This presentation will outline the unique role of the Telco Authority in supporting the NSW Government including public safety agencies. Chairman of the Board, Rod Gilmour, will present an overview of who we are and what we do, as well as the key achievements of the Authority over the last 3 years. Mr Gilmour will also discuss: - the benefits of industry and government collaboration - our strategic activities and vision to provide the best opportunities and outcomes - the services we provide to NSW Government agencies, now and in the future - how we can support agencies improve services to the NSW community while reducing waste Rod Gilmour, Chairman, NSW Telco Authority

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Comms Connect 2014 keynote presentation
Welcome
Thank you Kit and thank you Comms Connect for asking the NSW
Telco Authority to open today’s proceedings.
It’s pleasing to see such a wide representation including international
guests here this morning to participate in this important conference.
I’d also like to welcome and acknowledge RFS Commissioner Shane
Fitzsimmons, who is a member of the Telco Authority Board.
I’d like to introduce some key staff from the Authority – you may already
be familiar with some of them:
 Shaun Smith, who is the Executive Director of the Authority
 Phil King, our Chief Technology Officer and
 Simon Statton, who’s role is to develop relationships with our many
stakeholders and to be an advocate for agencies and the Authority
 I encourage you all to engage with our staff during the conference
The NSW Telco Authority is about ‘Building a sustainable future for
government operational telecommunications’
 In the current environment everyone everywhere is expected to do
more with less – Government is no exception
 Organisation’s budgets and staff are under pressure, yet we are all
required to do more
 Demand for spectrum is in increasing, technology is rapidly changing,
and government needs to keep up
 Overlaying all of this is demand for services that rely on improved
technology

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 The frequency and impact of natural disasters and other
major incidents and events are on the rise. It seems that we
experience so called once in a lifetime events more and more
 There have been a string of natural disasters that have
affected Australia over the last few years: for example the October
2014 bushfires (shown here), the QLD floods (Dec10-Jan11) and
Cyclone Yasi (feb11) – which have highlighted the need for improved
communications technologies
 In our increasingly connected world, people expect communications
to be available and working 24/7. We have all developed an
increased dependency on communications to better support the
community and emergency services to do their jobs
 There is also increased community engagement with available
comms to send and receive information in emergencies – the
community now relies more on social media than traditional media
 I’m sure Shane will discuss in his keynote presentation
 Traditionally, government agencies have been provided with
separate budgets to meet their own dedicated requirements. This
has led to duplication
 The Telco Authority has a unique view across the whole sector that
enables us to maximise benefits
 Agencies also have their own unique needs, some are quite small
with operational telecommunications is not their area of expertise
 Our portfolio view allows us to identify where the differences and
similarities lie and where there are opportunities to consolidate and
coordinate

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 What we’re facing in a do nothing scenario will mean a
significant investment to maintain and replace current
systems, without any gain in service improvements
 I know radiocommunications professionals are passionate
about what they do, and strive to deliver quality services to
frontline staff
 Unfortunately, when you have a lot of agencies doing their own thing
you end up with duplication, waste and inefficiencies
 The Telco Authority has been set up to harness the opportunities to
coordinate on behalf of the NSW Government to make sure we’re
doing what’s required to meet community expectations and to be
sustainable
 Our role is to improve coordination and provide high quality, efficient
services across the operational telecommunications sector that are
relevant, and provide much needed support to frontline workers now
and into the future
 The introduction of new technology comes at a cost – but it also
provides a chance to improve service delivery to the community
 If the sector wants to remain sustainable we have to make key
strategic decisions now and in the coming years to better enable us
to fight crime and terrorism, save lives, and defend properties under
threat from natural causes
 Like many sectors of Government, the provision of mobile
radio and data services is undergoing reform
 We’re getting on with the reform program, which is
consistent with the NSW Government’s 2021 plan
 We’re delighted to have active and positive support from
our former Minister – the Hon Andrew Constance, who is now the
Treasurer
 We also already have support from our newly appointed Minister –
the Hon Dominic Perrottet

