Telecom Australia Research Articles

Vale Doug Campbell (1939–2023)

Doug Campbell commenced his life and career in Canada. He joined the Australian telecommunications sector in mid-career and made extended contributions in many different senior management positions in Telecom Australia and Telstra, particularly in modernising the Telstra network, in establishing and managing Telstra Country Wide, and, then, in the early phase of the national broadband network, in NBN Co. Doug died on 2 December 2023, and is sadly missed by his family, friends and former colleagues. This tribute, to which many have contributed, seeks to set Doug’s life and career in the context of the times. He was at the table, often as the key decision-maker, during many of the significant changes in the telecommunications industry during the last decade of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.

Percy Rollo Brett OBE (1923–2022)

Percy Rollo Brett OBE (11 November 1923 to 8 August 2022) was a highly respected head of the PMG/APO (later Telecom Australia/Telstra) Research Laboratories between 1964 and 1975. He was promoted to Head of Planning for Telecom Australia in July 1975, and then State Manager, Victoria for that organization in 1980–1983. Rollo’s achievements as Director of the Research Laboratories included building links with Australian universities to strengthen the Laboratories’ expertise in longer term research, and masterminding the Laboratories’ move from six different sites in central Melbourne to a single site, in purpose-designed buildings in Clayton, opposite Monash University’s main campus. In the early 1970s, he used the expertise he gained as Chairman of the Telecommunications and Electronics Standards Committee of the Standards Association of Australia to lead the Australian Post Office’s conversion of all its standards to metric. Upon retirement in 1983 he was awarded the OBE.

Federal Court Disagrees with SingTel Australia that Interest Paid to British Virgin Islands Company Was Arm’s Length

In Singapore Telecom Australia Investments Pty Ltd v. Commissioner of Taxation, Moshinsky J has agreed with the Commissioner that SingTel Australia paid excessive interest on an AUD 5.2 billion loan from its British Virgin Islands holding company. Moshinsky J therefore upheld amended assessments disallowing interest deductions of AUD 894 million. However, the simplicity of the result belies the complexity of the Australian transfer pricing provisions and his Honour’s lengthy and careful reasoning. The authors examine the decision in detail and conclude that, despite the Commissioner's success, the transfer pricing landscape in Australia remains uncertain and unpredictable – especially given the taxpayer’s recent (2021) win in Commissioner of Taxation v. Glencore Investment Pty Ltd. All transfer pricing matters clearly need to be considered separately on a case-by-case basis.

The Charismatic Organization: Vision 2000 and Corporate Change in a State-Owned Organization

British Telecom’s 1984 partial privatization set in motion the privatization and deregulation of many international state-owned telecommunications carriers. Most previous research on the privatization and deregulation of state-owned telecommunications carriers has focused on the economic outcomes. However, this was also a time of changes in managerial practice and thinking influenced by organizational theory. This article presents an analysis of the use of the prescriptions of Rosabeth Kanter in the attempted reform of the organizational culture of Australia’s largest business in the 1980s: the government-owned telecommunications monopoly Telecom Australia (now Telstra). It details the attempt to transform Telecom under the incipient threat of the introduction of competition to the telecommunications market and demonstrates how the country’s largest change management program, Vision 2000, represented an alternative approach to telecommunications reform.

Vale Roger Banks: A Tribute

Roger Banks, who was well known to many in the telecommunications industry, passed away in January 2018. He retired as Telecom Australia’s Director of Business Development in 1988, having made significant contributions to Telecom’s commercial development and customer focus. His early career included significant leadership in CCITT’s switching studies. This obituary outlines his life from the early days in Victoria, through his career with the PMG and Telecom, to his post-retirement contributions as a board member and supporter of engineering education.

Vale Roger Banks: A Tribute

Roger Banks, who was well known to many in the telecommunications industry, passed away in January 2018. He retired as Telecom Australia’s Director of Business Development in 1988, having made significant contributions to Telecom’s commercial development and customer focus. His early career included significant leadership in CCITT’s switching studies. This obituary outlines his life from the early days in Victoria, through his career with the PMG and Telecom, to his post-retirement contributions as a board member and supporter of engineering education.

