Telstra's NBN silver lining?

With the politicking over people can now start to concentrate on what the NBN is really all about. And we didn't have to wait long for that to begin – within days of the legislation being passed by parliament some very interesting announcements were made.

First, Telstra indicated that it is going to use some of the $11 billion it will receive for its participation and contribution to the project to make acquisitions in areas where they believe that the NBN will deliver growth – and that is, in particular, in the trans-sector services.

Vodafone didn't wait long either and announced it will increase investments in Australia now the NBN is going ahead.

Cloud computing will be the key facilitating technology on the NBN. It will allow the various sectors, industries, companies and other groups to deliver services to their customers, to do business, and to communicate with other parties within their ecosystems and beyond. It has been estimated that cloud computing could reduce 30 per cent of costs in relation to the current communication methods used for that purpose.

The NBN is ideally positioned for cloud computing.

Also, in the same week, Ministers Conroy and Roxon announced significant e-health projects

The Health Minister launched a discussion paper outlining how the government will spend $352 million to support the introduction of online specialist consultations, including video conferencing, for Australians living in rural, remote and outer metropolitan areas. The initiative is due to begin in July 2011 and will provide around 495,000 services over four years.

The Minister for Broadband announced telehealth trials for Armidale and Kiama in NSW when the NBN is rolled out early next year. The government will provide funding of up to $4 million under a National Partnership Agreement, as part of the Digital Regions Initiative.

But, as BuddeComm has said many times, the new legislation very importantly also provides certainty for the transition period and this is creating excellent business opportunities for those organisations who can maximise the opportunities at hand within that period.

The transition stage could last for eight years and several players are in a position to obtain a good return on investments made within 12-18 months. ISPs, telcos and their vendors are already jockeying for position here. Given the uncertainty of the past few years most players had put investment on hold, and there is a pent-up demand that can now be satisfied.

Interestingly, wireless and HFC companies were the quickest off the mark with ideas and suggestions for the interim period – and good on them. They can build a bridge to the NBN and in that way secure their own position moving into the future.

Australian consumers are arguably some of the world's best-informed people when it comes to broadband thanks to the massive attention that the NBN has received. Companies should home in on this and provide services based on the upcoming better wholesale regime, to win as many broadband customers as possible. That will give them a head start on the NBN.

Already several overseas companies have indicated that they want to expand their operations in Australia – in particular several American companies understand the advantages of using Australia, with its NBN as a test bed for the development of new technologies, applications and business models.

Following up on our NBN presentation to businesses in London earlier this year, several of those companies have since visited Australia looking for business opportunities. The diverse group included an infrastructure company, software developers – with a focus on operational and business support systems, as well as cloud computing – and a components manufacturer for infrastructure equipment.

Offshore companies that already operate in Australia are also interested in significantly increasing their presence here – creating hundreds of new jobs.

Risk-averse Australian investors should quickly move off the fence and participate in those new opportunities also. Obviously those who are flexible and nimble enough will be able to benefit the most from the opportunities that are going to arise during this transition period.

Paul Budde is the managing director of BuddeComm, an independent telecommunications research and consultancy company, which includes 45 national and international researchers in 15 countries.