A new financial year has commenced, and with it comes high anticipation of what can be achieved as the Telco Authority enters its second year as a statutory authority.
The Authority continues to build capacity in order to achieve its Corporate Plan and Government objectives. Recruitment action has been prioritised with the target to fill key positions, ensuring the commencement and delivery of priority projects.
The Corporate Plan calls for the establishment of a Spectrum Management Office (SMO) to ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to the allocation of radio spectrum, working towards efficient spectrum management. Upon establishment, the SMO will work collaboratively across NSW Government agencies to ensure the ongoing availability of spectrum to NSW. I look forward to updating you on the progress made by the SMO.
The Telecommunications Services Functional Area has recently established a sub-committee. The sub-committee will support better incident planning and create more effective communication channels for dealing with telecommunications issues during critical incidents such as the current bushfires. As a key business activity for the Authority, I am pleased to report that membership comprises a range of stakeholders, including telecommunications carriers and representatives from across the NSW Government including law enforcement and emergency services.
The successful International Naval Fleet Review was held to commemorate the centenary of the first entry of the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet into Sydney. As part of the Authority’s new approach to network management, a more proactive stance was undertaken with key user agencies consulted, risk management and contingency plans developed and pre-emptory site inspections conducted to handle any potential issues that may have arisen during a period of significant network demand.
The Authority recently met with Paul Steinberg, Global CTO of Motorola Solutions. In a productive meeting with our strategic partner, Mr Steinberg outlined Motorola’s vision for unified communications for front line personnel combining radio with mobile data, telemetry and wearable devices. Processes were agreed upon for the Authority to directly access lead United States-based technical resources to resolve complex issues and provide product development input going forward.
In other news, in early October Motorola Solutions, working in partnership with the Authority, commenced the second and final stage of the upgrade to the Government Radio Network core. The upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of October.
A planning day for the Board has been set for November 2013 in which we will revise the Corporate Plan in preparation for the Telco Authority’s 2014 activities.
I, the Board and our strategic business partners are looking forward to the productive year ahead.
Regards,
Rod Gilmour
Chairperson, NSW Telco Authority