Telstra's Future Mode of Operation - the transformation of the Telstra's Network - 1992/93

The Australian & Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (AOTC), later Telstra, was established on 1st January, 1992, as a government owned corporation and as the national telecommunications carrier.At the same time the Australian telecommunications market was deregulated and network competition was expected to begin within several months.Studies had indicated that AOTC's inter-exchange network was perhaps five years behind similar networks in the USA and uncompetitive with the network to be built by the incoming competitor, Optus Communications (Optus).AOTC's first Chief Executive Officer, Frank Blount, was an experienced senior executive of A&T, one of the most respected telecommunications businesses in the world, which had been operating in the highly competitive telecommunications market in the USA over the previous eight years. Blount decided that one of his highest priorities, if not the highest, was a major transformation of the AOTC's inter-exchange network.Within seven months the AOTC board approved Plan D, an interim hybrid strategy which broadly achieved what was required for the network to be competitive. Within fourteen months the Board approved the Future Mode of Operation (FMO), a strategy to achieve a fully competitive, almost fully digital inter-exchange network which would approach world parity within five years. The FMO strategy would leap a gap close to ten years within five years.This is the story of the rationale and planning to launch Plan D and the FMO, the building of the first competitive telecommunications network strategy in the Postmaster General's Department (PMG), Telecom Australia (Telecom) and AOTC (Telstra) in over 90 years.

Telstra's Future Mode of Operation - the transformation of the Telstra's Network - 1992/93

The Australian & Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (AOTC), later Telstra, was established on 1st January, 1992, as a government owned corporation and as the national telecommunications carrier.At the same time the Australian telecommunications market was deregulated and network competition was expected to begin within several months.Studies had indicated that AOTC's inter-exchange network was perhaps five years behind similar networks in the USA and uncompetitive with the network to be built by the incoming competitor, Optus Communications (Optus).AOTC's first Chief Executive Officer, Frank Blount, was an experienced senior executive of A&T, one of the most respected telecommunications businesses in the world, which had been operating in the highly competitive telecommunications market in the USA over the previous eight years. Blount decided that one of his highest priorities, if not the highest, was a major transformation of the AOTC's inter-exchange network.Within seven months the AOTC board approved Plan D, an interim hybrid strategy which broadly achieved what was required for the network to be competitive. Within fourteen months the Board approved the Future Mode of Operation (FMO), a strategy to achieve a fully competitive, almost fully digital inter-exchange network which would approach world parity within five years. The FMO strategy would leap a gap close to ten years within five years.This is the story of the rationale and planning to launch Plan D and the FMO, the building of the first competitive telecommunications network strategy in the Postmaster General's Department (PMG), Telecom Australia (Telecom) and AOTC (Telstra) in over 90 years.

30 Years After Launch

This year is the 30th anniversary of Telecom Australia's launch of the cellular mobile service in Australia. There has been a huge evolution in mobile services since then.The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) introduced a manually (operator) connected mobile service in Australia in 1950. As this service approached full capacity, Telecom launched a Public Automatic Mobile Telephone Service (PAMTS) in 1981. The PAMTS service had no future technology evolution, a 12 year life, and reached a peak of 14,000 customers.By 1985 a small engineering team had developed a cellular mobile service concept based on the Analogue Mobile Phone Service (AMPS ) standard. Development was accelerated and refined and the service was launched in 1987, arguably two and perhaps three years late.This is the story of the development and launch of the service and the growth over the first four years to 1991.Noting the experience of cellular operators in the USA, Canada and the UK, Telecom's mobile service concept was a "gold standard" for cellular services around the world, and the service achieved one of the fastest growth rates in its early years.Within four years it was a cash flow powerhouse, and one of only three services within Telecom that were profitable; the others were the basic telephone service and directory publishing.When transferred to Telstra in 1992 it was a strategically strong, highly profitable business prepared to defend against competition being introduced into the Australian telecommunications market, and was a foundation of Telstra's financial strength for the next 30 years.

