Here are a few I have come across the last week or so. Note: Each link is followed by a title and a few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
General Comment
-----
Quite a lot this week – especially regarding the NBN and Labor trying to regain control of what it is actually for – service provision – and not making a huge profit – in their view. Love the new Minister has ambitions to be maximally photogenic and not a ‘techie’!
Otherwise all sorts of fun things!
-----
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/patient-registry-haemochromatosis-launches
Patient registry for haemochromatosis launches
Australia is the first country in the world to set up a patient database for the genetic condition which will be used for research purposes
25th July 2022
By AAP
A world-first patient registry for people with haemochromatosis will be launched in Australia.
The Haemochromatosis National Patient Registry (HNPR) will be a centralised cloud-based database for research into the role of iron in chronic health conditions including liver disease, arthritis, diabetes and cardiac conditions.
It will also be vital for future research into the impact of iron on the brain.
The registry, based at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, will build on a legacy database of 4000 patients established by esteemed hepatologist Professor Lawrie Powell in his 40 years of clinical practice.
It will involve routine collection of patient information that will fuel and accelerate research and better patient outcomes, according to Professor Grant Ramm, deputy director of QIMR.
-----
Pulse+IT produces technology for aged, community and disability care
By user
Jul 24, 2022
By Kate McDonald on July 25, 2022
Pulse+IT has today launched a new edition of its popular Aged, Community and Disability Care e-newsletter, providing a weekly overview of the latest IT and digital health news from the sector in Australia and New Zealand.
Aimed primarily at the residential and residential aged care sector, it will also cover the use of information technology in community services, including mental health and disability care.
We will provide updates on changes to the Department of Health and Aged Care’s IT policy in light of recommendations from the Aged Care Royal Commission on Quality and Safety, as well as news on specific aged care developments from the Australian Digital Health Agency, the Aged Council The Care IT industry and research organizations such as the Digital Health CRC, the Australian eHealth Research Center and universities.
We’ll also cover all the latest technology developments from digital health providers in care and resident management software, electronic medication management systems, telemedicine, clinical and resident communication software, assistive technology, mobile health wearables and smart home technology.
-----
Why this doctor says it’s good to consult Dr Google
Theo Chapman Weekend Fin editor
Jul 29, 2022 – 5.00pm
Dr Ben Bravery is a man on a mission. The psychiatrist and cancer survivor wants to improve the healthcare system, and he has a plan how to do it.
Bravery (surely a case of nominative determinism) was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 28 and saw a lot of the health system from a patient’s viewpoint over the years that followed.
His experiences, while effective against the disease, left him feeling helpless and unheard and so he vowed to try to change things.
Step one was to become a doctor. He’s done that. Step two is to convince his colleagues that things need to change. That’s proving a little harder.
“Patients always get it,” he says. “Patients and their families never tell me I’m talking about the wrong thing. It’s the people with the embedded power and status that will always be critical of what I’m saying. They’ve got a lot to lose.”
-----
https://medicalrepublic.com.au/medirecords-powers-paperless-prescribing/73892
29 July 2022
MediRecords powers paperless prescribing
Sponsored
The cloud health software company is playing a vital role in helping to reduce pressure on hospitals and ambulances in Victoria.
Leading Australian cloud health software company MediRecords is playing a vital role in the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), helping to reduce pressure on hospitals and ambulances across the state.
From today, MediRecords will enable VVED doctors to send electronic prescriptions direct to patients or their carers, reducing paperwork and postage and transportation costs.
As the project progresses, MediRecords’ commitment to FHIR technology (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) will mean the hospital’s patient administration system and data warehouses are seamlessly updated with information such as medication requests.
Northern Health launched Australia’s first virtual emergency department (ED) in 2020, aiming to reduce avoidable ‘presentations’ at the hospital and minimise infection risks for patients and staff.
-----
Shorten sets ethical, linked-up digital services vision for myGov
By Justin Hendry on Jul 26, 2022 12:41PM
Wants offering to become more useful, proactive.
Newly-minted government services minister Bill Shorten has charted the federal government’s vision for ethical, linked-up digital government services as a way of helping to “restore citizen’s faith in democracy”.
The minister charged with overseeing Services Australia used a keynote address in Canberra on Tuesday morning to outline the government’s expectations for service delivery policy over the next 10 years.
“The election result shows citizens are hungry for better government, they expect to be heard, they expect reforms, and the delivery of effective and ethical digital services can play a vital role in these reforms,” he told the AFR Government Services Summit.
