BuddeBlog

I am completely on Telstra’s side on this one.

These new regulations relating to Telstra’s presence in the bush are outrageous and ridiculous. They will also place an enormous burden on the regulator, who will have to try and make Telstra comply, regardless of the outcome of the current investigation.

The new rules aren’t going to help anybody.

Telstra has no intention of moving away from regional Australia. Well over 50% of their assets are there, so why would they?

This cumbersome set of regulations is completely unnecessary and won’t achieve anything. In this particular case a gentleman’s agreement would have been more than sufficient.

The new initiatives regarding the regional infrastructure fund are a much better incentive for Telstra and others to invest in new infrastructure and new services. Once again, it’s all old-world stuff – what a wasted amount of time, energy and valuable resources will now be spent on regional bureaucracy instead of on regional services.

Furthermore, this will prevent competitive innovation. By entrenching Telstra in this way there will be no opportunity for competitors to move into regional Australia.

The only possible positive outcome is if Telstra begins to take the initiative in discussions around operational separation, in order to avoid more of this totally unworkable paperwork.

At the Rural BASH conference in Coffs Harbour in mid-2004, organised by Badja Interconnect, some interesting data was made available regarding satellite opportunities in remote communities.

Given the cost of the wireless technology and the current cost of satellite access for very remote access, Badja estimates that the following figures apply to cover a sparsely populated area of 30 users:

• $3,000 – for three meshed wireless units each with 1km radius overlapping (community to supply power and sites) – one off cost;

• $600 per month for two or more satellite services to provide 1.5Mb / 750Kb – monthly cost for uncapped service.

Even with all users online at the same time, the solution provides a minimum of 50Kb to all users. With a 1/12 contention normally expected, users would statistically expect around 600Kb throughput and during quiet periods – up to 1.5Mb:

• Base costs per user would be $100 installation (possibly less under the HiBIS subsidy scheme);

• 802.11 external USB box (simplest installation) – say $100;

• Monthly costs would be $20 per user.

Although it is expected that rural communities could provide this service amongst themselves, there are certainly pitfalls and the potential for disputes. Technology barriers will also stop some towns from using such a service. Communities would also have to get exemptions from the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) for any do-it-yourself model. High levels of redundancy are possible with this base configuration such that a single device failure will only slow the service down to some or all users, but not stop it.

The inclusion of an ISP/carrier to oversee the service will increase costs significantly, but will give a high level of peace of mind over the processes as well as a strong legal and regulatory position when trouble strikes. Badja expects that an ISP would provide the uncapped service for around $45 per month.

In mid-2003 the government presented an extensive response to the Estens and Broadband Advisory Group (BAG) reports. The Estens Report recommended government policies to address the telecoms infrastructure problems in regional Australia and the BAG report recommended initiative that would stimulate the rollout of broadband. I have put these developments into perspective, with reference also to analyses that deal more comprehensively with the key issues. They include broadband demand aggregation, future proofing of the network and Telstra’s dominance in the telecoms/cable TV infrastructure market. At the end of the report is an overview of the various new government policies.

The Federal Government accepted all the 39 recommendations of the Inquiry and will invest $181 million with the aim of ensuring all Australians have access to adequate telecom services, enhance a range of existing services, and ensure that regional Australia continues to share equitably in the benefits of future technologies.

The response will be delivered in full regardless of any change in the future ownership of Telstra.

The government’s response does address the future-proofing of telecoms in regional and rural areas. And it is good to see that it is endorsing the vision and the broad strategies recommended in the BAG report. The National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group (NBSIG) and the network of broadband demand aggregation brokers are both excellent initiatives.

However, although these implementations are distinct from the privatisation issue, they will still have to be judged in that light. The money allocated to broadband infrastructure factors is totally inadequate. The $23.7 million over four years for a Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) has to be judged against the $5billion, approximately, that will be required over the next decade to upgrade the current rural and regional telephone network to a proper broadband network.

