Giant chipmaker Intel and Stephen Conroy’s broadband department this afternoon announced a three-year memorandum of understanding which will see the pair work together to maximise future benefits stemming from the rollout of the National Broadband Network and other initiatives.

“The Gillard Government works with many industry players to ensure Australia is well placed to leverage the economic and social benefits that participating in a digital economy can provide,” Communications Minister Conroy said in a statement.

“This agreement formalises work with Intel and makes clear the Government’s intension to continue to collaborate with industry, particularly as we move forward with the delivery of the National Broadband Network (NBN).”

The agreement was made today after a meeting between Conroy and Intel’s Asia-Pacific general manager Navin Shenoy.

Through the agreement, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy will keep Intel up to date with the progress of the Government’s digital economy strategy, work with the chip gaiant on initiatives to promote an “NBN-enabled digital economy” and share relevant research.

Intel will provide access to its research labs — in particular through the company said was its new, locally based Interaction & Experience Research division, let by Australia-born Intel fellow Genevieve Bell, share experience from technology adoption in other countries and access to subject matter experts, and share share “best-known methods” around the development and implementation of open industry standards.

Intel will also evaluate investment in Australian technology businesses through its Intel Capital arm.

“This MOU will enable Australia to benefit from Intel’s global experiences in using high speed broadband in areas such as health, education, business and environmental management,” Conroy said.

“The digital economy will ultimately encompass the entire economy and almost all facets of our society and the Gillard Government is ensuring it has the infrastructure in place to take advantage of the opportunities it will present,” he added.

For his part, Shenoy said the deal would formalise work that had been going on between the two sides for almost two years, as well as opening up future development paths.

Intel Australia and New Zealand chief Philip Cronin added that the National Broadband Network was “the right thing to do”, and said the MoU was about moving beyond the politics of the NBN and instead focusing on the opportunities it created.

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1. Tom
   Posted 01/10/2010 at 6:50 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Is there any word on what specific technologies or research Intel is planning to develop in collaboration with the Government? I’m curious to know what kind of groundbreaking things they’re intending to do with what ultimately amounts to faster Internet connections.

   Given the woolliness in this article of the benefits Intel is bringing to the table it is impossible to say whether there’s any use at all of Government involvement.

2. bram
   Posted 01/10/2010 at 9:14 pm | Permalink | Reply

   @Tom: dont you know. Intel is in on the conspiracy with the Labor party to make the NBN look good in spite of there being no cost benefit analysis (except for that $25 million implementation study)

   that is what you were getting at werent you?

   In all seriousness, UWA is bidding on Western Australia being the location for the worlds largest radio telescope. Western Australia is a good spot bc it has a lot of desert with low population density. However, the whole bid is predicated on there being an NBN bc that is the only way the telescopes nodes can communicate together (the whole thing would be very spread out, and the whole system will be generating massive amounts of data every day). So there you go. One benefit, and many more coming.