Father of the Internet in Canberra

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, will speak on "The future of the Internet" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 26 June 2018. For an understanding of the way the Internet was envisioned, I recommend Carl Malamud's 1992 book "Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue", in which he reports on discussion with Vint Cerf and Australian Internet pioneer Geoff Huston.

I stumbled across Vint and Geoff in Stockholm during the Internet Society 2001 Conference. I went through the wrong door and interrupted a meeting deciding global domain name services. Geoff looked up and said "Hi Tom", when I saw Vint and just about everyone else running the Internet in the world, I turned and fled. ;-)

"Vint Cerf will explore areas where serious technical and policy efforts are needed to reinforce the utility of the Internet and diminish some of the harmful behaviors we are seeing. Some of the work will require transnational cooperation. Some solutions have much to do with educating users about protecting themselves when online and thinking critically about content. Technical improvements in software production will help, as will better security tools and practices. Vint will finish up with some speculations about the arc of the Internet as we get to the mid-2000s.
Vint will be coming to Australia as a featured speaker at the ANU Crawford Leadership Forum, 24-26 June 2018."

Vale Kerry Webb

The Canberra Times announced the death of Kerry Webb, former ACT government Web architect and Director of Systems for  the National Library of Australia, 7 November 2015.

Kerry was central to getting the Australian Government on the web in the mid 1990s. He was a member of the informal "Internet Conspiracy" of government, academic and industry people who helped formulate Australian Internet policy. His vision is set out in "Provision of Australian Government Information on the Internet" (1996). Kerry was regular contributor to the "Internet Reality Check", held in Canberra during the middle to late 1990s, with Tony Barry and Eric Wainwright.

A contributor to his profession, Kerry wrote the "Webb's web" column in the Australian Library and Information Association magazine "Incite" from January 2005 to December 2012. Also he co-authored with Christine Frey (Goodacre) "Microcomputers in Australian libraries" (ALIA, 1991) and "Automating a small library" (ALIA, 1992). The NLA also has the sound recording by Kerry "Web based tools for libraries" (2008).

A long term contributor to the Link list on Australian network policy and communications, Kerry's first post was "Australian Government Web Page", 12 Apr 1995. There are 159 posts by, or mentioning, him.


I fondly remember Kerry Webb's bemused jibes at my presentations on matters to do with the Internet and self-promotion therein. I will miss his shouting "Bingo" whenever I mentioned the "USS Blue Ridge" in a talk. ;-)

First Digital Australian PM

I agree with Al Blake that "Australia's new PM 'gets IT'" (Online Opinion, 16 September 2015). On Monday night I was at an event on digital copyright at Parliament House. Mr. Turnbull was not there (he was busy getting elected nearby), but would have been at home in this forum.

The Digital Transformation Office (DTO) is an interesting experiment, but it is a bit early to see how it goes. My preference would have been for DTO to be in the Department of Finance which has more experience working with other departments on practical implementation of IT.

The current government's mixed-mode NBN is a clever political approach, as the mix of technologies used for delivery can be changed depending on how well they work, what they cost and what other priorities there are.

Al Blake's call for the ICT industry to rise to the challenge is timely. But to deliver a "connected, technologically literate and effective Australia" we need other industries involved, key to this being the education industry and the creative industries. Otherwise all the NBN will doing is acting as a virtual mega-container ship: importing overseas content and services, then sending ship-loads of cash overseas to pay for the imports.

Service industry jobs are now open to on-line competition from overseas, not only accountants and lawyers, but also university lecturers (and soon school teachers). The solution is not to lower a virtual trade barrier, but to skill up our workforce, so they can compete on-line.

What will Pope Francis do about the Internet and Climate Change?

"On the care for our common home" (Laudato si'), the second encyclical of Pope Francis (24 May 2015), touches on the social effects of the Internet and global warming. The Pope does not attempt to debate the issues, but instead point out their moral dimensions. The document has extensive references, but these are to ecclesiastical sources, not scientific ones. This is not a flaw in the document, but a strength. Particularly in the case of climate change, scientists have fallen into the trap of thinking that more facts will persuade people. There is plenty of research to show this does not work. Like naughty children we will debate an issue endlessly rather than do something unpleasant which we know must be done eventually.

However, the test will be what the Vatican does, rather than what it says others should do. What action is the Vatican taking on the use of the Internet and climate change? As an example will priests be trained in how to relate to their flock on-line, as well as in person? How credible are Vatican City's claims to be carbon neutral?

