The Australian National University (ANU) is launching a first-of-its-kind project that will map the resilience of Australia’s telecommunications sector.   

The project is said to be funded by the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) and will be conducted by the ANU Tech Policy Design Centre.  

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said telecommunications underpins every other sector in the Australian economy. He further states that the resilience of the telecommunications sector is an issue of vital importance. 

“Telecommunications drives economic growth, national productivity and innovation and keeps Australians connected to each other and the world,” Professor Schmidt said.   

“When telecommunications and digital services go down, Australia and Australians grind to a halt.”  

The project will engage stakeholders from across governments, industry, utility providers, emergency services, the risk and disaster management community and academia to develop a comprehensive risk and resilience profile of Australia’s telecommunications sector.

Director of the ANU Tech Policy Design Centre and project lead Professor Johanna Weaver said that recent events such as the 2019-20 bushfires, the pandemic, floods and cyber incidents have tested the resilience of the sector.

“There is a lot to learn from each of these events,” she said.

“By studying risks at the sector level, this project will equip future decision-makers with the tools to design an effective policy that minimises disruption and improves the resilience of this essential infrastructure which Australians depend on every day.”   

Aside from examining case studies, the study on the country’s telecommunications infrastructure will also take an “all-hazards approach” that will encompass natural disasters, systemic failures and human-driven disruption.

Deputy Secretary Richard Windeyer said The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is pleased to support this project.   

“The project will provide an independent evidence base to inform future Australian government decisions,” he said.     

“It will provide a valuable evidence base to increase the resilience of Australia’s telecommunications sector as a whole. It will be an invaluable tool for individual firms to prepare their own risk and resilience plans.”  

Communications Alliance Ltd CEO John Stanton welcomed the project, stating that Australia’s telecommunications sector was already keenly engaged with it as it builds on existing industry initiatives.  

“Australia’s communications networks have stood up well to the unprecedented challenges thrown at them in recent years by natural and malevolent threats,” he said.  

“Telco carriers have strengthened key network infrastructure and back-up capabilities and improved coordination with emergency authorities and key stakeholders such as the energy industry. The work being led by ANU experts will, we believe, add value to that vital ongoing mission.” 

Source: ANU Newsroom. Content has been edited for style and length.

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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