The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week announced it would slash the amount Telstra can charge its phone and internet rivals for accessing its copper phone network by 9.4 per cent.

The vast majority of homes and businesses connect to the outside world using these lines. The ACCC's decision went against the advice of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and could lead to cheaper services and bigger download allowances.

"It has to be taken into account because if we're not able to recover costs ... then obviously that's going to have to influence decisions in the future," he said at the company's annual general meeting.

"The ACCC's decision last week … basically goes against their own principles. For a company that's regulated and investing in infrastructure the principles are that the company should be able to recover the costs of providing that infrastructure to everybody who uses it."

Telstra is facing rising infrastructure and mobile network competition from Singtel-Optus, Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom. But it remains the nation's most important builder of connectivity with $5 billion set to be spent on mobile systems alone in the three years ending FY17.

Mr Penn said the immediate impact would be a relatively small hit on Telstra's financial year 2016 earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation. It is still weighing up its avenues for appeal.

"It impacts Telstra's profitability by up to $80 million in FY16," he said.

"But it also has an impact in that it introduces price instability during an important period of transition to the NBN so I don't think it'll be good for anybody."

This will come on top of a separate ACCC decision regarding mobile call and text message charges, which Mr Penn said would reduce FY16 revenues by $350 million. But this is likely to have a neutral impact on Telstra's earnings.

ACCC chair Rod Sims told Fairfax Media Telstra was welcome to its views but he strongly disagreed that the latest decision contradicted the principal of companies getting a return on their investment.

"This is a unique situation," he said. "Here you've had Telstra investing in its copper wire of course and then it's done a deal to get paid to migrate its customers to the NBN.

"It wants to charge its remaining customers for the full cost of getting services on the copper wire – it's a completely unique position."

Optus corporate and regulatory affairs vice president David Epstein was blunter in his response. The Singapore-backed telco also invests in infrastructure and supported the ACCC's decision.

"Consistency doesn't amount to accepting the things that go your way and disregarding those that don't," he said. "This is about regulating the pricing of infrastructure that was paid for long ago, which some would argue Telstra has been additionally compensated for as a result of NBN transactions.

"The ACCC's direction was clear in the first draft and remained consistent in the final decision. No one could argue otherwise."

The AGM ran relatively smoothly with the only heckling amongst shareholders aimed at people who took too long asking questions.

But despite the lack of controversial questions or anger, Telstra was hit by the biggest no-vote against its executives' pay since the days of controversial American chief executive Sol Trujillo.

It is understood that around 11.09 per cent of Telstra's shares voted against the company's remuneration report – up from the 1.96 per cent "no" vote recorded in 2014.

A Telstra spokesman said this was in reaction to shareholder concerns about the telco adjusting the pay given to executives according to free cash flow, which was unusually high in FY15 due to one-off events like asset sales.

Mr Penn also spruiked the case for change at Telstra during the speech to retail shareholders.

The telecommunications giant is preparing to spend billions of dollars on improving its mobile network while investing in the Asian region over the coming years in an effort to keep growing profits.

"Our strategy remains unchanged," he said. "But as the rate of technology innovation accelerates, we see great opportunity – great opportunity for those that embrace technology innovation and great opportunity for Telstra.

"Technology is taking us into a world of rapid change, constant innovation and increasing competition."

Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone backed his case and highlighted cloud computing, machine to machine communications and mobile connectivity as the main paths forward.

"2015 was a year of ongoing momentum for your company," she said. "It was a year that demonstrated the value, being created for shareholders, through a continued focus on improving customer advocacy, driving value from the core business, and building new growth businesses.

"Through applying new technologies, and particularly connected technologies, the shape of Telstra is changing, as we position the company for long term success in a dynamic, competitive and global industry."