While access to major online government services has been available through myGov since 2013, Shorten said there is still a disconnect between the citizens and government, requiring citizens to “grapple with the complexities of machinery of government”.
-----
Coast patients and aged care residents to benefit from $1.6m funding
July 28, 2022
More than 300 general practices, allied health practices and residential aged care facilities across the Hunter, New England and Central Coast regions will benefit from $1.6 million in digital health grants.
Delivered by the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN), the funding will provide administrative efficiencies for staff and improve patient-centred care.
The Health-e Together grants, offered in $5,000 bundles, will provide funding to improve digital health capabilities and enablers such as telehealth systems, upgrades of website, online booking systems, e-referrals and cyber security training.
Residential aged care facilities (RACFs) were also offered a telehealth-specific grant featuring a $5,000 telehealth bundle, which included a specially developed telehealth trolley.
The telehealth trolley can be wheeled into a patient’s room where they virtually consult with their GP or specialist.
-----
My Health Record gives patients immediate access to flu test results
On 24 June a change was made to My Health Record to give patients faster access to common respiratory infection test reports, such as influenza.
Patients who have these tests processed by a pathology lab that uploads to My Health Record can now see the reports as soon as they are uploaded.
Patients can find the reports in their Pathology Report screen. They are also available as a quick link from the COVID-19 dashboard under a renamed section Recent COVID-19 and respiratory tests.
Further information can be accessed below:
My Health Record Webinars
- My Health Record Demonstration in Medical Director
- Using My Health Record in Aged Care: Case Study and Demonstration
- Introduction to My Health Record
- Implementing My Health Record Policy in Your Organisation
- My Health Record Demonstration in Zedmed
- My Health Record for Hospital Staff
- How to Access My Health Record Without Clinical Software using the National Provider Portal
- Improving Data Quality in your Practice through Diabetes Data
- My Health Record for Specialist Practices
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/barwon-health-to-deploy-e-health-record-built-on-salesforce-583193
Barwon Health to deploy e-health record built on Salesforce
By Justin Hendry on Jul 27, 2022 6:30AM
Community-focused solution set to go live in 2023.
Barwon Health, Victoria’s largest regional health service, is set to roll out a new Salesforce-based e-health records platform that will give patients access to their own clinical information.
The community electronic medical record (EMR), which will replace an existing The Care Manager (TCM) system, is expected to provide “real-time access to clinical information, resources and appointment times” for both clinicians and patients.
It will be implemented across many of Barwon Health's community services and mental health, drugs and alcohol services from next year, with the exception of the Swanston Centre acute mental health inpatient unit.
When it goes live, the EMR will be one of the first platform-based solutions for community-based health services across the Victorian public health system, according to the health care provider.
The project commenced last month, with Sydney-based software integrator Mav3rik alongside Barwon Health to implement the Salesforce Health Cloud.
-----
Australian medical management platform MedAdvisor to acquire medicines info provider GuildLink
It has also entered into a collaboration with The Pharmacy Guild of Australia for health service initiatives.
By Adam Ang
July 26, 2022 04:04 am
Listed medical management platform MedAdvisor has signed a binding agreement to buy GuildLink, a provider of digital healthcare solutions and medicines information.
Based on a corporate disclosure, MedAdvisor will acquire GuildLink by issuing 57.1 million shares worth A$9.14 million ($6.3 million) or 16 cents each.
GuildLink is the digital health arm of the Guild Group, a fully owned entity of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, a national employer's organisation for community pharmacy owners.
MedAdvisor offers an automated software system that helps patients to manage their medications and improve adherence. Its platform has so far connected over 2.9 million Australian patients with over 70% of pharmacies nationwide. Its system is also being used by around 25,000 pharmacies in the United States.
-----
https://medicalrepublic.com.au/wearable-tech-can-feel-your-covid/73826
27 July 2022
Wearable tech can feel your covid
Morphing from fertility tracker to symptom finder, this off-the-cuff piece of tech could soon be proving its worth.
Tech solutions haven’t had a stellar record when it comes to stemming the covid tide.
Think the federal government’s CovidSafe app, whose sensitivity was estimated at 15% and which only succeeded in picking up a handful of cases that hadn’t already been identified by contact tracers.
Enter a study published in BMJ recently and conducted by 18 laboratories across Europe, led by McMaster University. The team’s research investigated how effective medical-grade wearables could be in detecting covid before symptoms appeared.
Of course, there was more to the analysis of a prospective cohort than just strapping on an Apple watch and expecting it to beep a couple of times when the wearer contracted the spicy virus.
