The first sectors to be affected by the digital economy include media and services. New technologies allow organisations to offer a product-as-a-service and to build whole new business models based on the digital-, connected- and sharing economy. Transformation processes and new innovations and developments are analysed and discussed.
Over the years, I have regularly mentioned my involvement in smart cities. I have been involved in this for over a decade. It was obviously my background in the application of technology that had drawn me to this concept. And indeed, it was technology companies such as IBM and Cisco who were key players in …
Smart cities with citizen assemblies could lead the way to better democracies. Read More »
Over the last 20 years, we have seen a dramatic change in the way we are using the TV. At the same time, the word “TV” has changed as well. It has split into two parts — the hardware and the content. On the hardware side, we have seen a further split with set-top boxes, …
Users are in control of a disintegrated video-based entertainment market. Read More »
I would like to share an article written by my Dutch friend and colleague, Fred Kappetijn. In his younger years, the internet was a network of networks on which someone with a telephone connection, modem, PC, navigation and search program could visit places to find information, make transactions, exchange messages and entertainment. One of the …
Back in the late 1990s and early ’00s when I discussed my vision on how broadband would develop, I mentioned that organisations would start offering free broadband access, linked to the core services of their organisation. The reason is that it would either be more cost-effective for those organisations if customers use the digital service. …
Free NBN or discounted with Commonwealth Bank services. Read More »
Central Banks across the world have been exploring the possibility of implementing a digital currency — Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). A digital currency can provide a safer financial environment as it will enable individuals, private companies and several financial institutions to settle directly in central bank money rather than through bank deposits. Therefore, through …
Like so many telcos around the world, Telstra has been floundering through the video streaming market over the last few decades. It will be interesting to see if its acquisition of a 51% stake in the content aggregation company Fetch TV for $50 million will herald a new beginning. For the last 25 years plus, …
Telstra buys into Fetch TV – will this shake-up the videostreaming market? Read More »
It is a bit expensive, but if you are the richest man in the world, you can afford $60 billion-plus to buy yourself a free speech outlet. This is just what prolific Twitterer Elon Musk has done. He was not happy with the way Twitter was managed and in the way it stops fake news …
My colleague Pat Scannell asked me the other day to assist in reviewing his manuscript: ‘The Great Irony of Technology’. In this upcoming book, he mentioned an issue that really intrigued me — the “disruption of thought”. He makes the point that the rapid acceleration of technology exceeds the ability of any one person or …
As we have been discussing in the past, Foxtel has been struggling and is continuing to struggle in the video streaming market. The rumour that Telstra is negotiating a majority share in Fetch could further undermine Foxtel, as Telstra still is a shareholder in this venture, be it at a much-reduced level. Its relationship with …
In a previous article I reported on the problems that Facebook (Meta) is facing — currently betting the house on its Meta service, based on a software platform that will create a virtual reality (VR) networked environment. I mentioned that I was critical about this business model and that I don’t see, at least for …
The battles in the online video game streaming market are heating up Read More »
It was all over the news, so I am sure you have seen the dramatic beating that Facebook received at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. Facebook parent company Meta slumped more than 26 per cent, erasing more than U.S.$237 billion (AU$332 billion) in market value, the largest one-day drop in history, also …
I have mentioned before my astute group of international colleagues with whom I have ongoing discussions about the many different social, economic and political issues in relation to technology. I regularly report on some of the interesting conversations we are having. I have mentioned Dr David Bray before, the Executive Director for the bipartisan Commission …
How humans employ technologies to work, govern, and co-exist Read More »
We do live in turbulent times. There is such a lot happening, with many people feeling overwhelmed and lost. One of the reasons given why we do have these problems is technology. I would argue against that. In all reality, technology is a tool that we can use and yes, we all know that we …
Of course, let me begin by wishing you a good start to the new year. It will be an interesting year in many aspects and it remains a year of high levels of uncertainty, so it is important to stay flexible. As always, the year will provide many “wow” moments in relation to technology, but …
My telecoms and digital economy predictions for 2020 Read More »
A few weeks ago, I talked about Facebook’s Metaverse and the issues that I have with this service, in a regulatory vacuum. I hope we have learned our lessons with the current way social media have developed and that we are making sure we are not going to use new developments in these media purely …
Cirque de Solei explores the new options of VR and holoportation. Read More »