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 The Telco Authority supports NSW Government agencies that
use operational telecommunications for critical and non-critical
purposes
 We are an Authority with coordinating responsibilities. We are here to
advocate for the needs and requirements of NSW government and
the community, now and in the future
 The Telco Authority Board has a mix of public and private sector
experience. The Board provides strategic direction and sets policy for
the sector
 We are here to add value for NSW government service providers and
the community
 Our mantra is – if we’re not adding value for our customers, we’re not
doing our job
 We recognise the important role emergency service and law
enforcement agencies have in the community
 We are partnering with agencies to fully understand their
requirements and plan for the future to make sure we provide the
right direction and guidance to meet their needs
 We coordinate responses to telecommunications outages during
major emergencies and natural disasters
 We act as a link between carriers and emergency service agencies
to protect carrier infrastructure in emergencies because it provides
the link between agencies and the community
So what are we doing and what have we done so far?
 Over the past 3 years, we’ve learnt a lot about what’s out
there – and there’s much more work to do
 More than 70 NSW Government agencies currently own
and/or operate independent radio networks to support their
operations
 Our investigation has shown that there are over 3,200
telecommunications sites across NSW

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 We are working with agencies to identify how we can make best use
of what we have by coordinating our activities to help save agencies
time and money
 Here’s an example of where we could do this – three
towers in one location, all paying rent, licenses,
maintenance etc, and leasing space on another tower
 A more effective approach can be achieved with the
Authority having this whole of government view and
identifying where we can consolidate
 Through the use of shared networks and infrastructure, we are able to
better manage increasing demand for spectrum, get increasing
economies of scale and offer agencies affordable radio services
 The 2014 Corporate Plan supports this work
 It gives our clients, and the sector more generally, a road map on
how we intend to drive service improvements and sector
capability, while also increasing efficiency and ensuring we get
access to the right resources, tools and information
 I am pleased to advise that last week the Telco Board approved
the new plan, and details will be available on the Telco Authority
website shortly
 Already the Telco Authority has made significant gains over the past 3
years
 For the first time we have an accurate picture of what’s out there
 We have worked hard at creating an environment that promotes
collaboration between agencies
 All of this work increases efficiencies – allowing agencies to save
money and gain access to the latest technology at more competitive
prices

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 We have undertaken a significant amount of work in better
managing contracts with service providers, as well as providing
agencies with the support and intelligence to make their own
decisions on the most cost effective way to have their
communications needs met
 We have developed relationships with a broad group of suppliers
through the procurement scheme established in 2013
 The scheme has allowed organisations to supply equipment,
infrastructure and services to the sector, and allows agencies to
match the right vendor to the right job
 It provides simplified access for NSW Government buyers and industry
vendors, and promotes increased competitiveness to enable all
agencies to get better value for money
 There are currently over 100 approved private sector suppliers
including small and medium businesses participating across NSW
 We are also looking at the long term strategic direction for
operational telecommunications services
 This is to ensure that public safety and essential service
agencies have the right tools to allow them to deliver
services to the NSW community and explore how the Authority and
industry can better support the sector in providing modern, robust
and reliable technology to frontline staff
 It will build on sector-wide planning work undertaken in 2013/14 and
outline innovative ways to transform the sector from one where
agencies need to build, own and operate their own dedicated
networks, to one where they have access to the right service delivery
model
 All of the work we are doing will help to ensure government
operational telecommunications remains sustainable and relevant;
the people who provide services to the NSW community are able to
do their jobs and have the best possible support

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 We’re here to make agencies lives easier
 To achieve reform we have had to build our capability
 We’ve had real change – in our culture and approach
 We’ve come a long way and delivered real results in the last 3 years
 These things only happen when you have an effective management
team. They understood the task and got on with it
 At the same time we have a board that is focused on setting the
overall strategic direction
 I am confident that the Board and Authority management, with
support from the Minister, will continue to deliver results based on the
objectives that are set out in our 2014/15 Corporate Plan
 One of the key people on our Board is the next speaker – Shane
Fitzsimmons
 RFS is doing a fantastic job under Shane’s leadership. I’m sure Shane
will talk about new ways they are engaging with the community
 In closing - we welcome participation and collaboration with the
sector
 Please come and see Shaun, Phil, Simon or myself – we are happy to
engage during the conference
I wish you all a very productive conference. Thank you