Study participants donned a wrist-worn fertility tracker containing three sensors that measure five physiological parameters simultaneously: breaths and heartbeats per minute, HRV, skin temperature and skin perfusion.
-----
https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/612669/Rural-Telehealth-Services-to-relieve-pressure-on-rural-GPs.htm
Rural Telehealth Services to relieve pressure on rural GPs
Thursday, 28 July 2022
NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth
Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ plans to
rapidly develop bespoke Rural Telehealth Services to help alleviate pressure on
rural general practices and enhance access to care in rural areas.
Ongoing annual funding of $4 million has been dedicated to creating and running
the services nationwide and the first tranche of sites are expected to be live
by the end of this year.
Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network general manager advocacy, Marie Daly has
been seconded to Te Whatu Ora to assist with this initiative. She says the
needs and readiness of rural areas differ and the telehealth solutions
implemented will also differ nationwide.
“This is not a national service, but a nationally coordinated service that will
be locally focused,” she says.
-----
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/doh-clarifies-that-expanded-80-20-rule-now-in-plac
DoH clarifies that expanded 80/20 rule now in place
The RACGP has received confirmation that the 80/20 rule was extended to telehealth services on 1 July, despite having previously understood that it would be deferred until October.
26 Jul 2022
On 30 June, Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark
Butler announced
a last-minute delay of incoming MBS claiming rules that would restrict the
number of telehealth services that GPs could provide.
‘I am deferring the compliance arrangements that were due to take effect
tomorrow. Those compliance arrangements were essentially based upon a particular
ratio of telehealth consultations as a part of, particularly, a GP’s day,’ he
said.
‘I don’t think it’s appropriate that those compliance measures start tomorrow,
as the former government had decided they would, given what GPs and patients
are dealing with right now.’
At the time, the RACGP welcomed
the deferment, believing that it would apply to both the new 30/20
prescribed pattern of service rule, as well as an extension of the 80/20
rule to encompass telehealth services.
However, when scanning the Department of Health (DoH) website, RACGP staff
identified that the MBS
fact sheet had been updated, explaining that while the 30/20 rule had
indeed been delayed for three months, implementation of the 80/20 rule went
ahead as planned.
Subsequent RACGP enquiries have since confirmed the expansion of the 80/20
rule, which President Adjunct Professor Karen Price told newsGP
is ‘incredibly disappointing’.
-----
My Health Record
Help your patients to register
Organisations that are connected to the My Health Record system can help their patients who don't already have a My Health Record to register for one.
Offering assisted registration is voluntary, but by registering your patients, your organisation will immediately be able to upload their clinical information and start seeing the benefits of the My Health Record system.
Requirements for Assisted Registration
To offer Assisted Registration your organisation must:
- be registered to participate in the My Health Record system;
- use clinical software which has Assisted Registration functionality (see ‘Software products using digital health) or instal the standalone Assisted Registration Tool;
- update its My Health Record system policy to cover Assisted Registration practices as required under the My Health Records Rule 2016 (paragraph 42(4)(f));
- have internet connectivity.
-----
Northern Adelaide Local Health Network sets up digital prenatal care platform
The system is able to identify early pregnancy risks while delivering information specific to a woman's stage of pregnancy.
By Adam Ang
July 25, 2022 10:53 PM
The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network has digitised its delivery of prenatal care to reduce the administrative burden on its midwives while enabling personalised support to pregnant women.
Pregnancy Online Platform NALHN (POPN) was developed in partnership with Personify Care, which has powered the system with digital pathways that deliver information specific to a woman's stage of pregnancy. The technology also automatically captures and screens clinical data points from consumers.
WHY IT MATTERS
According to a media release, POPN is able to rapidly identify patients who are in need of additional tests or support prior to their first appointment with a midwife. It replaces the network's previous paper-based process which relies on making phone calls to triage risks for expectant mothers at their first consult.
Since digitising their workflows, clinical staff has seen increased attendance rates, reduced waitlists for appointments, and enhanced midwifery care.
-----
-----
Telehealth start-up Coviu grew more than 6000pc during Covid, now expanding to the US
4:00PM July 27, 2022
One of the pandemic’s strongest success stories, telehealth platform Coviu, is expanding to the US ahead of a broader global expansion, after usage of its platform grew 6250 per cent since the start of Covid-19, delivering more than 7 million consultations.