Around 2005, in the days when we started to prepare for building the NBN, we had a special workgroup working on telehealth. At that time, we also discussed this with health professionals and asked them which areas of healthcare would benefit the most from the use of the new digital media. The professionals’ answers to …
Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched his metaverse vision for Facebook beyond it being a social media outlet. He envisages an augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) internet in which we all can immerse and do things basically as virtual beings. In his vision, we will all soon be wearing VR goggles and …
Zuckerberg’s Metaverse hype, reality or does it just suck. Read More »
In 2002, computer scientist, physicist and businessman Stephen Wolfram published his book, A New Kind of Science. Rather than looking at mathematics as the solution to unravel the mysteries of the world and the universe, Wolfram looked at how systems work and concluded that they do follow certain patterns to eventually create a particular outcome. …
How AI and a systems approach can be used to better understand our world Read More »
Around 20 years ago, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in the USA allocated 75 MHz (5.85-5.925 GHz) to Intelligent Transportation Systems. This led to the dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) standard, 802.11p, which is a tweak of 802.11a. Approximately zero cars adopted it. There were demo projects and some roadside units were built, but it never …
Over the last few decades of an increasingly well-connected world, the use of data to assist us in managing the many complex issues that we as a global society are facing has become more and more important. We have seen this in the IPCC report on climate change, which uses massive amounts of data that …
Satellite another tool in the fight against Covid Read More »
Last year I reported on the success of telehealth. I can now tell that the service will be permanent feature of the medical service in Australia. People including myself have been arguing for this for more than 15 years, but it required a crisis such as Covid to see it implemented and becoming a key …
Success of Telehealth in Australia in glowing numbers Read More »
For those involved in technology from a government and industry perspective, as well as from a user’s point of view, we all have a responsibility to monitor developments in this space to ensure they’re utilised for the benefit of society. I have addressed this in a few previous articles but would like to come back …
The current pandemic, but also the previous Great Financial Crisis as well as an increase in more severe climatological events such as bushfires and floods, are all clear indications that we cannot just continue managing our society and our economy as usual. If one thing is becoming clear, we cannot go back to “normal” as …
The digital transformation of the Australian economy Read More »
It is astonishing to look at the technological developments over the last 50 years, but even more so in the last ten years. Humans have always evolved with the assistance of tools, but in the past some of these developments took millennia or centuries to develop. For most people, let us say until the Middle …
Technology – a tool to increase our processes of thought and cognition Read More »
After some turmoil, Facebook won the war with the Australian Government as the necessary changes were made to the legislation that avoids them needing to make changes to their business model. Those subtleties are lost in the general press. What counts for the popular media is that they were able to spin some great stories …
Facebook stays, everybody is happy but nothing has changed Read More »
A few months ago, I reported on the broader market of which telecommunications infrastructure is a part. I mentioned data centres, cloud computing and data analytics (big data). All together we can perhaps best call this digital infrastructure. While the importance of this merged set of infrastructures will benefit all economies and societies, I recently …
Macquarie Group is set to shake up the digital infrastructure market. Read More »
The signs are that the Australian Government and Google are close to a compromise. The main demands made by the Government stay in place, but some of the details will be changed. This allows the Government to claim victory, while the damage to Google will be limited. See also my earlier blog on this topic: …
Google set to survive in Oz, but far bigger threats are on the way. Read More »
We have seen that Mel Silva, Google Australia’s Managing Director, threatening to shut down its search engine in Australia if a proposed law requiring tech giants to pay publishers for news isn’t changed. The most controversial issue is that it would have to pay publishers for links to news articles that appear in search results. …
The digital market has matured over the last 20 years and it is no longer an excuse for governments to do nothing with the aim to let new markets and innovations emerge without immediate regulatory oversight. It has become clear this period is now well and truly over. The European Commission has already launched several …
It was interesting to see that, albeit belatedly, the American media started to stop giving Trump opportunities to spew out his lies across the country and beyond. It obviously had now reached a point where the media realised that if they would continue to provide Trump with their avenues that this would make them accomplices …
In October 2020, I went on a two-week tour into Queensland’s Outback, travelling through various landscapes from pastoral and agricultural lands to savanna and the desert. Leaving Brisbane, past Toowoomba you enter the Darling Downs. This is one of the richest agricultural areas in Australia. It was first explored by British Botanist Alan Cunningham in …
Agriculture ICT and travelling in Outback Queensland Read More »