A full Australia-wide network is estimated at $15 billion. The $5 billion investment reflects funds that are needed in economically unviable regions – areas that will not be funded by a privatised Telstra (or any other commercial organisation for that matter) without significant government funding. While this issue could be addressed over time, with privatisation just around the corner it is essential that it be addressed quickly, and that a plan of action be drawn up outlining how such a large-scale regional infrastructure investment will be funded under a privatised Telstra.

For a full analysis and a full overview of the government initiatives see separate report: Australia – Regulations – Developments in 2003.

Local councils eager to embrace broadband

Introduction

Armidale is uniquely positioned to become one of the first regional communities to be connected to the Information Highway. A fibre optic network has been constructed and is bringing access to high-speed Internet, tele-health and tele-education.

The leading partners involved in this project were brought together at the Broadbanding of Armidale Summit (March 2003). These include representatives from the Armidale-Dumaresq and Uralla Shire Councils, the University of New England (UNE), New England Smart Communities Action Project (NESCAP), NSW Office of Information & Communications Technology (OICT, now the Department of Commerce), Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet), New England Area Health Service, the New England Institute of TAFE (NEITAFE) and several state government organisations.

The Summit was opened by Richard Torbay, MP, Independent Member for Northern Tablelands.

Exhibit 1 – Armidale demographics

• Armidale City: 20271 (2001 census);

• + 2,792 (students who were not in town at time of census;

• 8,100 households;

• 16,000 persons greater than 15 years old;

• 1,500 businesses (of all sizes).

The projects

Four major projects currently exist in the New England region, and these all have the unique potential to be extended to people’s homes and businesses:

• UNE/TAFE/Area Health secured federal funding for providing broadband to TAFE and health services in 23 regional towns including Tamworth, Armidale, Tenterfield, Guyra, Glen Innes, Walcha, Uralla, Emmaville, Barraba, Manilla, Moree, Narrabri, Wee Waa, Gunnedah, Boggabri, Inverell, Tingha, Bingara, Warialda, Werris Creek, Bundarra and Quirindi. This project was known as the National Communications Fund (NCF) 12 Project.

• NSW’s Office of Information & Communications Technology secured federal funding for the deployment of broadband to 60 health and educational centres in regional NSW including centres in Tamworth, Armidale and Moree. Six sites were identified in Armidale, including the Base Hospital. This project was known as the National Communications Fund (NCF 27) Project.

• The stakeholders of New England Smart Communities Action Project (NESCAP) then received a NSW Government grant for $100,000 to trial wireless broadband technologies at Uralla. Uralla Shire Council is the present champion of NESCAP. Today, Uralla Shire Council has seven sites connected to a Wide Area Network (WAN) as well as fast Internet using Airspan AS4030 carrier grade wireless equipment. The Uralla CTC is also connected to the Internet using this equipment. NESACP then conducted another wireless trial using the Airspan Wireless IP Based Local Loop (WipLL) equipment. The trial has been successful and NESCAP is now looking to encourage the commercialisation of this equipment in Uralla and Armidale by an ISP.

• TransGrid signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The University of New England (UNE), AARNet and Country Energy for the provision of telecom services between UNE and The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), including a three-year regional pilot (see below).

Community takes charge

The Armidale-Dumaresq Council (20,000 inhabitants), and perhaps more surprisingly, Uralla (2,000 inhabitants) are true leaders in this field. Uralla Shire Council employs the full-time chairperson of NESCAP, which has been involved in looking at broadbanding opportunities in this region for several years. As early as February 2001 an excellent broadband report was provided by Housley Consulting and this eventually led to the formation and funding of NESCAP.

A further indication that broadband was alive and well in Armidale was the fact that, after I gave an interview to ABC Radio on the morning of the Summit, an elderly couple contacted me, wanting to participate. I subsequently had a lively discussion with the 80-year-old husband who was fully aware of the benefits of broadband and wanted information on how to be connected to the new broadband network!

