Forum Topics AVA AVA AFR Telstra Update

Pinned straw:

Added 8 months ago

https://www.afr.com/companies/telecommunications/telstra-wants-edgier-funding-for-telecom-connections-20240814-p5k2fl

Found this interesting article covered in AFR this morning. Here are some interesting highlights.5b8aee8f5a23ad7a6251ea6ce450a836ffd7f3.jpeg2f7d1c0c58ff564ee8ea2294c33949acec092f.jpeg29fc249333dd7e943966d3902386b3be148cc7.jpeg

Not sure AVA’s role in this process. It might be something big or just a desperate move from a drowning giant. Interesting to watch either way.

Bushmanpat
Added 3 months ago

There's an interesting article in today's AFR reporting that Telstra is going all in with Accenture for their AI future. Key point is they are doing away with 16 other suppliers of AI and related services.

Will we see an announcement from AVA about this soon?

14

lastever
Added 3 months ago

@Bushmanpat Ava's role with Telstra would probably fall under the category of 'Security' rather than 'AI' and given the infrastructure isn't going anywhere, I wouldn't think the need for security had changed. I don't have AFR so are there any further clues in that article?

13

Bushmanpat
Added 3 months ago

@lastever I thought everything falls under the category of AI these days!

I was thinking that Telstra may be using AVA's fibre sensing tech to monitor foot traffic in built up areas for data gathering and sale to developers/marketers/ local authorities etc

Apologies, I'm currently posting from my phone and aren't tech savvy enough to repost AFR articles.

14

lastever
Added 3 months ago

@Bushmanpat True, everything gets a little 'Now with AI!' sticker.

I've seen people speculate about what Telstra might use the sensing tech for, ranging from monitoring undersea cables to things along the lines of what you are talking about. But the only sales I recall so far relate to monitoring for 5G infrastructure and manholes. Anyway I guess we'll know shortly if there has been any diversion of resources.

13

Tom73
Added 3 months ago

AFR articles:

TLS ASX_ Telstra CEO Vicki Brady says AI can stop phones dropping out.pdf

TLS ASX_ Telstra pins hopes on massive AI roll out with $700m Accenture deal.pdf

ASX TLS_ Telstra’s artificial intellige...into the future of Australian business.pdf

$700m, a small price to pay for a CEO to keep their job should an outage occur...

Doesn't look like it would result in a replacement of any services AVA may provide, but those services may fall under the management of the new AI JV.


16

lastever
Added 3 months ago

Cheers@Tom73, as you say, might just get input from the new JV. Maybe good, maybe bad, as the Chinese proverb says.

The line that jumped out in those articles is this: 'Telstra had considered selling some of it's infrastructure (including fibreoptic and subsea cables) but decided it could make more money in the short term by keeping them'. That sounds good to me in the sense that they've realised that their cables are a valuable asset, so on balance they'd be willing to invest in them if it could make (or save) money.

14

Strawman
Added 3 months ago

No power or internet after that gnarly storm yesterday. And phone battery is fading fast..!

Teenage son suffering serious tech-deprivation anxiety! Lol

360c073c446f88b82c7ec78c015444beb236f4.png

So apologies if I'm slow to rely to anything today

Anyway, I don't think this news from TLS has any impact on AVA but I've been in contact with Mal recently and he's agreed to chat with us again soon -- so we can put this question to him.

28

Bushmanpat
Added 3 months ago

@lastever when I was cleaning out my parents house, I came across a box for the 1990's model breville toasted sandwich press. Simple plug it in and it gets hot model. It had a Y2K compliant sticker prominently displayed on the front!

"now with AI" is the latest incarnation of the same thing!

16
lowway
Added 8 months ago

Good find @fcmaster26. Seems what's old is new again (when you need some PR for the market anyway).

Edge computing has been around for a long time and as you and @Bushmanpat are stating, does have better efficacy on fibre for near-real-time solutions, not so much from a latency perspective (as that is what edge computing is supposedto solve), but more so from a network congestion viewpoint when compared to mobile solutions.

Of course, in fairness to @topowl and his wireless option, 5G is going a long way to fix this issue with a massive uplift in Radio Access Network (RAN) congestion by using a vast array of micro cells. The downside with cellular is the packets need to go to and from the core, but if we are strictly talking edge computing, then the latency and in fact the capacity of the RAN should not be problem if done correctly.

As alluded to in my opening remark, telcos (both wired and wireless) have been trying to implement edge computing devices for years, with smallish take up to date, other than in certain industries, using specific solutions (e.g. smart grids for DNSPs [like Energex & Ergon in Qld] using some SCADA and other solutions including their own mobile netwoks, Smart home hubs, etc.).

Still, it's definitely the way forward for reduced latency, capacity and even redundancy, but needs real HW and SW solutions at a low price point to be truly effective.

Good forum topic!!

14
topowl
Added 8 months ago

I'm always wondering why anyone would spend the money to put actual cable in these days.

Thought wireless was the most cost-effective future-proof way forward.

8

Bushmanpat
Added 8 months ago

And it's easy to overwhelm the capacity of the wireless/mobile network as opposed to fibre. Mobile networks jam when there is an influx of new people, just ask anyone who lived in rural area about when the COVID restrictions were lifted and people could travel within the state. It was impossible to make a call or do anything data wise as people streamed out of Sydney!

12

Rocket6
Added 8 months ago

I would physically lay the fibre myself if it meant accessing cable over wireless (talking internet here).

@fcmaster26 on the money. Wireless can also pose security problems in certain environments.

16