There has been an enormous amount of discussion on the damage that social media is causing on a global scale. While there is no indication that the companies who started these services had any evil act in mind – quite to the contrary – the social media have opened Pandora’s box. The technology itself is …
I recently followed a webinar session organised by the University of Queensland on the factory of the future. Smart or not, the future will still need factories to make the stuff we humans use every day. One of the questions that were discussed included: “how will existing production models cope with the staggering and ongoing …
There are many healthcare needs that can only be successfully addressed in face-to-face visits with health practitioners. It is necessary to see a medical practitioner when we need to discuss private health issues in detail, to canvass different health or treatment options and to assess our health. Having said this, there are many other situations …
The pandemic has shown us that some of the early models in the so-called sharing economy have become more mainstream. The early pioneers were companies such as Uber, Airbnb, eBay and Gumtree. But others have been making a name for themselves in transport, for example, Shebah (all-female drivers) and Camplify (caravan sharing and RCs). Spacer, …
The digital economy is spreading out more broadly. Read More »
I recently followed a “lunch box lecture”, organised by the University of Sydney. In the talk, Professor Zdenka Kuncic explored the very topical issue of artificial intelligence. The world is infatuated with artificial intelligence (AI), and understandably so, given its super-human ability to find patterns in big data as we all notice when using Google, …
Nano networks set to revolutionise edge computing Read More »
My brother Rob lives in Rimini, Italy and he has his own company Màgina, involved in “tailor-made” events for large organisations throughout Europe. Their activities include team building, product launches, client shows and so on. Of course, with COVID-19 his business totally collapsed overnight. A few clients have indicated that they will review the situation …
Innovative entertainment industry will bounce forwards after Covid Read More »
Back in the early 1990s, I was a founding board member of Service Providers Action Network (SPAN), which later became part of Communications Alliance. The key aim of this organisation was the promotion of new value-added services that could be provided over the telecommunications network. At this time there was no public internet and we …
Digital economy essential for regional Australia Read More »
For me, the reason to download the COVIDSafe app is that my personal risk of not using it is greater than the risk of the possible misuse of my data. From a technical and legal point, I am satisfied that the app is as safe as you can expect from any technology. If you are …
COVIDSafe risk assessment personal data vs your risk regarding the virus Read More »
Philosophers involved in the theories of post-humanism and trans-humanism are captivated by the possibilities, or dangers, that the future poses to our understanding of human life. According to Wikipedia,, the idea of the post-human originates in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art and philosophy that literally refers to a person or entity that …
The results a study conducted by the Pew Research Centre stated: About half of those surveyed predict that humans’ use of technology will weaken democracy between now and 2030 due to the speed and scope of reality distortion, the decline of journalism and the impact of surveillance capitalism. A third expect technology to strengthen democracy …
The players in the telecommunications industry have decisively reacted to the COVID-19 crisis. The NBN is holding up and the company is effectively implementing a range of measures for those who rely on it. Equally, the support from the major telcos and the digital players has been first-class and, where needed, the industry is working …
Encouraging online lessons from the corona crisis Read More »
Over the last few years, cybersecurity has been a hotly debated issue in Australia. There have been serious clashes over the heavy-handedness of the Australian Government and the industry and community fighting against the attacks on press freedom, demanding protection of journalists, protecting civil liberties and the openness and transparency of our democratic institutions. Let’s …
Climate change, pandemic, terrorism and cybersecurity Read More »
This is a bit of deja vu for me. In the 1990s, I received a lot of media attention because of the arrival of broadband networks in the promotion of telecommuting. After very little or no interest in teleworking over the last decade, I am suddenly asked again to comment on teleworking as it gets …
Back in the early 2000s when the apartment complex where we are currently living was built, Telstra installed a coax cable in the complex together with the ordinary copper cable. The Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) cable allowed Telstra to offer better broadband services and Foxtel to deliver its proprietary pay-TV service. There is now turmoil …
Large scale video streaming arrived rather late in Australia. But when Netflix finally made its entry in Australia – five years after its launch in North America – it had very easy pickings Down Under. By that time, the country had been suffering for over two decades from a de facto Foxtel pay-TV monopoly, with …
The ACCC has slapped a new range of fines and rebate obligations on the providers of NBN services. This shows the deplorable situation the NBN is in. However, it fails to address the far more serious underlying problems with the NBN. This Government-owned monopoly requires far more serious interventions. A typical feature of monopolies is …
