Abstract

Papers in the June 2018 issue of the Journal cover what to do with the National Broadband Network when the rollout is completed, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle communications, energy efficient mobile ad-hoc network communications and a historical look at the Black Mountain Tower in Canberra. With the completion of the National Broadband Network rollout in coming years, there will be an opportunity for substantive wholesale telecommunications reforms to occur that will shape the telecommunications industry for decades to come. Central to this debate is the future of the National Broadband Network: it is important that this debate commence now, so that there will be time to explore the options and for the telecommunications industry, government, business and consumers to come to a consensus on what should happen next and what the expected outcomes of the wholesale telecommunications reforms should be. The Journal welcomes contributions.

In This Issue

In this issue, the Journal includes topical articles that cover what to do with the National Broadband Network (NBN) when the rollout is completed, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle communications, energy efficient mobile ad-hoc network communications and a historical look at the Black Mountain Tower in Canberra.

Data Transfer via UAV Swarm Behaviours presents an adaptive robotic swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) enabling communications between separated non-swarm devices.

An Energy Efficient Receiver-based Flooding Scheme Using 1-Hop Neighbours Geographical Information for MANETs proposes an efficient flooding protocol that minimizes flooding traffic, leveraging location information of 1-hop neighbour nodes.

Australian Wholesale Telecommunications Reforms considers what the government of the day should do with the NBN after the NBN is built and fully operational in 2022.

Black Mountain Tower Canberra provides two historic papers from a special issue of the Journal in 1981 featuring the new Black Mountain telecommunications tower in Canberra.

What should the future be for the National Broadband Network?

This month the Journal includes a paper that aims to start the debate about what should be done with the NBN when it is completed in 2022. This is a debate that we need to have for a number of reasons, chief among them being the need for the telecommunications industry, government, business and consumers to find common ground that moves the telecommunications deregulation process forward and not backwards.

Australia needs a telecommunications industry that is open, fair and competitive and one that provides world’s best telecommunications to every Australian, irrespective of where they live or work.

It is time for the digital divide to become a thing of the past, but this will only occur when regional and remote Australians are provided with telecommunications that compares favourably with the telecommunications provided to those living in urban areas.

It is also time for every Australian to be provided with universal access telecommunications to ensure that health, education and other government-provided digital services can be accessed by everyone, irrespective of their means and where they live or work.

The NBN is more than telecommunications infrastructure, it is the foundation on which much of this nation’s future will be built. The next decade will bring about unprecedented change to how we use telecommunications in our daily lives, just as the last decade saw the introduction of smart phones, tablets, video streaming services, etc.

It is time for the future of the NBN to be debated. The decision about the future of the NBN should not be left until the last moment, as this might mean that the government of the day could make the decision based on ideology or a short-term fiscal outcome, rather than what is best for the nation in coming decades.

The Journal welcomes papers on the future of the NBN, wholesale telecommunications reform and telecommunications deregulation.

The Journal, Looking Forward

Australian telecommunications is moving forward at a rapid rate, and the introduction of 5G next year will speed up the reach and utilisation of telecommunication services. The Journal is calling for papers on how 5G will affect Australian telecommunications consumers.

The topics of International Telecommunications Legislation and Regulations and International Mobile Cellular Regulation and Competition are set to continue for some time, as the opportunity to attract papers from around the globe continues. We encourage papers that reflect on where the telecommunications market is now, how it got to where it is, and what is going to happen next.

Papers are invited for upcoming issues. With your contributions, the Journal will continue to provide readers with exciting and informative papers covering a range of local and international topics. The Editorial Advisory Board also values input from our readership, so please let us know what themes you would like to see in the coming year.

All papers related to telecommunications and the digital economy are welcome and will be considered for publication after the double-blind peer-review process.

 

Mark A Gregory