ACCC bulks up on staff ahead of NBN

By Natalie Apostolou on Mar 23, 2010 2:52 AM
Filed under Telco/ISP

Competition watchdog beefs up Communications unit.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has ramped up resources and restructured its pivotal Communications unit, hiring up to ten new staff ahead of the challenges presented by the NBN and associated industry developments.

ACCC Group general manager for Communications, Michael Cosgrave, confirmed the restructure and hiring spree to iTnews, which was announced internally to staff yesterday.

"This restructure extends our existing structure with the hiring of a significant number of additional staff to work on issues in greater depth around, but not exclusively related, to the NBN and associated regulation of its impact on other communications areas," Cosgrave said.

A key new appointment emerging in the restructure is highly regarded Gilbert + Tobin technology and business strategy consultant Rob Nicholls.

Nicholls has worked with Optus, Telstra, BT, Vodafone Japan, PBL, the World Bank and emerging wireless and content providers across a 25-year career covering Europe, the Middle East, China and South-East Asia and Australia.

In his newly created role as general manager of the Convergence Coordination and Mobility branch, Nicholls will directly report to Cosgrave, and look at areas concerning NBN rollout and implications for heritage service providers across telecommunications, broadcast and mobile sectors.

"Part of the expansion is related naturally to the NBN," Nicholls said, "but there are also some very interesting issues relating broadly to mobile for instance the reallocation rather than renewal of spectrum licences."

He added that as part of NBN being rolled there are significant parallel issues developing in the spectrum areas, content issues affecting TV broadly including AV services and merging IPTV operators and services.

"I am looking forward to the challenge and engaging and working closely with stakeholders across all parts of the sector," he added.

8 comments in this discussion

"Yes, but as you are a troll @Dig, we can't believe anything you say, no matter how sensible it may appear! Also, you forgot the bit about how much it cost for these 'free' calls."

By Ace

Tags

accc, national broadband network, nbn, regulatory, spectrum

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Comments: 8

sydneyla Mar 23, 2010 7:29 AM	I hope the new ACCC employees will examine the plan of the NBN Co to become a monopoly with the banning of all competition to them. Hopefully the ACCC will encourage Telstra to continue as a competitor to the NBN Co thereby providing a challenging competitor and perhaps keep the NBN Co prices as low as possible considering the massive proposed 43 billion dollar investment.
zaphod6502 Mar 23, 2010 8:47 AM	Telstra has had their day in the sun and failed dismally. Time to cut them out and move on to better options.
Ace Mar 23, 2010 10:00 AM	Very difficult to call Telstra a failure. Unless you've never travelled. They run what is probably one of the most successful reliable and advanced telco businesses in the world. Probably largely due to govt regulation mind, but there you go.
anonymous Mar 23, 2010 1:12 PM	Successful, yes. Monopolies tend to do quite well irrespective. Reliable, yes. Thanks, as you say, to constant pressure from Canberra. Advanced. You're joking, aren't you? They have usually held back on introducing new tech unless they could use it to gouge the endusers even more. Ask the RIM sufferers how advanced they are. And you didn't mention pricing or service standards for some reason.
Digger11 Mar 23, 2010 3:45 PM	Agreed Anon - Telstra was a shocking govt run company and then became an equally as hopeless private one. Let's hope this rabid dog iS put down quietly, so we can all enjoy the wondeful benefits of an open wholesale hi-speed network fRO NBN. When it arrives, we will all be amazed at what we have been missing. Telstra R.I.P.
Ace Mar 23, 2010 3:53 PM	Success is obviously the delivery of services, particularly when part govt owned. You are failing to compare the service levels and pricing with other providers here and overseas. You need to check out what people pay in Europe (for example) or perhaps the US for service (what service?). A couple of quotes: "It has been argued that the USA has many rural areas where the revenue to be made by laying down fibre has not proven alluring to providers. However, US broadband providers often charge above the global average for their services and in some cases, more than those in many developed nations" and... "One of the major problems has been the lack of a detailed national broadband policy that actively encourages competition among national providers. This has led not only to the USA falling behind other advanced countries, but has also led to a digital divide within the USA itself." Or perhaps you prefer paying $24 a month + 12c a minute for telephone calls, like in the UK? Yep, that's timed local calls. I'm sure a few readers could offer their experiences with dealing with telco's in other countries. It's not a picnic.
Digger11 Mar 24, 2010 8:09 AM	When I was in the UK I bought my Fixed Line Telephony from a company caled Car Phone Warehouse. They had their own DSLAM's and all local and national calls were free. They certainly were not 12c timed. That is what proper competition and effective regulation can bring - unlike Australia where Telstra has just totally derailed effective deregulation (which looks like it was for short term gain but the end of them in the long term - and not surprisingly, no-one even cares that Telstra is finished). The saying "as you make your bed so you must lie upon it" is just so appropriate for Telstra that I need to repeat it for about the 1,000th time.
Ace Mar 24, 2010 1:00 PM	Yes, but as you are a troll @Dig, we can't believe anything you say, no matter how sensible it may appear! Also, you forgot the bit about how much it cost for these 'free' calls.