One problem with the document that while the sections and paragraphs are numbered, these are not hypertext targets, making it difficult to point to a particular passage.

Social effects of the Internet

"Real relationships with others, with all the challenges they entail, now tend to be replaced by a type of internet communication which enables us to choose or eliminate relationships at whim, thus giving rise to a new type of contrived emotion which has more to do with devices and displays than with other people and with nature. Today’s media do enable us to communicate and to share our knowledge and affections. Yet at times they also shield us from direct contact with the pain, the fears and the joys of others and the complexity of their personal experiences. For this reason, we should be concerned that, alongside the exciting possibilities offered by these media, a deep and melancholic dissatisfaction with interpersonal relations, or a harmful sense of isolation, can also arise."

From Paragraph 47. Section IV. "On the care for our common home", Francis, 24 May 2015.

 Climate Change

"The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it."

From Paragraph 23. Section I. Pollution and Climate Change, "On the care for our common home", Francis, 24 May 2015. 

Studying the Chinese Internet

The Australian National University has presentations on "Studying the Chinese Internet" (研究中国互联网／ 研究中國互聯網), Friday 1 August 2014. The workshop is free and it is possible to register just for day two. A small group is learning social network analysis today, using the free open source NodeXL and VOSON software. Tomorrow's presentations discuss the results of using such research and the challenges involved:

Day 1 (Thursday 31 July) – Small group training in social media analysis

Instructor: Dr Robert Ackland, Guest lecturer: Prof Jonathan Zhu

Day 2 (Friday 1 August) – Research presentations

9.00 Welcome

9.15-10.30 Keynote presentation

“Charting the Landscape of Chinese Social Media: What We Know and What We Don’t Know from Existing Research”, Prof Jonathan Zhu, City University of Hong Kong
中国社会化媒体研究的已知与未知 / 中國社會化媒體研究的已知與未知

10.30-11.00 Morning tea

11.00-12.30 Paper session 1

“A Web Analysis of HIV Information Delivery in China”, Dr Robert Ackland, Australian National
University and Dr Jiaying Zhao, Australian National University
爱滋病信息的传递 :
基于网络的分析 / 愛滋病信息的傳遞 :
基於網絡的分析
“Predicting Depressed Individuals with Suicide Ideation Using Social Media Data”, Jin Han, Australian
National University
微博社交网络抑郁用户识别 / 微博社交網絡抑鬱用戶識別
“Analyzing Events in Chinese Microblogs”, Dr Lexing Xie, Australian National University
社交网络上的新闻事件分析 / 社交網絡上的新聞事件分析

12.30-1.30 Lunch

1.30-3.00 Paper session 2

“Preliminary Analysis of Muslim Networking on the Chinese Web”, Dr Wai Yip Ho, Hong Kong Institute of
Education and Dr Robert Ackland, Australian National University
中国穆斯林网络的初步分析 / 中國穆斯林網絡的初步分析
“Multiple Identity Formation via Social Media by Professional Chinese Immigrants to Australia”, Dr Jerry
Watkins, University of Canberra and Dr Chong Han, University of Western Sydney
社交媒体上的多重身份构建:以澳大利亚中国技术移民为例 /
社交媒體上的多重身份構建:以澳大利亞中國技術移民為例
“Human Flesh Searching in the Greater China Region”, Dr Lennon Chang, City University of Hong Kong
分析大中华地区人肉搜索之现象 / 分析大中華地區人肉搜索之現象

3.00-3.30 Afternoon tea

3.30-4.30 Paper session 3

“Institutional Analysis of Chinese Internet Governance: Some Tentative Thoughts”, Ryan Manuel,
Australian National University
关于互联网体制与管理若干问题的分析 / 關於互聯網體制與管理若干問題的分析
“Internet Use in China: Citizens, Consumers, and Social Consumption in Chinese”, Dr Michael J. Jensen,
University of Canberra and Wei Si, University of Canberra
因特网在中国的应用 :
公民 ,
消费者与社会消费 / 因特網 在中國的應用:公民,消費者與社會消費
4.30-5.00 Wrap up

How Do I Stop Spam from the Palmer United Party?

Today I received seventeen copies of a "New Year Greetings"  email from the Palmer United Party. I am happy to receive the occasional newsletter from my elected representatives, but Clive Palmer MP is not one of them.