NBN pricing is widening the inequality gap in Australia Read More »
There are plenty of doom and gloom stories regarding the future of our democracy. Technology is certainly playing a key role in this. However, technology could equally be an important part of solving the problem. Let’s, for example, look at often-maligned social media. While trust is at an all-time low in relation to politicians, corporations …
In a recent ABC interview, Sam Dimarco, Head of Stakeholder Relations at NBN Co, asserted that Netflix has been a catalyst for change. It has been blamed as the principal reason why the NBN is unable to deliver the quality that was promised by the Government. The article also mentioned Bill Morrow’s comment on this, admitting that …
Recently, I went to a lecture organised by the University of Sydney titled ‘Why should the perfect robot look and think just like a human?’ I was intrigued and perhaps even a bit dismayed about this title as I strongly believe that this is not the best direction for robotics. Furthermore, such a new human …
It is interesting to follow announcements from former leaders. I recently compared Malcolm Turnbull’s suggestion for government intervention in the telecoms manufacturing market with his stand as a liberal politician who frowns upon government intervention. This time- but on a different topic – I am looking at an assessment Kim Williams, a former CEO of …
The wonders of electronics. I suddenly received a notification about this submission I made in 1999. It is interesting to look back on predictions I made 20 years ago 🙂 From: Paul Budde Sent: Monday, May 03, 1999 4:34 PM To: ’broadcasting@pc.gov.au’ Subject: Broadcasting – Submission to Productivity Commission Broadcasting – Submission to Productivity …
Broadcasting – Submission to Productivity Commission from 1999 (20 years ago) Read More »
How to best manage the social media The internet started to take on momentum in the 1990s. At that time many analysts, myself included, marvelled at the opportunity of creating a platform that would boost grassroot democracy. There was no need for a middleman and there were few barriers to ordinary people becoming involved. This …
There are an increasing number of reasons why there are now calls for the breakup of the tech-giants. The most recent one being the failure by these companies to stop the live-stream video of the Christchurch massacre. These hi-tech companies should have systems in place to immediately stop the spread of such high levels of …
As society uses more digital technologies we are increasingly also faced with its problems. Most of us will have some horror stories to tell about using computers, smart phones and the internet. But this hasn’t stopped us from using the technology more and more. I believe that most people would say that their lives would …
Our societies and our economies have reached a new threshold, the developments leading to this are a logical continuation of our evolutionary process, but interestingly the current rapid societal changes are coinciding with the availability of new ICT tools. These tools can assist us in: Political transformation – creating a more democratic environment at grass …
The importance of government leadership in digital transformation Read More »
My involvement in the ICT industry over the last 40 years has always been to look at the strategic advantages that new technologies have to offer. I entered the industry through a proto-internet development called videotext. I looked at this technology, at what organisations could do with it, and assisted, for example, in the 1980s …
Could cybersecurity become a new driver for business transformation? Read More »
This is a good time of the year to reflect on our industry and its place in today’s society – not so much in respect of all of the important issues of the day, or from the year past, but on the broader developments in society in which our industry plays a key role and …
The dramatic collapse of the Bitcoin bubble (and of other cryptocurrencies) is a clear indication that in its current format this new digital payment system is not going to make it. I don’t believe this is just a dip and that the system will suddenly revive itself again. While there are certain benefits of a …
With a tumbling share price and increased pressure from governments across the world Facebook will have to make major changes quickly if the company is to survive. Despite the enormous success – indicated by the fact that people just love to use Facebook, as well as the enormous amount of good that the company has …
There is no doubt that social media has become an enormous success over the last decade and that it has in many ways made a great impact on how we interact with each other. One could argue that this was exactly what the early innovators envisioned – disrupting the incumbent, fat and often arrogant traditional …
Dark business clouds ahead for the social media. Read More »
The changes recently proposed to the Broadcasting Act will allow for a further concentration of media power in Australia. While from a commercial point of view the traditional media most certainly are under attack from the digital media the fact is that the traditional media wield a far greater power over national politics than all …
While it is intuitive to accept that the media plays a key role in the level of perceived fear in society in relation to terrorist attacks, it was with interest that I read the bachelor thesis of my Italian nephew, who is studying at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It provides an interesting …
Mass media and the increased perception of the threat of terrorism Read More »
