The IoT Alliance Australia (IoTAA), an organisation that had its origins in the Communications Alliance IoT Think Tank, has been formally launched by shadow communications minister Jason Clare, after being in gestation since late 2015,
The alliance will initially be hosted and supported administratively by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) on its Broadway Campus in Sydney.
Clare warned that Australia risked being left behind as IoT gathers momentum. “A lot of countries are already ahead of us when it comes to IoT. If we don’t turn this around we will miss out on a lot of new jobs, more investment and new businesses,” he said.
According to its web site the alliance’s vision is “to be the leading Australian IoT industry body shaping the regulatory and collaborative framework to harness for Australian industry the huge opportunities generated by IoT,” and its mission is ”To define the IoT eco-system, informing and enabling Australian companies to exploit the business opportunities afforded by IoT technology and services – increasing Australia’s innovation, productivity and economy.”
It lists as its key objectives
– Drive sound, evidence based input from industry into appropriate policy and regulation for IoT in Australia;
– Recognise, understand and drive the national growth strategy underpinned by IoT enabling technologies, across key sectors of the Australian economy where Australia enjoys a competitive advantage; and
– Promote collaboration at all levels including (but not limited to) between industry and Government, across the SME community, start-ups and investors, between service providers and problem/opportunity owners.
Its six workstreams, on collaboration, smart industries and cities, open data and privacy, spectrum availability and licensing, cyber security and network surveillance and IoT startup innovation have been operational since early in 2016.
IoTAA is governed by an executive council that comprises representatives from
- Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
- Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
- Australian Industry Group (AIG)
- Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA)
- Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA)
- Business Council of Australia (BCA)
- Communications Alliance
- Creator Tech
- CSIRO
- Department of Communications and the Arts (DoCA)
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)
- Ericsson
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Huawei
- IBM
- Intel
- Internet Australia
- Knowledge Economy Institute (KEi)
- KPMG
- nbn
- Nokia
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)/Australian Privacy Commissioner
- Optus
- Telstra