These were his words: “They’d better hurry up, I can drop dead any day and I want to experience broadband before that happens.”

Executive Committee charging ahead

Even before the Summit took place it had already begun to have an effect.

One of the goals that I had set myself for the Summit was to ensure that the various projects would be better aligned and that the potential synergy between these projects would be fully utilised. Communication between partners – and with the community – was another critical element that needed to be addressed.

But the group had beaten me to the post. The key stakeholders had taken advantage of the fact that all the key parties were in town for the monthly NESCAP meeting, and having identified the same issues, they had formed an Executive Committee, which included both Mayors, and the Executive Director Business & Administration from the UNE together with a local businessman and the Member for Northern Tablelands, Mr Richard Torbay, MP.

I am confident that, if anyone can, this group in New England will be able to deal with the complex broadband situation in New England.

Can-do councils

I was very impressed by the approach taken by the Uralla Shire Council and the Armidale-Dumaresq Council. They are both fully aware of the problems associated with broadbanding and are prepared to do all they can to facilitate the process.

They are also very much aware of the management function that councils will be required to undertake in respect of the various community issues that will inevitably arise.

Another eye-opener was the role that OICT is playing. There is little resemblance between the bureaucrats that we all joke about and the hands-on people of OICT. They are very much involved, even in the nitty-gritty of this project. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty and are demonstrating true leadership.

The infrastructure

In August 2002, the University of New England, TransGrid, Country Energy and AARNet signed an agreement for a new, high-speed telecommunications link between Armidale and Sydney.

Building on Commonwealth funding from the Department of Education, Science and Technology, the University of New England (UNE) will increase its capacity to the AARNet hub in Sydney almost twenty-fold – from 8Mb/s) to 155Mb/s – using optical fibre provided by TransGrid. This link allows the UNE to establish a telecommunications hub at Armidale with the potential to accommodate activities undertaken by the New England Institute of TAFE and the New England Area Health Service, as well as by a future technology park.

Country Energy would provide an optical fibre link between TransGrid’s substation in Armidale and UNE, and explore ways in which UNE’s telecommunications hub could be used in the provision of high-speed telecommunications services in Armidale and the surrounding district. A further extension of Country Energy’s fibre ring will connect schools and health facilities nominated by OICT and Soul Pattinson Telecommunications (SPT).

During the pilot the parties would:

• work with community groups such as NESCAP to develop a better understanding of regional and country telecommunication needs;

• test and evaluate telecommunication technologies such as wireless Local Area Network (LAN) and point-to-multi-point radio systems, suitable for use in regional and country centres;

• evaluate the potential to provide telecommunication services to NSW State Government agencies;

• cooperate in the provision of high-speed Internet connections to schools and other educational institutions in Armidale;

• test various commercial models for the provision of telecommunication services to government, business and residential users in regional and country centres.

The first-mile challenge

The biggest challenge the communities are now facing is to find the first-mile broadbander. By mid-year the 23km fibre loop will be in place in Armidale and it is from that point that businesses and residents will need to be connected. It is still unclear how this will be done. Country Energy is installing the fibre and SPT is connecting six key sites to the network (hospitals and schools).

The ring is a multiple dark fibre cable, so an opportunity exists to create competition. There are, of course, limitations’ regarding the size of the market and this requires sound planning – otherwise it could easily end up in disaster. The Stockholm example (see separate report: Global – Broadband – Telecities (archived)) can provide some guidelines here, bearing in mind that that market is, of course, much larger.

There are also opportunities for alternative first-mile technologies, like PLC and 802.11.

