Telecommunications Association (TelSoc)

The Telecommunications Association (TelSoc), formerly the Telecommunication Society of Australia (TSA), has served the Australian telecommunications industry as its learned society since its initial formation as the Telegraph Electrical Society in 1874, in response to enthusiasm for the then new engineering science of electrical telegraphy. Since then, TelSoc has evolved in response to the industry's growth through successive phases of industry restructuring: the introduction of telephony by the private sector (1880); nationalization following Federation of Australia (1901); the passing of the Postmaster-General's Department's monopoly role (1902–1975) to the arms-length government business Telecom Australia (1975–92); and the introduction of competition with the staged privatisation of Telecom Australia's successor, Telstra, in 1991, 1997 and 2005.

Throughout its 145-year history, TelSoc has kept industry members informed of new developments in network infrastructure, products and services, regulatory changes, end user experience and policy issues, through a combination of lunchtime lectures, major industry networking events, and the publication of newsletters and journals, most especially (from June 1935 to June 2013) the Telecommunications Journal of Australia, succeeded by the Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy. In July 2013 the Telecommunication Society of Australia was transformed to the independent and not-for-profit TelSoc.