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, […]
Digital Media Apps & Services
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.
Innovative entertainment industry will bounce forwards after Covid
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 […]
Digital economy essential for regional Australia
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 […]
COVIDSafe risk assessment personal data vs your risk regarding the virus
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 […]
Technologies for the post-humans
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 […]
Will technology destroy our democracy?
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 […]
Encouraging online lessons from the corona crisis
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 […]
Climate change, pandemic, terrorism and cybersecurity
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 […]
Telecommuting and Covid-19
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 […]
The end of Foxtel’s pay TV service?
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 […]
Jumping on the Australian streaming boom
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 […]
NBN pricing is widening the inequality gap in Australia
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 […]
The positive role of technology in democracy
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 […]
Not Netflix but Government killed the NBN
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 […]
Do we want to create true human robots?
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 […]
Spinning the pay TV pirating issue
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 […]
Broadcasting – Submission to Productivity Commission from 1999 (20 years ago)
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 […]
How to best manage the social media
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 […]
Breaking up the digital giants
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 […]
Putting cyber threats into perspective
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 […]
The importance of government leadership in digital transformation
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 […]
Could cybersecurity become a new driver for business transformation?
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 […]
Christmas Blog – Political, economic and cultural effects of connectivity, communications, surveillance and data analysis
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 collapse of cryptocurrencies?
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 […]
Facebook is set to fail.
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 […]
Dark business clouds ahead for the social media.
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 […]
Digital media and media diversity
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 […]
Mass media and the increased perception of the threat of terrorism
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 […]
The end of the Foxtel wars
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 […]
IoT network for farmers
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 […]
The Australian Digital Media Industry Continues its Transformation
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 […]
Consolidation in Australia’s VOD Market Begins
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 […]
The remarkable story of Fetch
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 […]
The Next Big Thing
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 […]
Vodafone New Zealand’s merger with Sky shows continuing pressure to provide a full suite of services
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 […]
Pay TV market under increasing threat from Video Streaming market
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 […]
The Apps and Entertainment market continues to evolve
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 […]
China Continues to Evolve as a World Leader in the Digital Media Sector
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 […]
The global streaming revolution is taking place
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 […]
VR demand set to grow, but little prospect for telcos
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 […]
Will STEM and flipped classrooms lead the e-education transformation?
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 […]
The maturing of the sharing economy
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 […]
Will telcos become the OTT players in smart energy?
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 […]
The Internet Monopoly
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 […]