The Uralla project is also challenging. The community is too small to justify a copy of the Armidale optical fibre loop however a wireless solution has been implemented. There have been a number of challenges with the wireless project. In addition to finding end-user equipment that is sufficiently affordable to induce a reasonable uptake of the broadband service there is the additional challenge of finding an organisation that is interested in taking on the commercial risk of offering wireless broadband services in a small rural town. Another challenge has been the competitive response from Telstra. When NESCAP announced the establishment of the wireless trial in Uralla, Telstra also announced that the Uralla exchange would be upgraded to offer ADSL services. NESCAP welcomed this competitive response as this ultimately opened the market to competition.

Australians are very much aware of the importance of telecommunications. Most Australians are not happy with the full privatisation of Telstra. Some 66% of Australians oppose privatisation and a mere 20% are in favour (Survey in early July 2002 in The Australian).

According to an ATUG survey even 50% of big business is against privatisation. Economic advisors such as Access Economics have also voiced their concern that the wider implications of privatisation are not being sufficiently addressed in the current process, and that this could negatively affect the economy in general.

I don’t think that privatisation itself is the issue – I think the problem is that both residential and business users consider that the current telecom infrastructure is not up to scratch, especially in view of the upcoming new broadband services for healthcare, education, community services, commerce and entertainment.

The government and Telstra have failed to address the question: ‘how are regional and rural Australians going to benefit from the advances in telecommunications services brought about by competition and new technologies?’ A comprehensive solution to this problem is urgently needed, in the form of a framework that identifies the infrastructure problems, what the possible solutions are, and how much it will cost to provide that level of equality.

Because there is no such framework in Australia we are working in the dark regarding the developments of new technologies and services and as a result, Australia is still at the bottom of the OECD list of broadband penetration.

The government has been criticised nationally and internationally for its lack of leadership in modernising the Australian telecoms economy (policies, regulations, infrastructure) with a view to creating the appropriate environment for social and economic innovations, the benefits of which will reach far beyond telecommunications. Australians are seriously concerned about this issue and unless the government faces up to this and produces a comprehensive framework for the modernisation of the national telecommunications infrastructure its voters will object to privatisation.

Imagine the opportunity that would be created for Australia if we were to free up Telstra Retail from its heavily regulated environment by encouraging it to become a truly national and international media company.

In doing this we would leave regulatory challenges with the network and create an open market at a wholesale level, bringing the industry together.

Through this strategy we would lay the foundation for Australia’s information economy.

I am sure that, like me, you are depressed by the continual talking down that takes place regarding Telstra. Sol Trujillo maintains that the lack of regulatory certainty is inhibiting the share price and the deliverance by the Telstra Board of shareholders value to its 1.6 million shareholders and to the Federal Treasury (in other words, to the rest of us).But, as long as the largest single network infrastructure in the country is locked up inside a vertically integrated structure that disregards policy and the rest of the industry, everyone suffers. Furthermore, the ongoing stalemate doesn’t only affect the Telstra shareholders – it also impedes Australia’s progress towards the Information Distribution Infrastructure required to fuel its domestic economy, and to create an export industry of content in the information age.

But a closer look will show that the regulatory challenges should, and do, lie solely in the wholesale side of Telstra’s business.

It is also clear that part of the problem is a reluctance on the part of the leadership to release the retail side of the Telstra business from these wholesale regulatory challenges and transform it into a modern media entity, one that is able to take on the globalised information age.

In an effort to resolve the Telstra saga, Senator Coonan has asked the rest of the industry to ‘think big’.

So how about this:

• transform and spin off the Telstra retail business into the information age;
• map the entire information infrastructure of the nation to create the most intelligently conceived network possible;
• connect the remaining Telstra wholesale business to the rest of the industry initiatives to provide the open, equal access network that the nation needs.

In this way Telstra’s existing shareholders will acquire a stake in a stable, regulated return from the nation’s largest single network, plus a stake in the nation’s newest, and arguably one of the best-placed, media companies.