30 Years After Launch

This year is the 30th anniversary of Telecom Australia's launch of the cellular mobile service in Australia. There has been a huge evolution in mobile services since then.The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) introduced a manually (operator) connected mobile service in Australia in 1950. As this service approached full capacity, Telecom launched a Public Automatic Mobile Telephone Service (PAMTS) in 1981. The PAMTS service had no future technology evolution, a 12 year life, and reached a peak of 14,000 customers.By 1985 a small engineering team had developed a cellular mobile service concept based on the Analogue Mobile Phone Service (AMPS ) standard. Development was accelerated and refined and the service was launched in 1987, arguably two and perhaps three years late.This is the story of the development and launch of the service and the growth over the first four years to 1991.Noting the experience of cellular operators in the USA, Canada and the UK, Telecom's mobile service concept was a "gold standard" for cellular services around the world, and the service achieved one of the fastest growth rates in its early years.Within four years it was a cash flow powerhouse, and one of only three services within Telecom that were profitable; the others were the basic telephone service and directory publishing.When transferred to Telstra in 1992 it was a strategically strong, highly profitable business prepared to defend against competition being introduced into the Australian telecommunications market, and was a foundation of Telstra's financial strength for the next 30 years.

Colour Television in Australia

A historic paper from the Journal in 1976 regarding the colour conversion of transmitters in the National Television Service by Telecom Australia

Colour Television in Australia

A historic paper from the Journal in 1976 regarding the colour conversion of transmitters in the National Television Service by Telecom Australia

Microeconomic reform and the Whitlam Government: the case of telecommunications and post

Arguably the most important microeconomic reform of the 1970s in Australia was the abolition of the Post-Master General's Department (once generally known as the PMG, and later, as the Australian Post Office) and its replacement in 1975 with two more commercially focused organisations: Telecom Australia and Australia Post. At the time of its reform, the Post-Master General's Department was Australia's largest business undertaking and an organisation plagued with difficulties. This article analyses the impact of the reform in the general context of the Whitlam Government (1972–1975) and contemporary Australian economic performance. It also compares the Post-Master General's Department before 1975 with the efficiencies of the two replacement commissions in order to emphasise the reform's importance.

List Media: The Telephone Directory and the Arranging of Names

List Media: The Telephone Directory and the Arranging of Names

Back to the Future

A quarter of a century ago, Telstra's predecessor — Telecom Australia — attempted something that would be unthinkable in today's environment: it set out to provide a roadmap to the industry future 25 years ahead. Telecom 2000 fairly accurately predicted the major developments in technology, but was less successful in anticipating the changes in industry economics and structure, and the contest between market forces and the then-prevailing public utility model of service delivery. This article reviews the Telecom 2000 report and identifies the key challenges which remain to be addressed before Australia can capture the full benefits of the new digital era.

Fascinated by the Future: Interpreting Australian Telecommunications Policy Debates

ABSTRACT Rhetoric about the future has been a prominent theme in many areas of discussion about technology and change. As societies enter periods of change and uncertainty there is a growing need to deal with the future. This has been the case in the area of telecommunications policy in Australia but this feature of discourse is often taken for granted or not seen as problematic. This paper has two goals. First, it aims to analyse the significance of discourse about the future. This significance has a long historical precedent but it is intimately tied up with the notion of progress and technology. It has political ramifications since it functions to shore up expectations around specific interests—usually those of powerful corporations and governments. Second, it aims to relate the analysis about the future to recent Australian debates in telecommunications policy. Since many countries have been swept up in the enthusiasm for a telecommunications-based future, lessons from Australia may be very relevant. It is argued that some groups (users and consumer groups) would appear not to have had their expectations met in the areas of competition and universal service. In spite of this, some of Telecom Australia's views expressed in the 1975 planning exercise Telecom 2000 seem remarkably prescient today. This seeming paradox is discussed in terms of discourse on the future. A future based on an over reliance on technological or managerial determinism may well lock the country into a future of limited choice. It will be important that mechanisms are established to ensure that appropriate and timely choices can be made in telecommunications policy.

