The Federal Government has announced its National Digital Economy Strategy (NDES), outlining a plan to make Australia “among the world’s leading digital economies” by 2020.

The strategy has eight key ‘Digital Economy Goals’ as follows:

Online participation by Australian households

The Federal Government has announced a $12.4 million program to promote involvement of small-to-medium businesses and not-for-profit organizations in the “enormous online opportunities” offered by the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The National Broadband Network (NBN) Co and Silcar Pty Ltd have reached an agreement that will enable the first large-scale deployment of optic fibre for the NBN.

The Chief Regulatory Officer of iiNet, Stephen Dalby, has called for all levels of government to be completely involved in the use and execution of the National Digital Economy Strategy to ensure its success.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has praised the Federal Government’s Digital Economy Strategy, saying it is a strong ‘national blueprint’ that will 'maximize the National Broadband Network (NBN) investment and meet the economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century.’

The federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has launched 2011 National ICT Careers Week at the at CeBIT Australia in Sydney which is to be held held from 25 – 31 July.

The Western Australian Government has announced an investment of $10.8 million in new roads, power and optic fibre infrastructure in the State’s Mid-West in an attempt to bolster Australia and New Zealand’s bid for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope project.

The National Information Communication Technology Australia group (NICTA) has announced its content for the upcoming CeBIT conference

With the federal government expected to release its National Digital Economy Strategy within days,  the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has called on all sectors, including all levels of government, business and industry bodies, to become actively involved in the emerging digital economy, saying there will be significant benefits to be taken advantage of.  

The National Broadband Network’s governing commercial body, the NBN Co, has announced that demand will be the key factor in determining coverage of the company’s interim satellite coverage.

Linux Australia (LA), the umbrella organisation which runs Linux operations throughout Australia, has announced its intention to form a media sub-committee to help Linux Australia become "more visible and vocal on issues that are important to us, including issuing releases and responding to press enquiries".

American computer manufacturer, Dell, is increasing its employment of specialist staff in Australia, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.

The New Zealand Government-owned company, Research Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ), is set to become the first customer for Pacific Fibre's planned trans-pacific fibre cable link between New Zealand, Australia and the US West Coast.

Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has welcomed the launching of ADSL2+ services to South Australia’s Victor Harbor, saying that it is the first step to promoting better services to regional South Australia.

The National Broadband Network Co has announced the panel of employment suppliers to support its recruitment activities.

Employment demand across the information media and telecommunications sector is set to increase by 6.0% over the coming five years according to the Australian Jobs 2011 report published by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

The first National Broadband Site has been opened by Prime Minister in Armidale, New South Wales, where she also took the opportunity to announce additional funding for digital education as part of the Digital Regions Initiative.

The Federal Budget has largely ignored the ICT sector, leaving the peak industry body to pin its hopes on the release of the Digital Economy statement later this month, according to the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA).

Over the next four years, the Government will progressively inject equity into NBN Co totalling $18.2 billion to help finance the roll out of the NBN, in line with NBN Co’s Corporate Plan.

The Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network will hold its first hearing in Sydney today on the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

NBN Co has appointed Fujitsu Australia Limited as its prime alliance partner to deliver fibre infrastructure to new developments following a tender process that began in December last year.

NBN Co CEO, Mike Quigley said that  Fujitsu has the necessary workforce capacity and expertise for rapid deployment to meet the demand for fibre services in new developments. The deal with Fujitsu is expected to be worth $100 million in the first year alone, with the first laying of fibre in new developments to begin within the fortnight.

“Fujitsu, and their construction partner ServiceStream, will provide a managed service including network design, construction and installation works in new developments, working alongside NBN Co’s operations team to integrate with our business and operating systems,” Mr Quigley said.

“Since 1 January 2011 NBN Co has received more than 1,480 applications from developers of new estates, representing approximately 133,000 premises to be connected across Australia. These applications are submitted for individual stages of developments, but due to different construction timeframes and housing demand, fibre deployment will be spread over a period of up to three years. NBN Co will work with developers to deploy fibre as and when it is needed.”

“Our partnership with Fujitsu is a key milestone for NBN Co as it allows us to start deploying fibre into these new developments across the country concurrently,” said Mr Quigley.

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