It is my belief that we can only increase Telstra’s shareholders value if we unshackle it from its present structure. Carriers on the retail side of the business are coming to the realisation that their traditional product revenues are declining. Consumers are now looking more and more at spending their fixed disposable income on the media content delivered to them by the broadband infrastructure. They wish to spend less on the access and more on the content itself, and this completely supports the strategy I have outlined above.

In the context of current developments it is worth remarking that when I was talking to British financial analysts in June last year (operational separation of BT) it was their contention that their split hadn’t gone far enough and that only a further split would facilitate the unleashing of the real value of the company.

For the last five years I have been advocating major changes to the industry to enable us to reap the benefits of the changing market of convergence. In its present form Telstra is definitely not ready for this. It has clearly indicated that it wishes to move in that direction – that it is looking at the new media – but in its present structure any such move will be hampered by regulations.

Here also, I am on record as agreeing with Telstra on this issue. However, to date Telstra has failed to say what will be in it for customers and competitors if we do reduce regulation.

I say unshackle Telstra Retail and let them conquer the new opportunities in media convergence and, based on today’s market realities the share price is ready to rise.

Many times I have been told ‘this can’t be done’, but I am convinced that we now have a win-win solution for Telstra, the government and the industry.It won’t be easy, but I am 100% convinced that it can be done.

Paul Budde

Mobile substitution
Mobile operations of telcos are progressively overtaking fixed line operations. This is largely due to fixed-line operators not having introduced significant new products, services or cost-saving technologies in the same way that mobile operators have. However, despite retaining their role as cash cows for incumbent operators, fixed and mobile voice services are progressively being overtaken by broadband. Increasingly, operators will need to take a holistic view of the market, necessitating a total review of their business models.

Mobile growth
While high growth rates have been maintained globally until the present time, there is a massive shift taking place away from growth in developed markets to growth in the new emerging markets such as India, China, Africa and Latin America. By 2005, global growth stood at around 20%. Based on 2 billion subscribers, this is a massive development, and growth could lead to 5 billion subscribers over the next 15 to 25 years.

As more participants enter the mobile market, competition is increasing, with a subsequent decrease in prices and increase in services offered. To maintain the high growth of the mobile market, and counter falling prices, mobile carriers have started to offer services previously the domain of the fixed operators, and the fixed operators have had to respond.

Mobile revenues
In developed markets, mobile call charges are falling by 15%-20% per annum. While several countries in this market still see high growth in new mobile subscribers, they also see their overall revenue flattening because of the drop in call charges, as well as the fact that new subscribers are, in general, low-usage customers. As would be expected, markets with strong competition have seen a considerable drop in mobile call charges in developed markets through significant price competition around capped price plans. The others have retained declining but relatively high ARPUs. Since 2002, the low priced countries in this market have seen a levelling out of the mobile charges as they approach fixed call charges. These countries are stimulating further growth by developing mobile value added services.

In the new emerging markets, services are available for as low as $5 a month and call charges as low as 1 cent or even less per minute, with handsets available for $30 and 2nd hand ones even lower. It is easy to understand why the emerging market is seeing a mobile explosion.

Prepaid mobile services have rapidly increased their share of the total mobile market and are virtually the only option in emerging markets.

The future of MVNO remains uncertain, they are providers of mobile services independently from the operator that is supplying the network. With more competition and new services, operators will have to consider better MVNO deals in order to grow the market.

3G
2G based services will remain predominantly voice driven, with a few enhanced services (SMS), and is unlikely to be widely accepted for data applications. For users who are only interested in voice, 2G is seen as quite adequate. For those who want mobile data services, 3G is, at least by the operators, seen as the answer, and some companies have paid enormous sums of money to obtain spectrum to allow them to capture this market. Having paid enormous prices for 3G spectrum, companies are now looking for business opportunities to recoup at least some of the money that they have invested.

