ACIF About To Eat SPAN Print E-mail
Written by Adam Gosling   
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
The Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and Service Providers Association Inc (SPAN) are in the final stages of merging as the round of communications industry peak bodies continues to concentrate lobbying power.

In late May ADIF announced it had subsumed AVOIPA (the Australian Voice over IP Association).

The merger will create a single Communications Alliance once the two complete the transition on 1 September 2006. The merger is still subject to membership approval.

The boards of both ACIF and SPAN have agreed to the merger, which will now be put to the membership for final approval.

ACIF CEO, Anne Hurley, has agreed to become CEO of the newly created Communications Alliance which she said would have the membership, resources and capabilities to speak and act on behalf of a broad cross-section of the communications industry as well as develop collaborative industry responses to emerging trends and issues.

"The Communications Alliance will engage in the full range of industry activity from exploration, investigation and discussion of emerging industry trends, through to critical discussion and debate of the regulatory and policy issues raised by these emerging trends," Hurley said.

SPAN's Chairman, John Kranenburg, believes the merged industry body will build on the significant achievements of each organisation.

"The new organisation's scope of activities and depth of member base will lift its leadership contribution to a new level in the industry," Kranenburg said.

The newly formed Communications Alliance will place a strong emphasis on providing thought leadership on new trends and directions by fulfilling a strong advocacy role on behalf of the industry and its members, particularly in areas of competition and innovation, said a statement.

Services such as the ACIF process for the development of industry codes and technical standards (which have regulatory status) and the provision of SPAN's Alternative Dispute Resolution will continue to be key elements of the new Alliance.

www.acif.org.au
www.span.net.au


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