Australia: Communications Alliance has launched a series of Industry Connection Forums

[prwire] Communications Alliance, the peak body for the Australian communications industry, today announced the industry has commenced its NBN Works Program.

The Program was launched at the second series of NBN Industry Connection Forums held in Sydney on 8 July and in Melbourne today, 15 July.

Communications Alliance’s NBN works program covers seven key areas which were identified during the first series of Forums in May: the NBN Reference Model; wholesale services; early stage deployments; end user premises; technical; operational; and end user migration. The first meeting of the NBN Reference Model project team was held following the Melbourne Forum today.

The Forums also provided an opportunity for Communications Alliance to canvass industry views on the optimal regulatory regime for the NBN in response to the Government’s request for submissions on the legislative framework for NBN Co.

Commenting on the opportunity for industry to contribute to the operational and regulatory framework of the NBN, Communications Alliance CEO Anne Hurley said:

“The industry recognises this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to help shape an entirely new communications network and essentially build a new market.

“Whilst there are many questions yet to be answered, the industry has made the decision to take a proactive approach to the NBN and will collaborate to develop industry views on how the NBN should operate, the services it should offer, and many of the technical details that will be critical to its successful operation.”

“A significant number of organisations have already committed time and resources to the NBN Works Program and we invite all organisations interested in participating to register on the Communications Alliance website. As project teams progress, we will seek input from stakeholders including government, regulators, end-user groups, and those developing new applications for the broadband environment,” Ms Hurley continued.

The industry has identified the NBN Reference Model, wholesales services and early stage deployments as priority areas and work on these projects is expected to be finalised before the end of 2009. Outcomes of the remaining work areas will be delivered by mid-2010.

Given the high-level of interest in contributing to the NBN works program, Communications Alliance has created an NBN Wiki to facilitate discussion among registered participants and expedite project team outcomes. The NBN Wiki was previewed at the NBN Industry Connection Forums this month.

NBN Preparations Now Underway