The Federal Government and private sector will invest up to $43 billion over eight years in a super-fast national broadband network, in the “single biggest infrastructure decision in Australia’s history”.

The significance of this announcement reaches far beyond the actual construction implications. The proposed National Broadband Network will affect how Australian’s do business, communicate, consume media and compete internationally.

There will also be an immediate effect, despite the projected 8 year roll-out, as companies begin positioning for what will be a very different future.

The fibre-to-the-premise network will run to 90% of homes and businesses offering speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. The remaining homes and businesses will be reached via wireless and satellite technologies offering speeds of 12 megabits per second.

Companies with strong online businesses should do well now as their future now seems so much brighter.

Superfast broadband will accelerate the move of content online and media companies with strong online strategies will be the best positioned in this exciting future.

Futurist and digital media commentator Mark Pesce wrote in SMH:

Very high-speed broadband of the kind the Government promises will completely change our expectations for the internet. It’s not simply that pages will load faster (and they may not, as that’s more to do with the computers serving those pages than the computer displaying them), it’s the new things that become possible…..

The next-generation broadband network (NBN) opens up possibilities we can’t even dream of today, because we don’t yet live in the world of super high-speed broadband….

Next-generation smartphones will tie into the network to become our points of presence within a “cloud” of information about ourselves, created by ourselves, and shared with those we love and trust.

Having just returned from two digital media conferences in the USA, and observing media consumption habits there, the National Broadband Network announcement seems very timely. Australia has been lagging behind much of the Western world with our slower Internet speeds, and our current network will clearly not cope with, or accept the demands of emerging media.

Whilst in the US I posted about how web technology is changing the face of television there. Privately, I was lamenting the fact that the existing Australian network probably wouldn’t foster such innovation. Suddenly, that is all about to change.

If traditional media in Australia wasn’t already worried (and they are), then they will be terrified now. Most haven’t positioned themselves well for a digital future. Radio has been avoiding the issue and delaying a digital launch. Television is reluctantly launching this year with half-hearted digital stations. Press has been seeing ad-sales drop rapidly as online eats into their readership and influence. Only Kerry Stokes and his Seven Network seem remotely prepared for change.

Australian businesses must begin taking their digital presence seriously. The game is about to change dramatically and those companies that are prepared will be in a position to make a quantum leap.

Social networks will explode. Web video will be fast and effective and ever-present. Advertising and marketing will change forever. New businesses will be launched at a rapid rate, betting on every aspect of a high speed digital future.

Nobody should under-estimate the implications of the National Broadband Network. We were already at a turning point in history, but it just received a kick-along.

Will you be ready or will you be left behind?

SNOBS is an online magazine designed for businesswomen and providing relevant information, news and events. SNOBS embraces social media philosophies of online community, open feedback and citizen journalism.

Carlee describes SNOBS as “an online magazine and social network for businesswomen. It is a resource for news, information and advice where career-driven women can connect with fresh industry contacts and keep in touch with valued friends.”

A former Newcastle radio announcer (NEWFM and NXFM) and freelance journalist (Sun Herald and Ralph), Carlee has moved boldly into the digital publishing world with SNOBS. The site mixes conventional magazine-style columns and social events coverage with interactive events calendars, citizen journalism and networking opportunities.

The site was designed and built by Sticky who continue to assist Carlee with her introduction to the world of social media. SNOBS will continue to evolve over the coming months with more features and contributors.

"We have been closely observing the changes to the modern media
landscape and feel that emerging media trends are becoming too
significant to ignore," said Sticky managing director Craig Wilson

"We have seen the future and it’s digital."

"As a result we have evolved to include Digital and Social media in
our core services and have released some revolutionary new products to
coincide with the changes."

Amongst the new offerings is Newcastle’s most dedicated Search Engine Optimisation package, allowing businesses to dramatically improve their rankings with online search engines.

Wilson says…."What is the point of a website that nobody sees?”

"So many websites have been poorly designed and do not perform well,
or at all, in Google, Yahoo and other searches. That is severely
hindering the online success of those businesses. We can fix this
quickly and cost-effectively."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has agreed with Fairfax Media Limited interim arrangements relating to the operations of community newspapers in the Newcastle area which are designed to ensure the competitive viability of the community newspapers recently sold by Fairfax.

In April 2007, the ACCC decided not to oppose the proposed acquisition of Rural Press Limited by Fairfax. It did so following the ACCC’s acceptance of an undertaking by Fairfax which addressed concerns about competition for advertising in the community newspaper sector in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area.

The undertaking required Fairfax to sell The Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Post and The Hunter Post, which are free weekly newspapers circulating in the Hunter Valley and the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region. Fairfax retained The Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Star and The Lower Hunter Star, which are free weekly newspapers with a similar circulation area to the Post, and which prior to the merger were owned by Rural Press.

Immediately prior to the sale of the Post in November 2007, a number of changes were made to the format and content of the Post, which the ACCC considered were inconsistent with the terms of Fairfax’s undertaking, and which may have affected the viability of the Post. The ACCC raised its concerns with Fairfax, which has now agreed to take steps to restore the Post to its pre-sale position.

The ACCC will continue to make inquiries into this matter and monitor the situation, to ensure that the Post is able to operate as a viable, competitive going concern.

Source: The Australian Author: Richard Gluyas

NEWSPAPER companies had to reinvent themselves and adapt to the advent of social networking sites where users create the content.

News Limited chairman John Hartigan told the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association annual conference in Melbourne, that online world was changing traditional media "at an ever increasing rate".

"Now our customers want to be part of the process, not just be a passive receiver of content," he said.

"Customers are contributing their own content and the line between the traditional content producers and consumers starts to blur.

"We are moving from a speech to a conversation."

Despite this trend, Mr Hartigan said the power of print should not be underestimated.

Newspapers still attracted the biggest share of advertising revenue _ an estimated $3.9 billion in Australia in 2007.

This was expected to grow next year but at a reduced rate, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Furthermore, advertising in the print sector of newspapers, magazines and books would exceed $5 billion in 2008, or more than 40 per cent of the total media and entertainment advertising pie.

And next year, the nation would spend more than $4 billion on printed products _ equal to one-third of spending on all media.

"Newspapers are far from dead and certainly not, one could argue, in trouble," Mr Hartigan said.