Industry welcomes Turnbull as Comms Minister
Malcolm Turnbull has been appointed Australia’s newest Communications Minister, and the telco and IT industry is optimistic about the impact he might have on the sector.
Malcolm Turnbull has been appointed Australia’s newest Communications Minister, and the telco and IT industry is optimistic about the impact he might have on the sector.
The National Broadband Network, Australia's largest infrastructure project, is set for a shake-up as Tony Abbott slots into the top job.
The Coalition's ICT plan, unveiled today, focuses on improving transparency around government technology spending, encourage agencies to use cloud services and providing Australians with a free digital mailbox to receive communication from all levels of government.
Departing NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said he has no hard feelings about the political vitriol surrounding the high-speed network he was tasked.
Anthony Albanese is likely to bring a less bullish approach to the NBN portfolio than his predecessor, Senator Stephen Conroy, in the lead-up to the federal election, according to political commentator Nick Economou.
Stephen Conroy has been called a dalek, arrogant and a bully, but his achievements during his time as communications minister have also been lauded by some in the telco industry.
The latest report from the parliamentary committee overseeing the National Broadband Network has recommended that NBN Co update its corporate plan to prepare for a new government, “to prepare strategies to minimise risk in any policy changes that may reasonably be expected to occur in the 2012-2015 period”.
Shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull said at a doorstop interview today that a fibre to the node (FTTN) policy for the National Broadband Network (NBN) could possibly end up costing around the same as the current fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) policy.
The Coalition has announced a “vast majority” of households would access speeds up to 50Mbps for $29.5 billion under its broadband policy.
The Coalition is reportedly set to release an alternative National Broadband Network (NBN) policy this week.
NBN Co has a 10-year plan for Australia’s high-speed broadband future, but a change in government after September’s federal election – with the latest Newspoll showing the Coalition with a lead of 52 per cent to Labor’s 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis – has created uncertainty about the project’s future.
Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has lambasted the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network (JCNBN) for becoming more about party politics than about the roll out of the NBN.
NBN Co’s CEO Mike Quigley has called for a study from the Communications Alliance to decide what is the best technology to use to roll out high-speed broadband across Australia.
Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has called a user pays system for the National Broadband Network (NBN) a "cop out".
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam believes the Coalition’s version of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will end up looking like a “dog’s breakfast” if it wins the federal election in September.