National security: NBN politics hots up

OPTUS has accused Telstra of fanning xenophobia by raising the threat posed by Chinese espionage in the new national broadband network.

National security remains a major issue with broadband networks, keeping the politics of communications networks firmly within the bounds of the nation-state.

This situation is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Indeed, the history of the telegraph followed the same trajectory. Telegraph networks within nation-states were a domestic issue, while the international connections were mostly unfettered as John Pender built his global empire of submarine cables.

In the meantime, it seems that the politics of national security remains a significant factor in the deployment of the NBN. The nation-state necessarily remains a sticking point for the evolution of global communications networks. Maybe there is a greater role here for the ITU?

The surprise is that comments on the article in AustralianIT (read more below) are not bashing Telstra, but are heavily focused on the Singaporean Government's majority control of SingTel Optus and the Chinese Government's ownership of Huawei Technologies.

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ACCC uncomfortable with Vodafone-Hutchison merger

Would this merger lead to higher prices, or provide a real competitor to Telstra and Optus?

I am not convinced that allowing the merger between Vodafone and Hutchison will be necessarily bad for the mobile telephony sector. Throughout the history of telecommunications, larger firms enabled better network coverage and coordination - three major competitors is surely better than two competitors on different tiers within the sector?

Maybe things have changed, but I remember ditching Vodafone and other smaller providers because their coverage was simply second-rate. I am not advocating this merger, but neither am I convinced that such a merger will necessarily lead to higher prices... it might even set the scene for other niche providers to merge as a fourth competitor. It will be interesting to see the response from Telstra and Optus.

Read more on the IT News article below...

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Canadian Govt e-consults on Net Neutrality

Canadian blogger Michael Geist reports on the CRTC's use of an online forum to consult on Net Neutrality. The forum will become part of the public record of the consultation:

The comments and discussion resulting from this consultation will help shape the upcoming CRTC hearing on Internet traffic management practices, as well as form part of the public record. We welcome your participation and thank you for sharing your opinions on the various topics.