The announcement of the proposed merger of Foxtel with Fox Sport Australia, combined with Telstra’s agreement to dilute its shareholding in the pay TV operator, paves the way for the end of the Foxtel war between News Corp Australia (formerly News Limited) and Telstra. The decline in revenue and subscriber numbers will most certainly have …
Agriculture is forecast to be one of the key industries where the Internet of Things can make a significant contribution to Australia’s future growth and competitiveness. The future of farming is in collecting and analysing big data in order to maximise efficiency, mitigate risk and drive productivity. Connected farmers will be able to monitor and …
With the rise of digital platforms, the media industry has had to change and the transformation continues in 2017. In newspaper and book publishing, TV and radio broadcasting, film, music, and other forms of media, we see that the national walls that protect local organisations within traditional models are crumbling. In other words, it is …
The Australian Digital Media Industry Continues its Transformation Read More »
Australia’s leading pay TV provider FOXTEL during the last few years has struggled to increase pay TV penetration in Australia. The market has also seen the launch of competing OTT platforms, including Stan and Netflix. These offer competitively priced basic packages, commonly below AU$10 per month letting consumers’ view content at a time of their …
Broadcasting, video media, streaming are topics that are always in the headlines of the media. But it is a mixed bag of comments that you hear: ‘Broadcasting is on the way out’ ‘Netflix reaches 2 million users’, ‘Telstra struggles with Big Pond’, ‘Video streaming overtakes mobile usage’…. the list goes on. We saw the traditional …
Last week I chaired a number of very well-attended sessions at the Connect Conference in Melbourne. My compliments to the organisers, who had gathered together a range of excellent speakers, very different from the commercially motivated group of speakers who so often feature at commercial conferences. The Plenary Opening session featured Dr Amanda Caples, the …
The merger was not approved by the New Zealand Regulator (6/2017). During the last decade there has been considerable merger and acquisition activity in the telecoms sector across global regions. Where these processes are not possible, for regulatory or commercial reasons, operators have found ways to share resources in a bid to provide improved services …
The digital TV and video streaming industry has changed beyond recognition and it continues to evolve in 2016. Consumer habits are shifting from broadcast TV to on-demand content – especially streaming. Traditional TV viewing is increasingly facing competition from other viewing platforms such as smart phones, tablets, and Smart TVs. Choice is the key. Broadcasters …
Pay TV market under increasing threat from Video Streaming market Read More »
With the rise of digital platforms, the media industry is rapidly changing. In newspaper and book publishing, TV and radio broadcasting, film, music, and other forms of media, we see that the national walls that protect local organisations within traditional models are crumbling. In other words, it is no longer an issue of local market …
The Apps and Entertainment market continues to evolve Read More »
The Chinese telecom market is the largest in the world in terms of subscribers and is undergoing transition. Mobile subscriptions outnumber fixed voice connections and voice is giving way to data as the primary revenue generator. China’s telecom market is served by three operators; China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. All three are integrated …
China Continues to Evolve as a World Leader in the Digital Media Sector Read More »
The global digital media entertainment market continues to go from strength to strength in 2016. In particular the global streaming revolution is gathering pace. Streaming is closing in on broadcast TV and the Internet now rivals broadcast TV as a vehicle to deliver consumer content. The entertainment industry generally is flourishing on the back of …
Over the last 20 years or so we have regularly revisited the developments in virtual reality (VR). I remember experiencing VR for the first time in the late 1980s, so this technology has been in the making for a very long time. And we are still uncertain about its growth over the next decade. There …
VR demand set to grow, but little prospect for telcos Read More »
At regular intervals I like to report on developments in e-education. As far back as the 1990s I earmarked the education sector as one of the major beneficiaries of the new developments in digital technologies. I even predicted that this would be one of the first sectors that would take advantage of the transformational aspects …
Will STEM and flipped classrooms lead the e-education transformation? Read More »
With some of the poster-child services of the sharing economy now becoming more mainstream it is interesting to follow the developments that are taking place in this early stage of development. All those actively participating in services such as Uber, AirB&B and Lyft have seen regulations creeping up on them, be it in relation to …
As I am involved in both the smart energy and the telecoms market I am in a good position to make comparisons and observations in relation to these utility markets. I have been following the telecoms market for over 30 years and the electricity market for 15+ years – in both cases well and truly …
Will telcos become the OTT players in smart energy? Read More »
The all-powerful social network sites People are increasingly becoming aware of the emerging ‘internet monopoly’. Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and many the other (local) social network and media sites are becoming so large and powerful that they can dictate the use of their services in such a way that people lose control over …
