Telecoms & Broadband Business Newsletter - January-February 2010

Editorial - It’s that time of the year again …

Our BuddeComm customers come from different countries and cultures around the world. Indeed I have a western European background where my culture enjoys some very significant and traditional celebrations around this time of the year.

Interestingly, however, if we go back far enough in history we realise that the basis of all our cultures is remarkably similar. The sagas, legends, dreamtime stories, pagan traditions and beliefs all represent the core beliefs and morals which unify us all.

We see the same global unity in some of the current issues such as climate change, water and energy resources, economy, finance, trade, etc.

Modern communication and information technologies are empowering people to play a much greater role in the decision-making processes that are required to manage these issues, and that role is putting pressure on vested interests to ensure that our society is transformed into a more sustainable and people-friendly environment.

Web 2.0 technologies now allow for greater user involvement, through mashup maps, wikis, blogs and video comms. The enormous numbers of user-generated websites which enable widespread user involvement are providing a glimpse of the future, because over 80% of Internet innovations are now initiated by these users and do not come from traditional R&D institutions, universities or businesses.

This is causing a serious problem for vested interests, be they in business, politics or government, to adapt to this changing environment. It is becoming more evident that user-generated activities will overtake the often inept activities of the outdated and procrastinating political and business structures. We have witnessed how the Internet changed the telecoms, music, video entertainment, newspaper and broadcasting industries. The energy industry is next in line as green ideals are embraced far more rapidly by users than by the providers. Politics and government are also on the transformation target list.

It won’t be too long before events such as the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference will be accessible for electronic participation by all global citizens. E-democracy will overtake traditional structures and systems if they prove to be ineffective. Developments in countries such as Iran indicate that e-democracy is achievable, because this movement was partially responsible for the success of the Obama campaign. Interestingly this country, with its ingrained political system which is built entirely around vested interests, may be among the first that will feel the effects of e-democracy.

It is a privilege to work in an industry which is involved in the fundamentals of this transformation, and which is a key facilitator of all of these changes. The developments in national broadband and next-generation networks will also be part of this transformation.

BuddeComm is very proud to be associated with the high-level government involvement in the trans-sector policies of the infrastructure developments in Australia, America, New Zealand and the Netherlands. These policies have also been discussed with the Secretary-General of the ITU, who is very enthusiastic about the concept.

The smart grid project in Australia which was commenced in the mid-00s has also gathered momentum and has been taken further by Smart Grid Australia. Next year will see the start of an exciting smart grid/smart city project as the first example of this transformation process.

From all of us at BuddeComm, thank you very much for your business and we wish you a truly transforming 2010.

Paul Budde