Despite the high prices paid for 3G spectrum, and the initial enthusiasm by the operators, the future of 3G is not as bright as originally thought. Its major problem is its unsuitability for carrying mobile data, the major hope for its future. Wireless broadband technologies such as WiMAX, which are designed for mobile data, are going to compete head-on with 3G for that space. Only in Japan, where 3G has now been around for close to five years, are we seeing some good penetration – around 30%. Italy follows with just over 10% penetration, and the other country worth mentioning is the UK, which has just over 5% 3G penetration.

The most visible of all companies in the 3G market is Hutchison with its 3 service. It has launched these services in several countries with optimistic subscriber targets, but to date these have not been met. In its attempts to win subscribers, it has attacked the high end of the market, taking share from the existing 2G and 2½G operators. This is already leading to price retaliation by the existing operators and, if Hutchison’s efforts are successful, could lead to an all-out price war.

Infrastructure
Despite promising growth, CDMA use is well below the early expectations. The US was slow to switch from analogue to digital services. In Asia, growth is slow except for Korea, although China is starting to show interest. For a while during the late 1990s, there was growing international interest in the upgrade of Digital AMPS known in the US as TDMA. There have been developments in CDMA to help bridge the gap to 3G, including cdmaOne and the various forms of CDMA2000, and their relative merits compared with the GSM technologies are discussed.

By late 2005, GSM allowed 1.6 billion mobile users to roam to more than 200 countries via over 750 networks making and receiving calls on one handset and with one global number. The technology now accounts for more than 77% of the world’s digital mobile phones. This market share is expected to grow even more with 3G systems, as more than 85% are expected to be 3G GSM/WCDMA (UMTS).

A low power short range radio technology is Bluetooth, which combines hardware, software and interoperability capabilities into a global standard that eliminates wires and cables between both stationary and mobile devices, facilitating data and voice communications between devices such as mobile phones and PCs. An attempt to combine it with UWB to create a better platform failed in 2006 when the parties could not agree on standards.

Mobile spectrum
Before 1990, it was only possible to use the UHF band and below, thereby limiting the speed of information transfer. Since then, governments have released more of the high frequency spectra, thereby allowing major advances in technology and service.

The latest trend is to develop more innovative and flexible spectrum management plans which would open up competition and allow for a whole new range of applications and providers.

Mobile equipment
The value of the telecommunications equipment market overall has declined considerably. Because of revolutionary new technologies and lower consumer prices due to competition, some equipment suppliers had to severely reduce their production facilities and/or outsource production to countries with lower labour costs. The mobile market has also been affected, but to a lesser extent.

The simple mobile phone that only made telephone calls is now a museum piece. As vendors fight for market share, and more bandwidth becomes available, mobile phones are incorporating a variety of new functions such as still and movie cameras, advanced messaging, access to the Internet etc. Sales of handsets slowed markedly following the industry downturn in 2001, but started to recover in early 2004, with rapid growth during the year, aided by the development of new equipment such as camera phones. The trend here is that the mobile and wireless broadband market will be driven by new devices that will be pushed onto the market by the vendors. Mobile operators will see their leading position here to drive this market severely curtailed. Nokia retains it dominant market share, with Samsung showing the fastest growth rate. It is expected that the IT and CE industries are going to take a more prominent role in the market of new wireless broadband devices.

Mobile Satellite Services
Since 2001, the satellite industry showed little or no growth, and growth is not expected to return in the near future. Despite the original optimism and huge cash injections, MSS has not yet succeeded in establishing itself as a competitive market segment. Iridium went into bankruptcy pending restructure within a year of launching its service and Globalstar, another major international player, suffered the same fate. During the past few years, many of the surviving operations were acquired by Teledesic which, in turn, has been mothballed. In 2005, some signs of returning life emerged.

Fourteen Global Telecommunications Reports
These revealing figures and forecasts are contained in the 14 Global and Technology Telecommunications Reports. Published this year for the 14th time. The Reports are a mine of information and statistical data on: fixed, mobile and broadband markets, including Internet, cable TV, cable modems.