The company, a spin-out of CSIRO and led by CEO and founder Silvia Pfeiffer, has grown its team fivefold over the past two years to 50 people, and Dr Pfeiffer said the company was now Australia’s largest all-in-one virtual care platform. Its offering has grown from telehealth to include video conferencing, an apps marketplace, remote patient monitoring and new unified video and phone helpline software and group therapy consultations.
She said the telehealth market was projected to grow to $14bn by 2030, and that as a built-for-purpose platform, Coviu has a number of advantages over standard business and consumer communication tools such as Zoom and Google Meet, especially when it comes to clinical workflows and use cases.
“At the start of Covid-19 we experienced the type of adoption in weeks that would have taken years in normal times,” Dr Pfeiffer said. “At the height of lockdowns we did 25,000 consultations a day, and since January this year things have become a bit more predictable. The government has made Medicare telehealth items permanent, which has been a really important development, and a lot of large organisations are realising they have to embrace telehealth and offer it as an option.
-----
Northern Health's virtual ED integrates MediRecords for electronic prescribing
MediRecords's FHIR will also ensure that the hospital's data warehouses will be seamlessly updated with information.
By Adam Ang
July 25, 2022 10:49 PM
Northern Health has integrated EHR provider MediRecords' e-prescribing software into its virtual emergency department to enable paperless prescribing.
From this week, doctors at the Victoria Virtual Emergency Department can send e-prescriptions directly to patients or their carers via the MediRecords platform.
As part of the integration, MediRecords will also implement FHIR technology to ensure that the hospital's patient administration system and data warehouses will be seamlessly updated with information, such as medication requests.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
Since last week, COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria have gone above 10,000 with about 800 people hospitalised, increasingly putting a strain on hospitals and ambulances.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/barwon-health-rollout-community-emr-next-year
Barwon Health to rollout community EMR next year
It will utilise Salesforce's Health Cloud platform to provide real-time access to health information.
By Adam Ang
July 28, 2022 12:14 AM
Regional health service Barwon Health in Geelong, Victoria is set to implement a community EMR system next year.
Based on a media release, the cloud-based EMR system will utilise Salesforce Health Cloud to provide real-time access to clinical information, resources, and appointment times. Its design will also incorporate security and privacy controls.
The health service tapped local software integrator Mav3rik to implement the system across Barwon Health's services and Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol Services (except for the Swanston Centre).
WHY IT MATTERS
According to Barwon Health, the community EMR is one of the Victorian public health system's first platform-based solutions for community health settings. It is intended to digitise health records for community and mental health patients.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/anz/orion-health-ceo-ian-mccrae-retires-after-30-years
Orion Health CEO Ian McCrae retires after 30 years
He will be replaced by his son-in-law and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare general manager Brad Porter.
By Adam Ang
July 28, 2022 10:36 PM
New Zealand-based Health IT provider Orion Health has announced that its CEO is stepping down after 30 years to "focus on his health".
Ian McCrae is set to be replaced by newly appointed CEO Brad Porter in late August. McCrae will still serve as the company's executive director, focusing on products.
"He has decided the time is right to step back to focus on his health and set in motion this next phase of the business, after 30 years as CEO," a press statement read.
Porter, his son-in-law, is the General Manager-Commercial (International Sales) at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, a medical device company in Auckland.
-----
Alcidion - Q4 FY22 Quarterly Activities Report and
Investor Webcast recording
Melbourne, Australia
– Alcidion Group Limited (‘Alcidion’ or the
‘Company’) today releases its Appendix 4C for the quarter ended 30 June 2022
(Q4 FY22) and a business update detailing operational highlights.
Highlights:
- FY22Q4 positive operating cashflow of $3.3M
- Record quarterly cash receipts of $14.0M
- FY22 full year positive operating cashflow of $1.0M
- FY22 operating cashflow of $3.1M, excluding one-off M&A costs of $2.1M
- FY22 cash receipts of $41.4M, up 29% on pcp (prior corresponding period)
- Unaudited FY22 revenue of $34.0M, up 31% on pcp
- FY22 new sales with Total Contract Value (TCV) of $57.7M, up 96% on pcp
- New TCV sales in Q4 of $14.8M, with $2.7M recognised in FY22
- Positive unaudited underlying FY22 EBITDA (excluding M&A costs)
- Opening balance of contracted revenue to be recognised in FY23 of $28.3M, up 87% on pcp
- Further $2.9M of scheduled renewal revenue expected to be recognised in FY23
- Cash balance of $17.3M at 30 June 2022
-----
InterSystems Plants a Flag in New Zealand with Auckland Office
Newmarket office provides a base to build a growing local team and even closer relationships with customers and partners
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 27 July, 2022 – InterSystems, a provider of next-generation solutions for enterprise digital transformation and the world’s most proven electronic medical record, today announced the opening of its New Zealand office, providing a physical base to build a growing local team and even closer relationships with customers and partners.
