CommsDay Live

Episode #17 Bevan Slattery talks Oman-Australia Cable and the tech economy in 2021

Welcome back to the CommsDay Live podcast.

(00:50) We have an extended chat with the Australian technology entrepreneur Bevan Slattery about his latest project - an undersea fibre cable connecting Western Australia to the Middle East - as well as his views on the geopolitical issues with cables in East Asia and what the regulatory backlash against the FAANG companies might lead to. We also discuss physical security issues around internet infrastructure.

(26.40) We talk to CommsDay executive editor Rohan Pearce about spectrum developments over new year, innovation initiatives in 5G and a new entrant in the mmWave sector.

(32.02) We talk to CommsDay chief editor Simon Dux about Telstra's latest 5G milestone and a big distance breakthrough with NBN's wireless trials.

#16 NBN CIO Debbie Taylor on its new digital transformation program

In our last episode for 2020 we talk with:

 [00:39] NBN CIO Debbie Taylor on a massive new digital transformation program, to be co-designed with RSPs

 [11:15] CommsDay's Rohan Pearce on his interview with the new Belong CEO, new critical infrastructure laws and the launch of a new Melbourne region by AWS, and

 [17:18] CommsDay's Simon Dux on shadow comms minister Michelle Rowland's thoughts on regulation, AirTrunk's DC launches in Asia and latest spectrum developments from ACMA

 [26:30] Final thoughts for the year 

#15 Ericsson's Emilio Romeo, TransGrid's Andrew Ng and Laurie Patton at the NBN Committee

In this week's podcast, we hear from

[01.15] Laurie Patton at the Federal Parliament's NBN hearing who gets into an argument with government members about whether he was wanted there and over who is responsible for the NBN definitive agreements

[11.00] CommsDay's Rohan Pearce about Optus' 5G update this week and new pit and pipe legislation that was introduced into the lower house

[14.58] CommsDay's Simon Dux on latest developments at two telcos Vonex and Spirit

[19.38] Ericsson ANZ CEO Emilio Romeo on what's happening in Australian 5G, reflections on the firm's 130th anniversary in Australia and observations from 5G developments internationally

[36.00] TransGrid telecommunications executive Andrew Ng on the power utilty's telecommunications business, its views on digital transformation and developments at the firm.

 

#14 Optus' Andrew Sheridan on challenging investment conditions, AMTA's Chris Althaus stepping down

In this week's podcast:

[00.40] AMTA CEO Chris Althaus is stepping down after 15 years representing the industry to government and the community. In this interview he looks back at the highlights of his time and tells us what still needs to be done to keep Australia on top.

[11.08] Optus VP regulatory & public affairs Andrew Sheridan previews the company's business update this week and talks to the reasons why the investment climate in Australia is challenging for telecom infrastructure operators.

[20:49] CommsDay executive editor Rohan Pearce looks at Victoria's big telecom investment, a Wagga agtech company making good in NY and a new data centre investment fund.

[26:28] CommsDay chief editor Simon Dux takes us through what happened at the Australian Space Forum in Adelaide.

 

#13 Vocus CEO Kevin Russell and Gigafy GM Chris Hawke

In this week's episode we talk with:

[1:06] Vocus CEO Kevin Russell about their plans to list on the NZ Stock Exchange and a catch-up on the Australian business

[9.50] CommsDay's Simon Dux on the latest with Chorus and how telcos are impacted by the SA lockdown

[14.21] Casa Systems' director, product management (access devices) Nathan Gowdie on Whole Home Wi-Fi and its benefits for both ISPs and end users

[29:06] CommsDay's Rohan Pearce on two new digital brands hitting the market: Felix and Gomo

[33.34] Gigafy GM Chris Hawke on opportunities for the broadband operator in the emerging build-to-rent market

#12 Telstra CEO Andy Penn, Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and Singtel CEO Chua Sock Koong

We have a star-studded, interview-packed edition this week.

[0.50] Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin tells us about a COVID-afflicted last half for the company and her plans for setting up a post-COVID comeback.

[8.45] Executive editor Rohan Pearce joins Grahame Lynch to discuss the Telstra restructure and its other Investor Day announcements.

