brady said.
"We also understand Australians are concerned about the impact AI could have on jobs and society."
Ms Brady is expected to expand on her comments during an earnings briefing later on Thursday.
Telstra posted a net profit of $2.4 billion, up 2.7 per cent, for the 2025/26 year, despite flat revenue growth of $22.9 billion.
Underlying earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, came to $8.3 billion, which was in the middle of its guidance range.
Telstra declared a final dividend of 10.5 cents, taking the total for the year to 21 cents per share, in line with expectations of a 10.5 per cent increase in its payout to shareholders.
It also announced a second on-market share buyback of up to $1 billion after completing a $1.25 billion share sweep in June.
Telstra's consumer arm, which is its growth engine, lifted revenue by 0.7 per cent to $10.9 billion.
In contrast, its business division revenue rose 1.1 per cent to $2.9 billion.
In July, Telstra suffered a major network outage that spread across the country.Â
The outage took down roughly 45 per cent of its network at its peak and sparked an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry.
"When our network fails, the impact is real and we're deeply sorry for the disruption the incident caused," the company said.
"Our investigations to date indicate the outage was caused by something within our control - the combination of an undocumented network design change and a software update that had not been applied."
Telstra's share price is sitting at $5, on par with a year earlier, after tumbling about a tenth since May.
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