Will telcos have Apple on their faces?
Last Friday, Apple was forced to acknowledge an embarrassing flaw in the iPhone operating system, a flaw present since the release of the original iPhone. As embarrassing as this is for Apple, some mobile network operators may also find this latest development leaves them with … Apple on their faces.
Losing the filter without losing face
This week the Australian Labor Party installed Julia Gillard as its new leader, making her the first female Prime Minister of Australia. This change in leadership provides the government with an opportunity to change its approach to certain policy issues without losing (quite so much) face.
The new PM has wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to change the governments approach to negotiating with the mining industry over the resource super profit tax (RSPT). The question now is – what other policy areas could benefit from an opportune change of tack?
Within the telecoms and technology arena, there have been two hot topics for the ALP led government since it came to power – the National Broadband Network (NBN) and internet censorship.
This week, an in principle agreement was finally reached with Telstra in regards to the company’s involvement with the NBN. Given the size of the agreement ($11bn) and the benefits of the deal to NBN Co (access to Telstra’s infrastructure and customers), the government is unlikely to substantially change things too much in this arena. With an election expected in the next few months, the government needs the NBN to be an election promise showing tangible progress – not just another pipe dream causing conflicts like the RSPT.
On the other hand – internet censorship continues to be a problem area for the government. Like the NBN, progress has been slow. So slow there’s speculation that the enabling legislation may be delayed until after the election. But like the NBN, internet censorship was an election promise and the escalating rhetoric from Senator Conroy (the responsible minister) had put the government in a position where it risked losing face if it yielded to criticism of the proposal.
But Julia Gillard’s ascension to the role of PM offers an opportunity for the government to rethink this policy. If Senator Conroy where moved on as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, a new Communications Minister could potentially seek alternate methods of delivering the spirit of the policy – without imposing mandatory internet censorship on all Australians.
The next few weeks look like being a very interesting period indeed.
Tags: censorship, Julia Gillard, NBN, NBN Co, Stephen Conroy, Telstra
NBN not mandatory for ‘smart grids’
One of the claimed benefits of the national broadband network (NBN) is that it will act as an enabler for ‘smart grids’. ’Smart grids’ have been described as electricity distribution networks that:
“use sensors, meters, digital controls and analytic tools to automate, monitor and control the two-way flow of energy across operations—from power plant to plug. A power company can optimize grid performance, prevent outages, restore outages faster and allow consumers to manage energy usage right down to the individual networked appliance. Smart grids can also incorporate new sustainable energies such as wind and solar generation, and interact locally with distributed power sources, or plug-in electric vehicles.” (IBM 30/11/2009)
In his NBN advocacy, Senator Conroy has claimed smart grids can make a significant contribution to helping Australia reduce carbon emissions, and that broadband is an important enabler of future smart grids in Australia.
But do we need the NBN to implement smart grids? Recent developments would suggest not.
The current ‘smart meter’ roll out in Victoria will rely on wireless connectivity for transmitting data from the meters. Likewise, the planned ‘smart grid’ deployment in NSW by Energy Australia also utilise wireless.[1] Both these initiatives will be deployed ahead of the NBN roll out, utilising technology that is available now. Electricity companies therefore clearly have economically viable options already for monitoring and managing their networks – without the NBN.
From the consumer perspective, it’s also questionable how much of an improvement the NBN can make. Power monitoring tools like Google’s Powermeter are capable of functioning over current internet connections. The main barrier to greater adoption of household energy monitoring tools, like Google Powermeter, would seem to be the lack of participation by Australian energy companies. This is something that may change as their smart meter roll outs progress.
All this suggests the NBN isn’t really a mandatory requirement for ‘smart grid’ deployments. While there may be large benefits through the enablement of smart grids via broadband, the incremental contribution of the NBN may not be as large as the government is hoping.
Notes:
[1] Interestingly, both the NSW and Victorian deployments will utilise WiMAX, facilitated by 2.3 Ghz spectrum purchases from Wireless Broadband Australia.
NBN Study: Were the right questions asked?
Earlier this month, the Australian government released the implementation study for the National Broadband Network. The scope of the study was to:
“advise Government on how best to implement its stated policy objectives, not to evaluate those objectives, given that the policies have already been agreed by Government. This report therefore focuses on translating high-level policy objectives into tangible actions for both Government and NBN Co to implement. Explicitly, it does not:
- Evaluate Government’s policy objectives;
- Evaluate the decision to implement the NBN via the establishment of NBN Co;
- Undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the macro-economic and social benefits that would result from the implementation of a superfast broadband network.” (NBN Implementation Study, 06/05/2010)
The report is clearly directed at answering the question of how to deliver the NBN in a way that meets the governments policy objectives. It very explicitly states that out of scope is if the NBN should be built, or built according to the governments objectives.
