The Attorney General (AG) has circulated draft legislation that will give the Government greater control over how networks are designed and maintained.

The belief is that the commercial pressures of carriers and carriage service providers are at odds with the objectives of national security. The new Bill - Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 – would give new powers to the Government to remedy the issue.

The AG’s department would provide administrative guidelines so carriers can understand what parts of their networks are vulnerable to unauthorised access and interference, so appropriate action can be taken. Carriers would also need to seek approval before making substantive changes to their network design.

As you’ll hear in this week’s CrossTalk podcast, some in the industry believe it’s a step in the right direction. After all, why would anybody be against national security?

The concern is, will the Government be so prescriptive the impact will be counterproductive, and costly for the industry.

We hear from:
- Patrick Fair, partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie
- Matthew Lobb, ‎General Manager Industry Strategy and Public Policy at Vodafone
- George Fong, President of Internet Australia and
- Mark Gregory, Senior Lecturer at RMIT University

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