I have forwarded all the messages to the ACMA Spam Intelligence Database. Any suggestions on how to stop this? There is an unsubscribe offer at the end of the message, but a posting to Whirlpool indicates that a request to be removed from the mailing list resulted in more email.

The  Palmer United Party appears to use the IT company, Alacrity Technology, based in Mitchell ACT. The company also promotes mobile gambling technology.

FttN+P Implementation for Australia

In "The Lexus and the Broadband Network" I likened the choice between the ALP's  FttP National Broadband Network (NBN) and  FttN Coalition Broadband Policy to be like the choice between a new Lexus and a ten year old Toyota Camry car, with the kids wanting a scooter (wireless broadband). The Coalition won the election and so the Fibre to the Node (FttN) option is the one which is to be implemented, but will have elements of the ALP's NBN Fibre to the Premises (FttP, sometimes called Fibre to the Home FttH) in it. The current fiber which has been installed will not be removed. So perhaps the new approach might be termed FttN+P.

An on-line petition proposes "The Liberal Party of Australia: Reconsider your plan for a 'FTTN' NBN in favour of a superior 'FTTH' NBN". To ask a government, which just won an election, to reverse part of its platform is at best a waste of time and may be counter-productive, reducing the chances of getting FttP.

Even if the government thought FttP a good idea, they couldn't be seen to be admitting their previous policy was wrong. Pressure via a petition for FttP would have the effect of requiring the government to defence its policy and thus limit its ability to provide FttP (even where the Government thought it a good idea).

A better strategy would be suggest the FttN policy be "enhanced", without admitting this is a reversal. Some new term, such as FttN+P could be invented, indicating Fibre to the Node, plus Premises (in some locations). The exact meaning of this would be kept vague, so it could cover both roll-out of just fiber in new green-fields sites and the option of fibre in some FttN installations.

Broadband Choices for Australia

My "The Lexus and the Broadband Network" analogy was picked up by Australian Science Media Centre and is quoted in "Rural areas to lose in Coalition internet plan, says expert" (Toowoomba Chronicle, 4th September 2013). Expecting more queries from the media on this, I thought I had better summarize the main points of the options offered by the parties. The ALP's  National Broadband Network (NBN), is well known, the Coalition Broadband Policy less well.

Both parties propose a model where different retailers can market essentially the same wholesale product. Cable will be used in the city (fibre for ALP and hybrid for Coalition), fixed wireless in rural areas and satellite in remote areas. The NBN is planned to be completed by 2020 at a cost of  $44B, Coalition by 2019 at $30 billion.

The ALP offers 1 Gbps, Coalition 50 Mbps, on twentieth the speed. But this is only on the cabled networks, the wireless networks will be 25 Mbps (realistically 12 Mbps) and satellite 12 Mbps (realistically 1 Mbps). The NBN fiber system has potential for faster speeds, the hybrid network less so.

Charges for the NBN are around $50 to $100 per month. The NBN wholesale access prices start at $24 a month for 12 Mbps. For the Coalition alternative they are likely to be similar. This has little to do with the cost of the network or technology, but more to do with competition.

Both the party's policies assume one network where the only competition is between retailers offering essentially the same product. But in reality these retailers will be competing with the mobile phone companies selling wireless broadband, currently "4G", at up to 100 Mbps (more realistically 1 Mbps).

ps: I wonder what my former tutors at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba make of this.

E-monitoring and regime improvement in China

Professor Christian Goebel, Vienna University, will speak on "E-monitoring and regime improvement in China: technical capabilities and systemic limitations", at the Australian National University in Canberra, 4:00pm 10 September 2013.

In 2003 I attended a 3-day conference on the Beijing Olympic 2008 Official Website. I was a guest of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG). One thing I noticed was how Internet literate the Chinese government people and academics were, including those from the People's Daily newspaper.

ANU China Seminar Series

ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

Australian Centre on China in the World 

E-monitoring and regime improvement in China: technical capabilities and systemic limitations

Information technologies are often regarded as “liberation technologies” (Larry Diamond), because mobile phones and the Internet enable citizens to organize and coordinate resistance against autocratic rule. However, all political systems – democracies and autocracies alike – depend fundamentally on information feedbacks to maintain their equilibrium, and digital technologies greatly facilitate the gathering and processing of such information. The better the information flows between regime and society are, the more political authorities are able to fine-tune their policies in line with the stability requirements of the system.