[16.10] Telstra CEO Andy Penn and CFO Vicki Brady talk about the announcements at Investor Day including the TowerCo spin-off, the move into energy and the push for higher NBN margins.

[26.46] In a sponsored interview, Cisco's Daniel Hutchins brings us up to speed with converged IP transport and why this is an important inflection point for the idea.

[35.22] SingTel CEO Chua Sock Koong is retiring after 13 years in the job and three decades with the company. In this interview she tells us how COVID has impacted the group, her reflections on changes over the years and where she thinks the company's best opportunities lie in the future

#11 How the US election result will impact the global telecom industry

This week we take a look at the US election, the latest Canberra NBN hearing and big developments in the MVNO Market

[1:05} We talk with CommsDay chief editor Simon Dux about Optus' takeover of Amaysim, the launch of the new GoMo band and calls from Commpete for regulatory intervention in the MVNO market.  Simon also talks about the issues which private LTE operators face in gaining licensed spectrum.

[5:15] Executive editor Rohan Pearce takes a look back at this week's NBN parliamentary hearing where they discussed their preparations for the next bushfire season as well as their mmWave trials. We also discuss NBN's acquisition of its business satellite services providers.

[10:25] In an extended chat, I discuss the US election with renown NY telecom analyst Dave Burstein. We canvass what a Biden win might mean for the pushback on China's role in the global telecom supply chain as well as what it will mean for the net neutrality debate. And we then move on to take a look at America's 5G market, what's happening with the user case and handset prices. It's a great discussion across a wide array of topics and worth a listen.

 

#10 Special CommsDay Summit episode

In this special edition of CommsDay Live we recap the CommsDay Summit this week which featured 30 speakers and attracted 300 delegates in person at the Fullerton Hotel, Sydney and online via a video stream.

[1.25] We hear from communications minister Paul Fletcher who vigorously defends the NBN multi technology mix and the financial prudence behind its new $4.5b network upgrade

[8.52] Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland disagreed and provided her explanation as to why she thinks NBN Co is on the wrong path

[12.55] Telstra CFO Vicki Brady warned that the economics of the fixed broadband market are unsustainable and called for NBN pricing relief

[16.11] Vocus GM Government and Special Projects Michael Ackland said that the coming arrival of LEOsats will hit the industry before it knows it

[19.58] CommsDay chief editor Simon Dux discusses Ericsson's estimates of 5G uptake, what Optus had to say on 5G and Telstra's release of its latest Digital Inclusion Index

[25.00] CommsDay executive editor Rohan Pearce discusses ACMA's call at the Summit for an end to co-regulation and a licensing regime for service providers, what TPG Telecom plans for 5G and what MNF thinks can be improved about the numbering regime.

#9 NBN CCO Brad Whitcomb talks Focus on Fast

The big news of the week was a raft of new pricing and product announcements from NBN Co.

{01:40} NBN Co chief customer officer Brad Whitcomb talks us through the Focus on Fast and other initiatives announced to RSPs on Wednesday and answers our questions

{16:20} Grahame Lynch looks at RSP reaction

{18:20} CommsDay exec editor Rohan Pearce looks at Mobile Blackspots Round 5A and Gig 10 Adelaide's latest milestone

{22.30} CommsDay chief editor SImon Dux wraps up Telstra Vantage and takes a look at a Gold Coast community which wants fibre, not satellite

[28.30} Vy Tran unveils the three winners of our podcast review competition!

#8 Aussie Broadband MD Phil Britt talks about his new IPO

It was a big news week and we cover lots of territory from leosats to NBN to IPOs in this episode.

 

In this edition:

 

• [1:02] We speak with Aussie Broadband MD Phil Britt about the stunning success of his new IPO and the week early listing of share trading on the ASX
• [6.44] A China company is proposing a massive 1,300 leosat constellation to take on Starlink, OneWeb and more
• [13.10] We speak with CommsDay chief editor Simon Dux on the bidding war for OptiComm, musings by Telstra on executive pay and Optus' latest 5G initiative
• [19.35] We speak with CommsDay executive editor Rohan Pearce on trends in MVNOs and NBN Co's latest efforts to boost users up the speed tier chain