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The Year Ahead in Communications 2007

Date: Friday, 16 February 2007 to Saturday, 17 February 2007
Venue: Novotel Northbeach, 2-14 Cliff Road, North Wollongong

Click here to download the workshop program.

Friday, 16 February
SESSION 1 (10:00 - 11:30): Digital, connected users: what is happening at home and on the street?
Ian McGarrity, Chairman, Digital Broadcasting Australia
Len Wallis, Managing Director, Len Wallis Audio

  • What digital equipment, devices, software are people buying?
  • What progress on integrating all the gear, for average as well as high-end households?
  • How much is wireless or mobile, and how much is fixed?
  • When will digital TV (HD or even SD) become the norm?


SESSION 2 (12:00 - 1:15):  Will $1.1bn make a difference to regional telecoms?
Peter Shore, Chairman, Lonely Planet (session chair)
Jason Horley, General Manager, Elders Telecommunications
John Porter, CEO, AUSTAR
Ric Clark, CTO, Alcatel Lucent Australasia

  • What might be achieved through Connect Australia ($1.1bn) including its offspring Broadband Connect ($878m)?
  • Integrating WiMax and fixed technologies, for telephony-like and mass-market services.
  • Will the advantages of friendly local councils, wireless technologies and convergence turn the regions into trailblazers?


SESSION 3 (2:15 - 3:45):  Investment challenges across telecoms and media
Gerry Moriarty, Chairman, Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group
Clark Butler, Head of Sourcing, Westpac Banking Corporation
Richard Alcock, Chairman, Allco Managed Investment Funds Limited

  • What’s happening globally; and availability of global capital
  • Assessing the effect of current trends such as private equity and PPPs
  • Opportunities for innovative and alternative models of co-operative investment
  • Impact of regulatory decisions, including ACCC


SESSION 4 (4:15 - 5:45):  Digital entertainment and info: what is working best?
Martin Dalgleish, CEO Convergent Media, PBL
Guy Gadney, President, AIMIA
Moya Dodd, Vice President, CRA International

  • Which Internet and IP-based services, from games to gambling, are most likely to succeed?
  • Prospects for podcasting, mobile TV and other things on a tiny screen with earbuds.
  • Is there a bankable version of user-generated content?
  • Digital rights management and music


Saturday, 17 February
SESSION 5 (9:30 - 11:00):  Marrying traditional media and new platforms
Kim Dalton, Director, ABC TV
Jack Matthews, CEO Fairfax Digital
Damian Smith, General Manager, Digital Media, Network TEN

  • How in practice to run convergent, cross-platform production and releases
  • What kinds of news, sport, and drama are working via the Internet and mobiles
  • Cross-promotion and cross-selling: are they just an investment banker’s dream?


SESSION 6 (11:30 - 1:00):  Changes in media ownership
Bob Peters, Director, Global Media Analysis
Ian McGill, Partner, Allens Arthur Robinson

  • From the moves now in the pipeline, what will new players look like?
  • How do transactions actually get completed under the new laws, and how big is the first mover advantage?
  • What opportunities might open for new and different players?


SESSION 7A (concurrent 2:00 - 3:30) Changes in consumer attitudes
David Gibbs, Executive Director, dSales (session chair)
Leigh Terry, Managing Partner, OMD
Dominic Arena, Associate Director, Information, Comms, Entertainment, KPMG
Rob Leach, Head of MCn Connect

  • Where are consumers driving convergent and traditional media?
  • What will be the impact on mobile, broadband and interactive services?
  • Will advertisers need to change their attitude, or just their buying practices?


SESSION 7B:  (concurrent 2:00 - 3:30) Mobile and wireless broadband
Ian Martin, Senior Telecommunications Anaylst, ABN AMRO Research
Anthony Goonan, Director, Wireless Fundamental Planning, Telstra
Simon Curry, Group Manager, Communications & Media Group, Asia Pacific, Intel

  • The various 3Gs, NextG, WiMax and other approaches: what speed and coverage do they deliver?
  • Does NextG change the economics of the whole wireless data market?
  • How will all these changes shake down over the next two years:  survival of the fittest, or endless revolution?


General Issues in all sessions:
There are also three wide-ranging issues not confined to one session, although they will arise in many:

  • In broadband, the prospects for resolving the policy stalemate over investment in fibre, and related access issues
  • Licence A and licence B, to be allocated soon, each involving many new digital broadcasting channels
  • The widespread 2007 restructuring of media groups following from the changes in the Broadcasting Services Act


Information about the 'Year Ahead in Communications' workshop
The purpose is to give all our extended family of sponsors and advisers the chance to get across the key issues facing them, in less than two days. This is nothing like other conferences or seminars.  We call it a workshop, but there is no one word to exactly describe it.  Our experts raise issues for a few minutes, then follow through in response to the participants.

Who is invited?  Anyone who works for one of our sponsors, namely: Telstra, Optus, AAPT, Alcatel, Fairfax, Network Ten, Nine Network, Seven Network, FOXTEL, News Limited, PBL, Allens Arthur Robinson, Accenture, AUSTAR, Australian Capital Equity, Clayton Utz, KPMG and Macquarie Bank.

This about real convergence.  People from media, telecommunications and IT share insights across industry boundaries and sectors, in a safe, neutral, academic environment.  It happens nowhere else.

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