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Comms Connect 2014 keynote presentation

Welcome

Thank you Kit and thank you Comms Connect for asking the NSW

Telco Authority to open today’s proceedings.

It’s pleasing to see such a wide representation including international

guests here this morning to participate in this important conference.

I’d also like to welcome and acknowledge RFS Commissioner Shane

Fitzsimmons, who is a member of the Telco Authority Board.

I’d like to introduce some key staff from the Authority – you may already

be familiar with some of them:

Shaun Smith, who is the Executive Director of the Authority

Phil King, our Chief Technology Officer and

Simon Statton, who’s role is to develop relationships with our many

stakeholders and to be an advocate for agencies and the Authority

I encourage you all to engage with our staff during the conference

The NSW Telco Authority is about ‘Building a sustainable future for

government operational telecommunications’

In the current environment everyone everywhere is expected to do

more with less – Government is no exception

Organisation’s budgets and staff are under pressure, yet we are all

required to do more

Demand for spectrum is in increasing, technology is rapidly changing,

and government needs to keep up

Overlaying all of this is demand for services that rely on improved

technology

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The frequency and impact of natural disasters and other

major incidents and events are on the rise. It seems that we

experience so called once in a lifetime events more and more

There have been a string of natural disasters that have

affected Australia over the last few years: for example the October

2014 bushfires (shown here), the QLD floods (Dec10-Jan11) and

Cyclone Yasi (feb11) – which have highlighted the need for improved

communications technologies

In our increasingly connected world, people expect communications

to be available and working 24/7. We have all developed an

increased dependency on communications to better support the

community and emergency services to do their jobs

There is also increased community engagement with available

comms to send and receive information in emergencies – the

community now relies more on social media than traditional media

I’m sure Shane will discuss in his keynote presentation

Traditionally, government agencies have been provided with

separate budgets to meet their own dedicated requirements. This

has led to duplication

The Telco Authority has a unique view across the whole sector that

enables us to maximise benefits

Agencies also have their own unique needs, some are quite small

with operational telecommunications is not their area of expertise

Our portfolio view allows us to identify where the differences and

similarities lie and where there are opportunities to consolidate and

coordinate

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What we’re facing in a do nothing scenario will mean a

significant investment to maintain and replace current

systems, without any gain in service improvements

I know radiocommunications professionals are passionate

about what they do, and strive to deliver quality services to

frontline staff

Unfortunately, when you have a lot of agencies doing their own thing

you end up with duplication, waste and inefficiencies

The Telco Authority has been set up to harness the opportunities to

coordinate on behalf of the NSW Government to make sure we’re

doing what’s required to meet community expectations and to be

sustainable

Our role is to improve coordination and provide high quality, efficient

services across the operational telecommunications sector that are

relevant, and provide much needed support to frontline workers now

and into the future

The introduction of new technology comes at a cost – but it also

provides a chance to improve service delivery to the community

If the sector wants to remain sustainable we have to make key

strategic decisions now and in the coming years to better enable us

to fight crime and terrorism, save lives, and defend properties under

threat from natural causes

Like many sectors of Government, the provision of mobile

radio and data services is undergoing reform

We’re getting on with the reform program, which is

consistent with the NSW Government’s 2021 plan

We’re delighted to have active and positive support from

our former Minister – the Hon Andrew Constance, who is now the

Treasurer

We also already have support from our newly appointed Minister –

the Hon Dominic Perrottet

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The Telco Authority supports NSW Government agencies that

use operational telecommunications for critical and non-critical

purposes

We are an Authority with coordinating responsibilities. We are here to

advocate for the needs and requirements of NSW government and

the community, now and in the future

The Telco Authority Board has a mix of public and private sector

experience. The Board provides strategic direction and sets policy for

the sector

We are here to add value for NSW government service providers and

the community

Our mantra is – if we’re not adding value for our customers, we’re not

doing our job

We recognise the important role emergency service and law

enforcement agencies have in the community

We are partnering with agencies to fully understand their

requirements and plan for the future to make sure we provide the

right direction and guidance to meet their needs

We coordinate responses to telecommunications outages during

major emergencies and natural disasters

We act as a link between carriers and emergency service agencies

to protect carrier infrastructure in emergencies because it provides

the link between agencies and the community

So what are we doing and what have we done so far?

Over the past 3 years, we’ve learnt a lot about what’s out

there – and there’s much more work to do

More than 70 NSW Government agencies currently own

and/or operate independent radio networks to support their

operations

Our investigation has shown that there are over 3,200

telecommunications sites across NSW

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We are working with agencies to identify how we can make best use

of what we have by coordinating our activities to help save agencies

time and money

Here’s an example of where we could do this – three

towers in one location, all paying rent, licenses,

maintenance etc, and leasing space on another tower

A more effective approach can be achieved with the

Authority having this whole of government view and

identifying where we can consolidate

Through the use of shared networks and infrastructure, we are able to

better manage increasing demand for spectrum, get increasing

economies of scale and offer agencies affordable radio services

The 2014 Corporate Plan supports this work

It gives our clients, and the sector more generally, a road map on

how we intend to drive service improvements and sector

capability, while also increasing efficiency and ensuring we get

access to the right resources, tools and information

I am pleased to advise that last week the Telco Board approved

the new plan, and details will be available on the Telco Authority

website shortly

Already the Telco Authority has made significant gains over the past 3

years

For the first time we have an accurate picture of what’s out there

We have worked hard at creating an environment that promotes

collaboration between agencies

All of this work increases efficiencies – allowing agencies to save

money and gain access to the latest technology at more competitive

prices

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We have undertaken a significant amount of work in better

managing contracts with service providers, as well as providing

agencies with the support and intelligence to make their own

decisions on the most cost effective way to have their

communications needs met

We have developed relationships with a broad group of suppliers

through the procurement scheme established in 2013

The scheme has allowed organisations to supply equipment,

infrastructure and services to the sector, and allows agencies to

match the right vendor to the right job

It provides simplified access for NSW Government buyers and industry

vendors, and promotes increased competitiveness to enable all

agencies to get better value for money

There are currently over 100 approved private sector suppliers

including small and medium businesses participating across NSW

We are also looking at the long term strategic direction for

operational telecommunications services

This is to ensure that public safety and essential service

agencies have the right tools to allow them to deliver

services to the NSW community and explore how the Authority and

industry can better support the sector in providing modern, robust

and reliable technology to frontline staff

It will build on sector-wide planning work undertaken in 2013/14 and

outline innovative ways to transform the sector from one where

agencies need to build, own and operate their own dedicated

networks, to one where they have access to the right service delivery

model

All of the work we are doing will help to ensure government

operational telecommunications remains sustainable and relevant;

the people who provide services to the NSW community are able to

do their jobs and have the best possible support

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We’re here to make agencies lives easier

To achieve reform we have had to build our capability

We’ve had real change – in our culture and approach

We’ve come a long way and delivered real results in the last 3 years

These things only happen when you have an effective management

team. They understood the task and got on with it

At the same time we have a board that is focused on setting the

overall strategic direction

I am confident that the Board and Authority management, with

support from the Minister, will continue to deliver results based on the

objectives that are set out in our 2014/15 Corporate Plan

One of the key people on our Board is the next speaker – Shane

Fitzsimmons

RFS is doing a fantastic job under Shane’s leadership. I’m sure Shane

will talk about new ways they are engaging with the community

In closing - we welcome participation and collaboration with the

sector

Please come and see Shaun, Phil, Simon or myself – we are happy to

engage during the conference

I wish you all a very productive conference. Thank you