The “liberation technology” perspective misses that information technologies can also serve to stabilize autocratic regimes, for example by enhancing surveillance, accountability, indoctrination, and participation. It follows that improved information flows can both strengthen and undermine autocratic rule, and the puzzle is how autocratic regime elites deal with this dilemma. China is a good case to study this question, because an increasing number of local governments is applying information technologies to strengthen their “social management” (shehui guanli) capabilities.

The talk contributes to a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of e-monitoring in China by introducing the results of first-hand research an e-monitoring platform in a Chinese province. It illuminates how information technologies are used to gather information about the preferences and grievances of the local population, how this information is processed, and how it motivates government action. On the other hand, it sheds light on the systemic limitations that prevent such solutions from being implemented more broadly than is presently the case.

About the Speaker

Christian Göbel is Professor of Modern China Studies at Vienna University. His current research projects examine the role of change agents in policy innovation in China and the impact of information technology on the operation of non-democratic regimes. He was trained in Political Science and China Studies in Erlangen, Taipei, Heidelberg and Duisburg. Previous to his appointment to Vienna, he held positions in Lund and Heidelberg. He is the author of "The Politics of Rural Reform in China" (Routledge 2010) and "The Politics of Community Building in Urban China" (Routledge 2011, with Thomas Heberer) and has published widely on topics related to state-society relations and political reform in China and Taiwan. ...

ABC Four Corners on Cyber-attacks in Australia

ABC Four Corners report "Hacked!" (27th May at 8.30pm on ABC1), alleged that Chinese military hackers were targeting Australian Government departments and corporations to steal secrets and business information. The program contained little hard evidence or new information. One allegation, that the plans to the new ASIO headquarters had been stolen to assist penetration of the building was new, but not particularly significant. However, the program will be useful if it prompts the Australian Government to restart its dormant work on public cyber security policy.

One curious segment of the program had a private security consultant asked if the Australia was preparing for offensive cyber-warfare, that is preparing to attack,. not just defence. The consultant hedged around the question, hinting but not answering clearly.

This reluctance to answer the question is at odds with a media release from Northrop Grumman in 2012 which announced it was building a cyber test range at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra, to train defence force personnel. A cyber range is analogous to a test range for conventional weapons: the cyber range is used to test cyber warfare techniques, which can be both defensive and offensive. I attended a presentation to the Australian Computer Society, 13 March 2013, where one of the staff from Northrop Grumman gave a presentation on the cyber range.

Need for Australian Cyber Security White-paper

The Australian Government released a Defence White Paper 2013 (May 2013). This highlights the risk of cyber attacks on defence, government and  commercial information networks. The paper claims that the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) has "allowed the development of a comprehensive understanding of the cyber threat environment and coordinated responses to malicious cyber events that target government networks". However, this addresses only government networks, not essential services provided by the private sector and on which government and defence depend. The paper envisages participation of key industry and private sector partners, but no further details are provided.

In September 2011 the Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) issued a discussion paper “Connecting with Confidence, Optimising Australia’s Digital Future” , with the aim of releasing a cyber security policy white paper in mid 2012. The Australian Computer Society assisted PM&C with consultations, including arranging a meeting in Canberra, 18 October 2011. The ACS released a Submission for the Australian Cyber Policy White Paper. But in a speech October 2011, the Prime Minister said that she thought the Cyber White Paper should be broadened to a "digital White Paper" ("Closing Remarks to the Digital Economy Forum", Speech, Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia, 5 October 2012). No Cyber White Paper has been released. As a result Australia's national infrastructure remains vulnerable to cyber attack. The Australian government needs to revive the cyber security white paper process.

Cyber

2.82 The 2009 Defence White Paper acknowledged that national security could be compromised by cyber attacks on defence, government or commercial information networks. Cyber security continues to be a serious and pressing national security challenge. The seriousness of the cyber threat was affirmed in 2011 when Australia and the US confirmed the applicability of the ANZUS Treaty to cyber attacks. This further emphasised the need for capabilities that allow us to gain an advantage in cyberspace, guard the integrity of our information, and ensure the successful conduct of operations.

2.83 Australia, advantaged by the cyber dimension of our international strategic partnerships, should find that the rise of cyber power has at least as many pluses as minuses. But the net effect on Australia’s position will depend on how well we exploit cyber power, including working with partners and integrating cyber power into national strategy and a whole-of-nation effort.