The InterSystems office in Auckland’s Newmarket is headed up by experienced HealthTech executive Brian Biggs, Director, Customer Relations and Sales, New Zealand. It is easy walking distance to two of the company’s biggest customers, the Auckland District Health Board, including Auckland City Hospital, and leading private healthcare provider, MercyAscot.
After two years where remote work was the norm, the office brings the company’s team closer to new customers like the Auckland District Health Board and Franklin Hospital in South Auckland, and existing customers with ongoing programs of work. InterSystems is recruiting for a number of open positions and the office will provide a collaboration space for the growing local team and a base for visiting global experts.
InterSystems is extending its commitment to the transforming New Zealand market after supporting customers in the country for 25 years. For most of that time, InterSystems has been known for supporting data management in hospitals with its TrakCare patient administration (PAS) and electronic medical record (EMR) system.
-----
Tuesday, 26 July 2022 10:48
New Zealand’s St George’s Hospital accelerates access to Critical Healthcare Applications with Pure Storage
By Pure Storage
COMPANY NEWS: One of New Zealand’s largest private hospitals significantly improves storage and data management with Pure’s modern data solutions.
Pure Storage®, the IT pioneer that delivers the world’s most advanced data storage technology and services, has modernised St George’s Hospital data storage environment to ensure round-the-clock, high-speed access to critical patient information.
Established in the early 1920s and opened in 1928, Christchurch-based St George’s Hospital is one of the largest private hospitals in New Zealand and has charity status. The hospital invests heavily in technology and innovation to position itself at the forefront of medical service delivery.
Faced with a significant challenge around patient and other mission-critical data management during COVID19, and the overall expansion in the amount and complexity of mission-critical data, the hospital’s IT team embarked on a digital transformation program in 2020. A strategic review of its data and storage environment confirmed that the organisation had an opportunity to migrate from traditional paper-based records to a digital platform. Additionally, St George’s was facing end-of-life for some of its key hardware, during a period of ongoing digital growth and amid increased concerns around cyber security.
-----
https://wildhealth.net.au/tele-clinic-aims-to-cut-mental-health-wait-times/
26 July 2022
‘Tele-clinic’ aims to cut mental health wait times
A “telepsychology clinic” designed to cut waiting times for referred patients could be available to GP practices nationally if a trial is successful.
The launch of the pilot comes as the lead partner, Medibank, continues to expand its operations beyond its traditional role as a health insurer.
Announced earlier this week, the pilot is a collaboration between Medibank, Medinet and the MyHealth clinic network. It allows GPs to develop a care plan then refer mental health patients to one of the network of psychologists signed up to the trial. The GP and/or patient pick a practitioner by reviewing their profile then the patient books a virtual consult.
The service is currently only available through GPs at MyHealth clinics, although Medibank said it envisaged making it available to practices outside the network if it proves successful.
-----
https://wildhealth.net.au/summit-announcement-aligning-our-digital-health-strategy-with-reform/
26 July 2022
Summit Announcement: aligning our digital health strategy with reform
Wild Health Melbourne: No greater time to align our digital health strategy with our health reform. A framework for action and alignment.
DATE: October 18, 2022
LOCATION: The Collin’s Street Event Centre Melbourne
TICKETS AND AGENDA HERE – go to the ‘registration’ tab
Is it time we started to look at digital health as just modern healthcare?
With a new federal government full of ideas and energy leading the way, have the planets finally aligned for Australia to push through on key health reforms underpinned by interoperable technology?
Covid has thrown us all a curve ball and highlighted the value of innovative technology to break down barriers to accessing health and social care.
Our hospitals are adopting innovative technologies much faster than primary care, who remain anchored to siloed server technology and outdated fee-for-service funding models. Aged care is in crisis with no real solutions on the horizon.
The states want to connect with primary care in real time to reduce pressure on ambulances, EDs and to support the aged care sector.
-----
https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/minister-s-sensible-reset-of-nbn-economics-20220727-p5b53r
Minister’s sensible reset of NBN economics
Investment bankers hoping for a multibillion dollar privatisation of NBN Co will be disappointed with Michelle Rowland’s first major move as communications minister.
