I enjoyed Tony Clear’s thoughts on what he thinks needs to be on the agenda for the Digital Summit. He floats the idea that we need to be more focussed on “collaboration” – I agree. Whilst government agencies are tending to opt out of directly supporting industry-wide technology networks and collaborative projects; more than ever we need a unified approach to telecommunications and digital content issues. No individual person or organisation appears to have the answer to making a proper economic business case for broadband, so we risk missing the boat if we don’t work together on these issues.
Clear has expertise in the area of virtual team collaboration and related technologies, so he has a lot of credibility when it comes to the topic of collaboration in the tech sector. But I’m sure he is also well aware that the issue cuts a great deal deeper than simply learning how to deploy and utilise e-collaboration applications. It’s also about how the industry gets on and finds partnerships to make things happen.
Interestingly, we are already noticing the beginnings of some far reaching strategic realignment in the telecommunications industry as minority operators realise that a collaborative approach is neccessary to address the opportunities emerging from unbundling. I hope this approach extends beyond simply funding and setting up flash new networks. I really hope somebody is thinking about what kind of creative content and applications will drive consumer uptake in the future.
 I’ve learnt recently that political headwinds and personal agendas can sometimes stop good ideas from seeing the light of day. Let’s hope that the Digital Summit can help break down some of the invisible barriers that stifle innovation in this great little country of ours.
I’d love to get some feedback from readers on this topic.
I think decide on a course of action and then tell the politicians. I don’t think they help very much and should be kept out of it as much as possible.
Is this Summit for software as well as hardware?
Hi Raf. It’s generally accepted that there won’t be much progress on the broadband front without some serious intervention by government. There has already been publicly funded investment in a high speed research network and a number of regional broadband setups. And of course the government has already intervened in the telecommunications sector to pressure Telecom to open its networks to other service providers.
The Digital Strategy Summit aims to consider the issues around how digital technology underpins the economy, encourages innovation and supports culture. I personally welcome the initiative because I believe we still have a long way to go to finding some sound economic reasons for a universal rollout of real broadband (and by real broadband I mean network speeds in the order of 2 to 100mbs – not the piddling rates that most consumers currently experience).