2.84 The potential impact of malicious cyber activity has grown with Defence’s increasing reliance on networked operations. Reducing Defence’s vulnerability to cyber attacks or intrusions in a crisis or conflict will remain a high priority. This includes protection of deployed networks and information systems. In a future conflict or escalation to conflict, an adversary could use a cyber attack against Australia to deter, delay or prevent Australia’s response or the ADF’s deployment of forces. This would probably include the targeting of information systems, networks and broader support infrastructure perceived to be integral to the ADF’s decision-making and war-fighting capabilities. Once deployed, our forces will need to operate as a networked force in a contested environment.

2.85 It is equally important to protect information in peacetime. Australia’s national security, economic prosperity and social wellbeing now depend on the internet and the security of information. Compromise of Australian Government information could allow an adversary to gain economic, diplomatic or political advantage over us. Compromise of commercial, government or private citizens’ information would undermine public and international confidence in Australia as a secure digital environment.

2.86 Defence capability would be seriously undermined by compromised sensitive information on command and control, operational planning, platform design or weapon system performance. Additionally, without effective mitigation and protection measures in place, the costs to Defence of addressing cyber intrusions could far outweigh the effort expended by an adversary.

2.87 Understanding of the cyber threat has increased markedly since the 2009 Defence White Paper.

The establishment of the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) within the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) – to be renamed the Australian Signals Directorate – has allowed the development of a comprehensive understanding of the cyber threat environment and coordinated responses to malicious cyber events that target government networks. Through the CSOC, Australia has increased its intrusion detection, analytic and threat assessment capabilities, and improved its capacity to respond to cyber security incidents.

2.88 Within Defence, there is also a significant body of work to be done to ensure the security and resilience of defence systems in this environment. Network and system management, along with personnel and physical security need to be strengthened as part of our response.

2.89 Australia works within the framework of its traditional defence and intelligence and broader national security relationships to counter cyber threats. More broadly, Australia believes that the existing framework of international law, including the UN Charter and international humanitarian law, applies to cyberspace. Australia is participating in international efforts to achieve a common understanding of these laws.

2.90 In January 2013, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of a new Australian Cyber Security Centre to improve partnerships between government Agencies and with industry. The Centre will bring together cyber security capabilities from across the national security community, fully located in one facility. DSD’s CSOC, other elements of DSD’s Cyber Security Branch, the Attorney-General’s Computer Emergency Response Team Australia, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s Cyber Espionage Branch, elements of the Australian Federal Police’s High-Tech Crime Operations capability and all-source-assessment analysts from the Australian Crime Commission will be co-located. This will facilitate faster and more effective responses to serious cyber incidents, and provide a comprehensive understanding of the threat to Australian Government networks and systems of national interest. The Centre will be overseen by a Board, led by the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, with a mandate to report regularly to the National Security Committee of Cabinet.

2.91 Additional capability will be enhanced through participation of key industry and other private sector partners. Defence will play the principal role in the operation of the Centre and will continue to dedicate significant expertise to this important national capability.

From Defence White Paper 2013, Pages 20 and 21, Australian Government, May 2013

Australian Government Digital White Paper

Is the Australian Government preparing a Digital White Paper? Who is preparing it, how are they consulting interested parties and when is it to be released?

The Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) issued a discussion paper “Connecting with Confidence, Optimising Australia’s Digital Future”, 15 September 2011, with the aim of releasing a policy white paper in mid 2012. The Australian Computer Society assisted PM&C with consultations, including arranging a meeting in Canberra, 18 October 2011. The ACS released a Submission for the Australian Cyber Policy White Paper. But in a speech October 2011, the Prime Minister said that she thought the Cyber White Paper should be broadened to a "digital White Paper" ("Closing Remarks to the Digital Economy Forum", Speech, Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia, 5 October 2012). No Cyber White Paper has been released.

The only mention of preparation of a "Digital White Paper" from government I could find was from the Australian Information Commissioner ("Review of freedom of information legislation, Submission to the Hawke Review", December 2012). The Australian Council of Deans of ICT (ACDICT) issued a "Digital White Paper Submission" (Professor  Leon Sterling, President ACDICT, 9 January 2013). This quotes from "Digital White Paper", Key Themes: "The information and communications technology (ICT) skills and training required to sustain the digital economy now and into the future ... The development of collaborative partnerships between governments, industry and community". However, there is no formal reference for the document and I was not able to find the document this quote is taken from.

