Converge or be damned – Lord Carter’s new world order

The Australian media, communications and technology industries have been urged to act as a united front in the creation of a new public policy framework by former UK communications minister, OFCOM's founding CEO and current Alcatel Lucent President and MD for Europe Middle East & Africa, Lord Stephen Carter. “The …

[GrumpyOldBloke]

>an opportunity to be engine room of content creation...

There is nothing stopping Australian plumbers and poets becoming an engine room of content creation today, just as there was nothing stopping them yesterday - but it didn't happen and it wont happen tomorrow. While the former politician can wax lyrical about our communications infrastructure he completely ignores the tax structure in place in Australia that acts as a massive disincentive to all risky startup ventures, especially those featuring ephemeral products like software or media content. Starting 2012 tax collectors will be working even harder to collect the carbon tax as well as anything else they can get their hands on to pay for the governments share of the national fibre network.

The proposed TPP free trade agreement will probably introduce draconian penalties for IP theft which will deter ISP's from hosting new media streams that have not come from authorised sources - much as a previous generation of the agreement did in South Korea. The Nanny state, the cost of media classification and threats of internet censorship will also inhibit Australia achieving this glorious content based future.

So while the former politician can swan around blowing sunshine up darkened places, infrastructure alone will not allow Australia to reach this glorious pinnacle of which he speaks. Such a future could only start once the public sector got its hands off our wallets and its noses out of our lives - ie no time soon.

[jestersbro]

In the search for the profit/Prophet?

I didn't know the communications industry was deeply involved in religion...

“The communications industry is infinitely stronger when it is treated as a converged community in the development of a policy in the management of the politics and in the search for the profit,”

Although it does explain why leaders of large media & comms businesses seem to think and behave as if they are holier than thou.