There’s a couple of ways to look at the decision to define the scope this way.
Tags: KIQ, KPMG, McKinsey, NBN, Stephen Conroy
Telstra’s first Android is mostly Desirable
Just over a year ago, Optus brought the first Android phone to Australia in the form of the HTC Dream. Now Telstra has joined the Android ranks with the launch of the HTC Desire. This recent addition to HTC’s Android lineup is an impressive device and after two weeks of use, the verdict is “mostly desirable”.
So what makes this phone so desirable? And why the qualification of “mostly”?
Internet censorship: not dead, just sleeping
With the Australian government delaying introduction of its internet censorship legislation, there’s been some speculation that the policy may be dead. The more likely scenario however is that the policy has simply gone in to hibernation until after the Federal election. Despite the media and blogosphere cries of “backflip”, this is a smart tactical move.
Tactically, delaying the legislation makes sense. Pushing it through before the election risks continuing the distracting public feud with the government’s critics. Delaying until after the election gives the ALP a range of options.
Should the ALP fail to hold a majority in the Senate following the next election, ‘net censorship may once again become a political bargaining chip. Family First are strong supporters of mandatory ISP filtering, and have previously called for the scope of the filter to be widened. By contrast, The Green’s remain strongly opposed to the policy and are calling for it to be scrapped altogether. Depending on which minor (or major) party the ALP wishes to woo, internet filtering may go ahead in it’s current form (Family First?) or be modified in some form to make it more tolerable (The Greens?, Coalition?).
Holding this controversial policy over until after the next election is a smart move by the ALP and makes the Senate vote at the next election even more interesting for both supporters and opponents of this policy.
Tags: ALP, censorship, election, Family First, free speech, politics, Stephen Conroy, The Greens
First impressions: Motorola DEXT & Backflip
The Android invasion of Australia is set to ramp up with this month with new handsets being launched by both Telstra and Optus. Telstra will be launching the HTC Desire on April 27th, followed by the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 on May 4th. Optus meanwhile, has already hit the market with the Motorola DEXT and Motorola Backflip. After having a quick hands on with the DEXT and Backflip at a local Optus store, here’s my initial thoughts on the features that stood out for me.
Tags: Backflip, Desire, DEXT, Facebook, Google, Motoblur, Motorola, Optus, Sony Ericsson, Telstra, Xperia X10
AFACT cry foul – iiNet and Pirate Party respond
In an article published by the Australian yesterday, the Australian Federation against Copyright Theft (AFACT) made the claim that ISPs are refusing to negotiate on Copyright (self) regulation, a claim that ISP iiNet – whom AFACT unsuccessfully sued earlier this year – strongly deny in their responding statement, in which the ISP points out;
“The internet industry and copyright holders had been in detailed discussions for a number of years, before AFACT and its Executive Director, Ms Pecotic, called off negotiations in August 2007 to commence their unsuccessful legal proceedings against iiNet in the Federal Court.”
Naturally, the ‘Gamers, Porn and BitTorrent Society’ .. sorry, the Pirate Party Australia – had their own view on the AFACTs suggestion that we are being left “behind the rest of the world”, referring to the recent adoption of a 3 strike disconnection system introduced in such countries as Britain, France, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand Read the rest of this entry »
T&J Towing Diggs a hole
“To sue, or not to sue: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous online reviews,
Or to take suit against a sea of social media,
And by opposing end them?” – HeathG with apologies to Shakespeare
It seems that some business still don’t appreciate the perils of trying to silence critics with defamation suits. From McLibel, to the NYC Skank and Lindsay Lohan – businesses and celebrities are learning the hard way that suing your critics in to submission can be a very risky proposition.The latest example comes all the way from Kalamazoo, and it’s a classic example of what not to do in the the hyperconnected age of social media.
Tags: defamation, Digg, Facebook, free speech, J & T Towing, Lindsay Lohan, McLibel, NYC Skank, PR
Can Google shareholders gain from the China confrontation?
It’s hard to see exit from the Chinese market as maximizing Google’s profits. China is, after all, very large (though Chinese growth in searching is slow).
It may be that Google is being, at least in part, high-minded. After all, it’s motto is “Don’t be evil” & it is reported that Sergey Brin’s aversion to totalitarian states played a role here. Yet, it is not Google’s fiduciary duty to be high-minded: rather the organization must act in its shareholder’s interests.
But there are two points to be made in favour of Google’s China stance:
Read the rest of this entry »