Jul 27, 2022 – 5.38pm
There is a lot to be learnt from reading between the lines of the latest missives from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to NBN Co and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Rowland’s first significant ministerial move seems to be saying at least three things: NBN’s privatisation is dead; NBN needs to ditch its plan to increase wholesale broadband prices; and NBN might need to write off a big chunk of its sunk costs.
That is a lot to take in when you consider that NBN and the industry have been engaged in almost two years of consultation over a special access undertaking that was developed with the understanding NBN would be privatised.
The privatisation imperative was rarely discussed publicly, but it could be seen in the way NBN ran its business, including pushing into commercial areas outside its original mandate.
-----
Government’s regulatory reset for NBN ensures a better outcome for consumers and the industry
John Durie
12:01AM July 30, 2022
The change in federal government means the key people in NBN chief Stephen Rue’s life now include three people who worked together at Gilbert & Tobin in the late 1990s: Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, ACCC chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb and ACCC enforcement commissioner Liza Carver.
Rowland drew her line in the sand this week, telling the NBN to start again on its structural access undertaking with the ACCC, in a regulatory reset aimed at ensuring a better outcome for consumers and the industry in terms of price certainty and the investment necessary to continue to upgrade services.
Next to come will be a new statement of expectations for NBN but for starters, Rowland reminded Rue that this government has no plans to sell the wholesale network it created.
This removes the pressure to achieve dream-time profit projections and emphasises network quality and price certainty.
Rowland figures the taxpayers have spent $51bn on the network and shouldn’t bear the full costs of the build.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-says-almost-one-third-of-users-on-the-wrong-plan-583317
NBN Co says almost one-third of users on the wrong plan
By Ry Crozier on Jul 29, 2022 12:00PM
Too small for their needs.
NBN Co claims almost one in three NBN users is effectively on the wrong plan, one that is too small for their needs based on their bandwidth consumption habits.
The company revealed the statistics - drawn from internal data - in a follow-up submission [pdf] to the ACCC that was published yesterday.
Though most submissions to the ACCC review process are now moot, due to the restart of the process, a pair of NBN Co submissions provide some interesting data points.
The company’s main submission offers data on what NBN Co calls “maximum utilisation”, a measure it uses to check whether or not end users’ chosen speed tier plans match their internet consumption patterns.
-----
Thursday, 28 July 2022 16:36
Internet Association supports Minister Rowland’s rejection of NBN Co SAU proposal
By Staff Writer
The Internet Association of Australia (IAA) has thrown its support behind Communications Minister Michelle Rowland in rejecting NBN Co’s proposed variation to the Special Access Undertaking (SAU).
The IAA, a member-based association representing the Internet community, said on Wednesday that as NBN Co looks to re-start the SAU process, it calls for a “new approach to the framework that prioritises providing all Australians with internet access that is affordable and fit-for-purpose”.
The IAA's statement this afternoon was preceeded by a statement this morning by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that NBN Co had now withdrawn lodgement of the variation to its Special Access Undertaking.
“IAA welcomes the Minister’s call that the SAU variation should reflect changes in the policy landscape where NBN Co will remain in public ownership for the foreseeable future,” the association noted.
“This is a good opportunity to hold NBN Co to its fundamental purpose for existence and create the SAU accordingly,” said IAA CEO Narelle Clark.
-----
https://www.afr.com/technology/nbn-reset-won-t-reduce-bills-but-speed-might-improve-20220728-p5b5an
NBN reset won’t reduce bills but speed might improve
Jessica Sier Journalist
Jul 28, 2022 – 5.32pm
Keeping the NBN in public hands is unlikely to make broadband cheaper for businesses and households but a government decision to write off billions of dollars in legacy costs could clear the way for investment in faster services.
The existing 50 mbps service offered by the NBN at an average of $46 a month is a low-quality yet expensive network by the standards of other developed countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
To upgrade to a 100 mpbs service, Australians need to pay between $100 and $150 a month, which telcos say is out of reach.
A government decision to write off about $30 billion in debt could free up NBN Co to invest in the technology required to provide faster internet, experts said.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-cos-lack-of-notice-of-planned-works-irks-telstra-users-583233
NBN Co's lack of notice of 'planned' works irks Telstra, users
By Ry Crozier on Jul 28, 2022 11:47AM
Lists a series of service quality failures.
Telstra has shed light on what appears to be a growing, though largely undocumented, service quality problem with the NBN, where retailers are given less than an hours' notice of "planned" works.
In a submission to the ACCC’s review of NBN Co’s special access undertaking (SAU), Telstra said that "millions" of its customers had been "impacted by planned outages" between January and May of this year alone.
