[LINK] UK Government VPN

Glen Turner gdt at gdt.id.au
Sun Sep 27 14:42:05 AEST 2009


On Sun, 2009-09-27 at 11:13 +1000, Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> In Canberra they also use ICON, which is dark fibre and also point to 
> point. Anything else would fall foul of common carrier legislation, for 
> which they would need a licence - which is all too much trouble.

There are exemption provisions, and these would seem relevant.

The problem with Icon is that is has to fly under the radar,
since the previous government was selling a carrier rather than
building one. So it wasn't about to pop up on the Minister's
radar and request an Exemption.

I would hope that Icon now do that, so that data communications
within Canberra can be rationalised (eg, rather than each
department purchase its own Internet, phone and interstate
communications).  As a network engineer for a not-for-profit
consortia I've a fair notion of what the government should
be paying. And what it's paying at the moment is well over
the odds.




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