Telstra Corp Ltd's shareholders will receive dividends totalling $1.9 billion today. The telco's 1.8 million shareholders will be paid dividends totalling 15 cents per share, fully franked, which includes a three cent special dividend. That gives the federal government, which has a 50.1 per cent stake in Australia's largest telco, a $950 million boost to its coffers. Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski said the interim dividend payment was good news for shareholders and for the Australian economy.