Opinion - Wednesday, February 10, 2010 16:57 - 0 Comments

The NBN Company is boring … and deliberately so

opinion Over the past two days I’ve sat through two lengthy presentations delivered by senior National Broadband Network Company executives to telco industry audiences.

And on both occasions, I almost fell asleep in places.

The first speech — by NBN Co head of industry engagement Christy Boyce — was held in the Sydney offices of law firm Baker & McKenzie yesterday afternoon. On glamorous floor 27 of Sydney’s AMP Centre, a cohort of Australian telco executives gathered over micro-muffins and coffee at 3pm to get the latest on Australia’s $43 billion fibre future.

Everything about Boyce’s presentation screamed that it was trying not to be controversial.

The muted colours and simplicity of her PowerPoint slides — NBN Co standard issue — are surely similar to the design aesthetic to be found in major accountancy firms. Peppered with network topology diagrams, it would be hard to guess from their content that Australia’s telecommunications industry has historically been rife with enraged slanging matches that it is the NBN Co’s ultimate destiny to help mediate.

Continue…