Published on the 29/05/2014 | Written by Beverley Head
Just a fortnight after learning it would lose Federal Funding in two years’ time NICTA has signed a deal to work with Telstra on joint research programmes…
NICTA is the first organisation to join the Telstra Research Partnership Programme. Telstra has however signalled it also hopes to sign similar arrangements with the University of Technology, Sydney, Deakin University and health research organisation The George Institute.
As part of its research agenda NICTA and Telstra will work together on issues including network media strategy, predictive network demand modelling, data trust and security and desktop as a service.
Telstra chief operations officer Kate McKenzie said that as part of the research collaboration: “We want to gain further insights into the growing demand on our networks and how that can further inform our overall network strategy and investment approach.
“We’re also looking at the security and privacy of the data our customers entrust in Telstra and exploring future products and services that can give customers more control over how their data is used.”
Network modelling and data security are particularly pertinent for Telstra given its announcement last week that it is going to build a national wi-fi network by piggybacking on its customer’s broadband connections.
The Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull said of the collaboration announcement: “It is great to see first-class organisations like Telstra and NICTA working together to accelerate innovation. If Australia is to retain its competitive position in the global economy and support the growth of advanced, knowledge-intensive industries, collaborations like this are vital.”
Just a fortnight ago the minister was lauding NICTA for its contribution to Australian innovation, but warning that it would “have to stand on its own feet from 2016″.
While the value of the deal to NICTA has not been revealed, Telstra said the overall Research Partner Programme was a multi-million dollar exercise.
CSIRO meanwhile which is also facing swingeing budget cuts is planning to cut jobs and research programmes. According to a report on the ABC citing an annual directions statement penned by CSIRO chief executive Megan Clarke, one of the areas facing significant cuts is CSIRO’s radio telescope research group which famously invented wi-fi – the very technology that Telstra is now relying on to deliver a competitive edge.