Linking Strategic Information Systems Concepts to Practice: Systems Integration at the Portfolio Level

Surveys during the past two decades have consistently shown that many of the most critical management concerns with information systems arise at the portfolio, rather than application, level. Architecture-driven planning with a view to the implementation of integrated information systems structures has been widely canvassed as a means of dealing with portfolio-level issues, particularly the problems of inconsistent data and uncoordinated processes which have affected many organizations in recent years. The benefits anticipated from this type of initiative have been such that many organizations have persisted with architecture-based strategies despite reports of high failure rates. This paper reports on some research into IS integration planning in the organization Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia)) during a period of 40 years. The research was conducted as an interpretive case study, with practitioners’ assessments and perspectives on IS planning being incorporated in the data analysis. The focus of the study was on four critical assumptions, which were identified during an initial review of the theoretical literature as having to hold true for an organization to expect success with this form of planning. The study revealed that none of these assumptions held reliably throughout the period studied, a point fundamental to understanding why relatively little progress was made towards published integration targets. The paper then canvasses the view that though traditionally understood as blueprints for implementation, information systems architectures could be reconceptualized as knowledge assets, with independent value as sources of core planning concepts. The conclusion drawn is that their use in this type of role could facilitate the achievement of many, if not all, of the benefits anticipated from more comprehensive approaches.

Linking strategic information systems concepts to practice: systems integration at the portfolio level

Surveys during the past two decades have consistently shown that many of the most critical management concerns with information systems arise at the portfolio, rather than application, level. Architecture-driven planning with a view to the implementation of integrated information systems structures has been widely canvassed as a means of dealing with portfolio-level issues, particularly the problems of inconsistent data and uncoordinated processes which have affected many organizations in recent years. The benefits anticipated from this type of initiative have been such that many organizations have persisted with architecture-based strategies despite reports of high failure rates. This paper reports on some research into IS integration planning in the organization Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia)) during a period of 40 years. The research was conducted as an interpretive case study, with practitioners' assessments and perspectives on IS planning being incorporated in the data analysis. The focus of the study was on four critical assumptions, which were identified during an initial review of the theoretical literature as having to hold true for an organization to expect success with this form of planning. The study revealed that none of these assumptions held reliably throughout the period studied, a point fundamental to understanding why relatively little progress was made towards published integration targets. The paper then canvasses the view that though traditionally understood as blueprints for implementation, information systems architectures could be reconceptualized as knowledge assets, with independent value as sources of core planning concepts. The conclusion drawn is that their use in this type of role could facilitate the achievement of many, if not all, of the benefits anticipated from more comprehensive approaches.

The Premature Burial of Natural Monopoly: Telecommunications Reform in Australia

The Australian telecommunications system has undergone radical reform since 1991. Indeed, along with New Zealand, Chile and Guatemala, Australia is viewed as one of the leaders in telecommunications reform (Spiller and Cardilli 1997). The former public monopoly, comprising Telecom Australia and the Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (OTC) has been corporatised, taking the name Telstra, and partially privatised.

On using PROMPT for the automatic implementation of the ISO ACSE protocol

Implementation of communication protocols requires a huge amount of programmers' effort. New protocols are being introduced and old ones are being updated. More effective methods are needed for fast implementation of new protocol standards. As formal description techniques mature, formal specification can facilitate automatic implementation of protocol standards through the use of a high-level compiler. This has the advantages of eliminating bugs introduced during programming development and producing fast implementation of the standards. This article describes use of the automated tool, PROMPT, developed by Telecom Australia, for the automatic implementation of an application layer protocol, the ISO association control service element protocol.