Australian telecoms bodies form new alliance

Members of the Service Providers Association Inc (SPAN) on Wednesday voted to merge with the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) to form the Communications Alliance, a single peak body for Australia's comms industry.

Yesterday's vote by SPAN was required to formalise the creation of the new body after ACIF members voted in favour of the proposal on 26 July. The Communications Alliance will now be launched on 1 September.

The Communications Alliance will initially be governed by a 'transitional board', which will consist of the current ACIF chairman Neville Stevens and SPAN chairman John Kranenburg who will both take up non-executive posts.

ACIF's current CEO Anne Hurley will take the reins of the Communications Alliance, which will elect a board and chairman to take over command from the start of December.

Hurley claims the merger will create the "most broadly representative body in the history of the Australian communications industry".

"By bringing the industry together under the Communications Alliance we can muster all of the brain-power, resources and expertise we will need to handle this challenging time in our history," said Hurley.

"Our industry is undergoing an almost total transformation and it will require unparalleled cooperation between all sectors to ensure an orderly transition," she added.