"Almost half of those planned outages did not meet the 10-day notification SLA [service level agreement]," Telstra revealed.
"For many customers subject to a ‘planned’ outage, Telstra received less than one hours' notice.
"Further, most planned outages that did not meet the 10-day SLA occurred during core business hours (9am-5pm) meaning a direct and noticeable impact on NBN services."
-----
‘Unacceptable’: NBN Co sent back to square one on pricing model
By Zoe Samios
July 27, 2022 — 4.30pm
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has declared a regulatory proposal from NBN Co, which would dramatically increase the cost of internet, “unacceptable”, forcing the broadband network operator to rethink its long-term pricing model.
NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue said the federal government had confirmed the organisation would remain in public ownership for the forseeable future as it requested the company withdraw a proposal that would shape how it determines wholesale prices.
The intervention comes as TPG Telecom became the latest telco provider to publicly urge NBN Co against raising wholesale access prices.
NBN Co has enraged TPG Telecom and other telco providers over plans to dramatically raise wholesale prices.
“At the core of the Albanese government’s priorities are the long-term interests of Australian consumers,” Rowland said.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-told-to-reset-its-pricing-model-583252
NBN Co told to 'reset' its pricing model
By Ry Crozier on Jul 27, 2022 3:46PM
New instructions and expectations from the new government.
NBN Co will withdraw its special access undertaking from ACCC review and make “substantive changes” to it in line with a revised set of expectations coming from the new federal government.
The government has written to both NBN Co [pdf] and the ACCC seeking a new path forward on the bogged-down SAU process, a major review set to determine price and non-price terms for NBN access through to 2040.
Federal communications minister Michelle Rowland said the change of government had “created space for problem-solving”.
She backed the SAU revision process to continue, but with a firmer timeline of “early 2023” for agreement, and implementation on July 1 2023. There has previously been no deadline.
-----
Privatisation off the table as government resets NBN policy
Paul Smith Technology editor
Jul 27, 2022 – 6.33pm
The government has made a major shift on broadband policy, signalling that national broadband network privatisation is off the table, and that it will reconsider how billions of dollars in construction costs are accounted for, to make it more financially viable and cheaper for consumers.
In a reprieve for Australia’s biggest telecommunications firms Telstra, Optus and TPG the NBN retracted a controversial new pricing plan on Wednesday, after the government flagged a reset of longstanding expectations, including for its privatisation.
The pricing proposal known as the Special Access Undertaking (SAU), would have dramatically increased the amount telcos, and therefore consumers, would be charged for broadband as far ahead as 2040.
The price rises, which would have been at 3 per cent above inflation on some plans, were deemed necessary by NBN to generate enough money to be profitable while also recovering the extensive costs incurred building and running the $51 billion network.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher however now appear willing to write off some of those expenses.
-----
NBN Co scraps planned price hikes, will ‘reset’ process
5:30PM July 27, 2022
The company building the national broadband network has backed down from changes that would have locked in price rises until 2040 and doubled the price of entry-tier plans, following heated criticism from telcos and an intervention from the government.
NBN Co made a pricing submission to the competition watchdog in May known as the Special Access Undertaking (SAU), which provoked an angry response from telcos and many consumers who are facing cost of living pressures amid higher interest rates and rising inflation.
Telstra said NBN Co was effectively pricing Australians out of broadband, while the ACCC warned that basic broadband prices could double by 2040 if NBN Co’s plans were to go ahead.
On Wednesday the company scrapped its proposals and announced it would go back to the drawing board following a letter from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.
------
Budget razor gang slices 5G business grants
July 25, 2022
Labor’s budget razor gang has scrapped, under a “value for money” savings drive, a $40m grants program that reserved $2m for businesses in western Sydney.
Applicants under a $20m second round of the former Coalition government’s 5G innovation initiative have been told no further grants will be considered.
The decision to end the program, helping businesses across a range of sectors trial 5G technologies, comes as Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher broaden their search for savings across all grants programs administered by the Coalition.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said Labor had pledged to “discontinue round two of the Australian 5G innovation initiative” ahead of the May 21 election.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/vocus-asks-for-nbn-price-cuts-on-50mbps-and-below-583163
Vocus asks for NBN price cuts on 50Mbps and below
By Ry Crozier on Jul 26, 2022 11:49AM
Wants pricing to be segmented and proportionate.
Vocus has labelled NBN Co’s proposed pricing changes “worse than the status quo”, and called for lower speed tier prices to be “reduced proportionately compared to the prices of higher speed tiers”.
