Issue: 12/08

ATUG 2008 Regional Conference

April 2, 2008

ATUG's 6th Annual Conference on Regional Communications will be held in Canberra on 20-21 May 2008.

Since last year's conference there has been a change of Government, new Minister and new Department name all reflecting a new outlook on communications policy and the answers for regional end users

New policy and funding decisions are now key to current discussions. With the major focus being the National Broadband Network policies and proposals.

Since ATUG 2007 Regional Conference, Local and State governments have continued to work to define and develop their individual role and to coordinate outcomes for end users far more effectively.

ATUG has been part of the journey for communications solutions for Regional Australia - with our Regional Conferences and Regional Roadshows. Starting with Demand Aggregation, HiBIS #1 and the efforts of local communities and governments in working with providers to accelerate and extend access to broadband. Then, with, the Telstra sale legislation passing in 2005 we saw reconfirmation of basic protections -the Universal Service Obligation, Customer Service Guarantee and National Reliability Framework policies, and the introduction of the Telstra Local Presence Plan and the Independent Regional Review process. T3 was also accompanied by a significant increase in funding for services in regional areas.

Now the debate for Regional Australia has taken a significant turn with the issues remaining alive and growing in importance.

All this adds up to make ATUG's 2008 Regional Conference timely and pertinent.

ATUG's 2008 Regional Conference will cover The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy's, recent announcement that the OPEL broadband network will not proceed.
Click here for Senator Conroy's statement
Optus/Elders statement will be made available on the ATUG website as soon as it’s released

In the framework of solutions for Regional Australia, the conference will also cover Telstra's CDMA switch off, updates on WiMAX and 3G, Australia's National Broadband Network, the new FTTN Expert Panel, ADSL2+, policy and regulatory updates and most importantly case studies from end users in regional Australia about the developments and needs they are currently facing.

Join us in Canberra – May 2008