Looking to Defence for Broadband Future

The last session of "Converging on an NBN Future" was a general discussion. I commented that the NBN was conceived and is being built by experienced experts who can relied on to build a system which works. The unanswered question as I see it, is what the nation will do with the NBN. While areas such as education and health are considered likely uses, is there a well funded and planned process to make this happen?

One of the speakers responded to me that we should look to the Defence Department for possible future uses of broadband. This is ironic as when at the Department of Defence I looked to academia for ideas of how the Internet could be used and to formulate Defence and government policy. Now it was being suggested doing the opposite.

One participant pointed out that the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a new "Internet Activity, Australia Survey" at 11:30am today (covering June 2012). The ABS report an annual growth rate in Internet subscribers in Australia of 10% and 96% of Internet connections being broadband. The volume of data downloaded via mobile handsets is increasing at 32% a year.

The last comment for the day was from respected IT journalist John Hilvert, who suggested that when the school parents and citizens association routinely meets on-line, the NBN will have been a success.

NBN as a Critical Infrastructure

Professor Catherine Middleton, Ryerson University,  talked at "Converging on an NBN Future". She pointed out a difference between  Australia's NBN and North American provision of broadband is that the NBN can be a Critical Infrastructure. Broadband access is being provided in most countries as a "best effort" service with patchy provision. Even so Dr. Middleton points out that provision is either a monopoly or quasi monopoly in the USA. As NBN is one national engineered service it can be relied on for provision of essential public services. This is a reasonable argument, but it is not clear if the NBN has been engineered as a safety critical system which, for example, will continue to operate during power failures and will automatically give essential services priority.

NBN Co. Monopolistic Actions Need Intervention from Regulator

Sean Casey from NBN Co talked at "Converging on an NBN Future". He described the separate services which could be provided via the NBN. Unfortunately this did not sound credible as it followed from Professor Matthew Allen who explained how customers are sophisticated enough to see that the NBN provides one service, which is high speed Internet access.

As a commercial company NBN Co. will want to give customers the impression that the NBN can deliver a variety of services, so as to charge different amounts for essentially the same service and so maximise profit. But given that NBN Co. are are essentially a monopoly, perhaps the regulator needs to step in now and decide if this is acceptable.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyeyers

Tony Eyers, from TekTel talked at "Converging on an NBN Future" on how to educate the public about the NBN. He pointed out that the NBN Co and Government documents use hard to understand language in explaining the NBN and are not very popular. He created his own video to explain the NBN in simple terms.

This seemed to me to be missing the point slightly, as the Government's plan is to shut down the existing PSTN. The public will not have a choice of cabled broadband or landline phone service: customers will have to use the NBN. As a result there is no great need for the government to sell the NBN to the public. The government has a need to promote the benefits of the NBN so as to remain in government, but that is a separate issue.

Broadband in Korea

Gwang Jae Kim from Hanyang Cyber University talked at "Converging on an NBN Future" in Canberra on "Reflections on Broadband Policies in South Korea". She pointed out that while Korea has extensive broadband installed there is still much to do. See her: "Consumer adoption in digital multimedia broadcasting: examining socio-cultural and economic determinants":

This study aims to develop the persuasive theory model in explaining the adoption of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB). DMB services were unveiled in Korea on December 1, 2005, marking the beginning of a full-fledged mobile TV era for the country. I stablished hypothesis under the objectives of study such as which factors can explain customers' adoption most properly and how it can be structured based on expanded technology acceptance model (ETAM). The results are threefold. First, the applicability of technology acceptance model (TAM) based on research of Davis (1989), was revealed to be supported. Second, two factors, socio-cultural influence (SCI) and network externalities, were derived as the external factors that can expand TAM in explaining adoption of DMB. Finally, results support use of the extended TAM as an explainer in the context of DMB adoption as information technology (IT).

From: Gwang Jae Kim. 2011. Consumer adoption in digital multimedia broadcasting: examining socio-cultural and economic determinants. Int. J. Inf. Technol. Manage. 10, 1 (December 2011), 80-93. DOI=10.1504/IJITM.2011.037764 http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJITM.2011.037764

Politics of the NBN

Professor Matthew Allen from Curtin University talked at "Converging on an NBN Future" on the "Selling the NBN: the politics of broadband in Australia" (it is good to see Matthew published his draft paper). He pointed out that access broadband is a very important political issue in regional Australia. He pointed out that NBN Co has elements of a commercial enterprise in its approach to selling the NBN, combined with the political sales job from the government.

