This month we’ve seen a few developments in the regulatory space that have us wondering about the future. We expect to see a new Online Safety Act pass in early June and with it will come the obligation to have a number of Codes in place to govern how we as an industry react to online content deemed harmful. This will apply to all types of content, similar to that in the past for content deemed harmful to children. On the upside, it is good that we have received an invitation from the eSafety Commissioner to participate in the Code development, so we will be arguing the case for workable Codes where we can. This also means we should be able to assist members in getting the right processes in place once the regulation comes into place.

We’ve also been contacted by the ACCC to participate in its upcoming industry roundtable discussion on future NBN regulation. Members should let me know what your hot topics are for this one! Rest assured we will be raising CVC charging, barriers to becoming RSPs, visibility of performance and installation issues. Any others you want me to raise, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

It’s good to see that the round of firmware upgrades have been completed too! Meaning all our core switches are now 100Gbps capable and those pesky software issues are resolved. We still need to upgrade our smaller switches, so those members still on 1Gbps ports will see a round of short outages to bring that software up to date. It’s all for a good cause.

Like many of you also, we have received notice that the old Primus DC at 55 King St Melbourne is closing. We are currently rearranging our fibres in the Melbourne ring to ensure our high standards of redundancy and diversity are maintained, and we will be relocating RS2 to another site. Our plan is to keep our gear operating until pretty much the lights go out there, however, as we know you will need things in service as long as possible. Stay tuned for the specific dates.

Our governance update is also proceeding well, and we published a draft Constitution last week. Members are invited to comment on the proposed Constitution by sending me an email with your thoughts by 3 June 2021. As ever the plan is published on our website.

All the best

Narelle Clark

This month we have the usual round of upgrades and expansion projects and have kicked off the review of our governance. It’s been great to see thoughts coming in from members on what is important for how we operate and what matters to you in our governance. Thank you to those who have made their thoughts known, so please keep them coming as we work our way through the review. Please keep an eye on our web page on Updating our Governance.

Speaking of thoughts, it’s amazing also to see the list of issues coming in on regulation topics! From defamation to take-downs there are a bunch of likely regulation changes coming through and we are keen to put your point of view forward. Please don’t hesitate to let us know whether you like the regulation changes, or worry for the impact on your business.

The Perth team went on a tour of that flash new NextDC site, P2, so now we’re keen to hear whether members think we should be in there. It looks so nice and shiny; it will be hard to stay away!