In a submission to the NBN special access undertaking (SAU) review, Vocus warned that its high number of price-sensitive users would expose it to cost rises and increased churn, if NBN Co’s revised SAU is accepted.
NBN Co is proposing immediate price increases for popular speed tiers along with yearly increases. It will also introduce flat rate pricing - a capped wholesale charge - for 100Mbps services and above, but maintain fixed and variable charging mechanisms on 50Mbps and below, where the vast majority of its user base is.
Vocus said that with “nearly 90 percent” of its customers on 50Mbps or below plans, it would largely miss any benefit from the introduction of flat rate pricing.
It called on NBN Co to remove variable bandwidth charges on both the 25Mbps and 50Mbps tiers.
-----
Monday, 25 July 2022 11:59
ACCAN rejects NBN’s proposal to change its Special Access Undertaking; ‘commitment’ not enough to address affordability
The ACCAN is urging the ACCC to reject the NBN’s latest proposal to change its Special Access Undertaking due to concerns with the skyrocketing prices of home broadband services along with a lack of service quality.
The Special Access Undertaking (SAU) is a key part of NBN’s regulatory framework that governs the prices NBN is allowed to charge for the services it supplies to phone and internet retailers.
ACCAN says NBN has proposed to discuss affordability once a year for the first two years of the SAU.
In addition to the lack of cost certainty for the entry-level service, ACCAN does not believe this commitment goes nearly far enough to address the issue of affordability.
-----
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/nbn-co-is-pricing-australians-out-of-broadband-telstra-says-583111
NBN Co is pricing Australians out of broadband, Telstra says
By Ry Crozier on Jul 25, 2022 12:05PM
Expected to get worse between now and 2040.
Telstra has accused NBN Co of pricing itself - and Australians - out of the fixed broadband market, and becoming a network “for only those who can afford it”.
In an as-yet unpublished 84-page submission to the ACCC, Telstra said that the growing substitution of NBN services with cellular fixed wireless was “inefficient” and not in internet users’ best interests.
It argued instead that NBN Co’s prices should be a lot lower, but that they were being inflated by excessive build costs, in part due to past government policy.
“NBN Co’s current wholesale prices will mean the NBN will become the network for only those who can afford it,” Telstra said.
-----
Why you need to pay attention to the Webb Space Telescope’s new find
The new observatory may have discovered the most distant galaxy we have ever seen - and it’s only the beginning.
Marina Koren
Jul 28, 2022 – 8.00am
The newly discovered galaxy looks a little bit like a squashed tomato, or maybe the crown of a cherry-flavoured Ring Pop. Just a red blob, so blurry and edgeless that the first time I looked, I had to make sure I’d put my contact lenses in. I say these things because without invoking little earthly associations, I’m not sure how we’d even begin to fathom what this cosmic object is: not just a galaxy, but perhaps the most distant galaxy we have ever seen.
The galaxy was spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope, the newest and most powerful observatory in the world, which kicked off operations this month. The starlight that Webb spotted from this galaxy left its glittery boundaries long ago, before, well, nearly everything.
According to two separate teams of astronomers, that blurry tomato we’re seeing is the way this galaxy looked just 300 million years after the universe came into existence.
So, so much has happened since then – our sun flickered on, the planets were formed, life arose on Earth, Ring Pops were invented. Webb has rewound that tape. The glow of the most distant galaxies, the kind that the observatory was designed to detect, takes eons to reach us. When Webb captures this ancient, well-travelled light, the telescope becomes a time machine. So by gazing upon this red blob, we are looking back more than 13.5 billion years, at a cosmic memory.
-----
Russia says it will withdraw from international space station
By Micah Maidenberg and Allison Prang
The Wall Street Journal
5:03PM July 27, 2022
Russia plans to pull out of the International Space Station, the leader of the country’s space agency said overnight Tuesday, a move that threatens to end years of collaboration on the orbiting research facility.
Yuri Borisov, the director general of Roscosmos, as the Russian space agency is called, said Russia would leave the facility after 2024, according to an exchange between him and President Vladimir Putin that was posted to the Kremlin’s website. The country will fulfil its obligations for station operations until it leaves, he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine strained international activities in space, scuttling several missions and stressing decades of collaboration among spacefaring nations.
Earlier this month, for example, NASA issued a rare rebuke of Russia after cosmonauts on the facility were shown in a Roscosmos social-media post holding flags tied to parts of Ukraine that Russia had invaded. Russia in February said it would suspend work at the European launch facility in South America.
-----
Enjoy!
David.