Matthew points out that the benefits promoted for the NBN are very similar to those advocated for the information superhighway and the Internet more than a decade ago. He suggested that the technological elite talks about an ideal NBN of the future, rather than what is likely to be delivered. There is therefore a gap between the reality of current telecommunications and the brave new world. The public is justifiably worried about if their existing phone service will work and when they will get the level of Internet access which some inner-city residents already have.

Matthew reminded us of attempts by telecommunication companies to define what broadband was, around exclusive contact access. He pointed out that as consumers had already experienced "the Internet" and so did not want to buy a closed package of informations services controlled by the vendor. However, I suggest it is understandable that universities, vendors (and nations) want to control access to information, in order to retain control over their intellectual property, make money and protect their citizens. An example of this is how universities are dealing with on-line education in face of MOOCs.

In political terms we are yet to see the major issue of the reorganisation of government and commercial services brought about by provision of broadband. I asked Matthew about this and he said that the NBN would strengthen regional ties. He also said that governments would use broadband to reduce costs and provide services.

Broadband Future in Canberra

Greetings from the University of Canberra where Robin Eckermann is talking about the synergy between wireless and fibre optic broadband at the  "Converging on an NBN Future: Content, Connectivity, and Control", 9am, 9 October 2012. Like many of the speakers Robin has long term involvement in formulating Australian broadband policy, as well as planning real broadband networks. He emphasises that the digital economy is already here and we need to think about uses for broadband, not just an emphasis on higher speeds. The obvious one I see is in higher education, which is being transformed by on-line access.

Converging on an NBN Future: Content, Connectivity, and Control

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the most significant Australian national infrastructure project in decades. It promises to revolutionise the underlying telecommunications infrastructure of the nation while reshaping Australia’s policy environment for telecommunications. Broadband is not just about higher speeds and ubiquitous connectivity but a complex social system that can affect the various aspects of social productivity, enhanced community engagement, improved education and health systems.

The NBN is notable for the level of criticism it has attracted, principally within the fractured political domain, but also from those who see alternative visions of network connectivity based on mobile communications. Its ongoing deployment may be affected by changes to governments; however its fundamental rationale and design is already remaking our use of the Internet, through changes to regulation, consumer expectations, service delivery and more.

The Symposium will offer an exciting and challenging look at the critical questions and issues we face as the NBN commences widespread operations in Australia. We bring together scholars, industry analysts and participants, and government regulators and policy makers to address the important issues that arise. We invite industry professionals, academics, policymakers and the public to engage in this public discourse about how we can better adopt new technologies and how we can enhance social connectedness.

SPEAKERS
Matthew Allen (Curtin University)
Keith Besgrove (Dept. of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy)
Sean Casey (NBN Co. Limited)
Tony Eyers (Tektel)
Robin Eckermann (Robin Eckermann & Associates)
Gerard Goggin (University of Sydney)
Geoffrey Heydon(CSIRO Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation)
Gwang Jae Kim (Hanyang Cyber University)
Catherine Middleton (Ryerson University)
Lesley Osborne (Australian Communications and Media Authority)
Franco Papandrea (University of Canberra)
Sora Park(University of Canberra)
Rosemary Sinclair (UNSW Australian School of Business)


ABOUT THE RESEARCH TEAM

This symposium is part of an ongoing investigation of the “Broadband and Society” research team launched in Oct 2011, in order to systematically review the users, industries and the government in adopting new technologies. We held our first public symposium in Dec 2011 in Perth.

Dr. Matthew Allen (Professor, Curtin University)
Dr. Catherine Middleton(Professor, Ryerson University)
Dr. Sora Park(Associate Professor, University of Canberra)
Dr. Chun Liu(Assistant Professor, Southwest Jiaotong University)


*This is a free event. Lunch and tea will be provided. 

Survey Shows NBN Will Not Bridge Digital Divide

A survey on the Internet in Australia from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) indicates that the digital divide in Australia will not be lessened by the avialbility of the NBN. Julian Thomas and Scott Ewing report that about four in ten households on less than $30,000 a year cannot afford broadband.As the NBN is designed to increase the speed of broadband access, not lower cost, this suggests it will not help these low income households.

Unfortunately, the CCI have only made their report available as a poorly formatted PDF document, thus not helping bridge the digital divide. I tried copying an excerpt from the report, but this produced a garbled mess due to the poor formatting.