2006 – Global Mobile Communications, Voice still the Killer App
Annual report covering: GSM, CDMA, 3G (analyses, technical issues, standards, market data), fixed-mobile substitution, Bluetooth, MVNO. Also contains industry analyses, issues and strategies, government policies, spectrum developments.
Detailed chapters on:
The future of voice
Technology information
Global overview and analysis
Trends and Developments
Marketing and Business Strategies
User statistics
Revenues, ARPU and forecasts
Approx. number of pages: 156

Price: Single-User PDF Licence: US$595.00

Executive summary and Table of Contents available from web site

The Dutch-Australia Broadband Roundtable will take place on 5 April at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney from 1400-1900 hours (including networking drinks).

Dutch Prime Minister, Mr Jan Peter Balkenende, will be present; he is visiting Australia to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the landing in Weipa of the VOC ship ‘Duijfken’ in 1606. There will also be a Dutch trade mission in Australia at that time and the delegates to this will both be present at the Roundtable, and will participate in the discussions.

After the official opening session with the Dutch Prime Minister, other officials from Australia and the Netherlands (Communications Minister Helen Coonan has been invited), there will be three seminar streams:

Broadband Infrastructure:-
CityNet Amsterdam – a FttH initiative of the City of Amsterdam.
Kenniswijk (knowledge suburb) large-scale FttH pilots in the cities of Eindhoven and Almere.

Broadband applications:-
IPTV and other applications – a presentation from De Telegraaf, the largest newspaper publisher in the Netherlands.
Tele-presence the killer app in video communication.
Dutch experience with FttH applications.

Social Care Broadband:-
Both Australia and the Netherlands have advanced broadband ‘care’ developments and a range of very interesting new applications will be presented and discussed.

The half-day event will finish with a one-hour Roundtable discussion between presenters and delegates, followed by networking drinks, hosted by the Dutch Government.

Please let me know if you are interested in receiving an invitation to the event. Depending on availability, official invitations will be sent out by the Dutch Government.

Paul Budde

See also:
Netherlands – Broadband Market – Overview & Statistics
Netherlands – Convergence – Triple Play & Digital TV

What’s your game plan for the government’s regional funds?
With some $3 billion becoming available for regional infrastructure over the next 3 to 5 years, the various organisations are showing a great deal of interest in dipping into the kitty.

However, the government appears to have learned from past experience and (through DCITA) is determined to use the money to maximise the reach of the funds. Therefore the industry will have to come up with very good plans before any money is made available.

DCITA has now had a good opportunity to look at the various proposals, and it has also had a chance to work out its own strategies for these funds.

At the Roundtable on 1 March we will be given a first-hand update on where the Department is at the moment. Damien Stevens will discuss this with us in detail.

There are two large infrastructure players in the regional market, one being Telstra Country Wide. This organisation probably has the best insight into what is required, having already developed a very comprehensive plan for the future-proofing of regional Australia.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Doug Campbell will address the Roundtable, in his new position as Executive Adviser to Sol Trujillo.

This will be a great opportunity to learn about the ideas and strategies being discussed at the top.

The other large infrastructure provider in regional Australia is the utilities sector, and they have been combining their efforts to look at the opportunities coming out of Connect Australia. At the same time the utilities are very keen to work with the rest of the industry to build the possible business case.

Carl Gazia will discuss the prospects that present themselves in this area.

As you would be aware, I am very selective in whom I invite to speak at my Roundtable events, and I am still looking to fill one presentation position. I will let you know immediately our program is complete.

This Roundtable is also an ideal chance for the hardware and software suppliers to the industry to look at joint industry opportunities. Apart from the open discussion in the afternoon I have also organised a networking dinner on the preceding evening (28 February). This will ensure that everyone has a chance to network around these business opportunities.

I would like to invite you to register for this event and I look forward to seeing you there.

Paul

More details and information see: Regional Telecoms and Government Funding Roundtable