Justin Milne joins board of Internet kiosk developer

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 01 March 2011 14:38

IT Industry - Listed Tech

The former head of Telstra BigPond, Justin Milne, has joined the board of Perth based Internet kiosk developer, PieNetworks (ASX: PIE) whose products are currently being trialled by Telstra with a view to a large scale rollout.

Announcing his appointment, PieNetworks said: "Mr Milne is a previous chief executive of The Microsoft Network, CEO of OzEmail and is well known for his role in helping to bring broadband to Australia during his time as group managing director of Telstra BigPond." He is also a director of TABCORP, Basketball Australia Ltd and the Sydney Childrens Hospital Network."

Telstra announced Milne's departure in March 2010, saying that his last day would be 1 June. PieNetworks chairman, Peter Abery, said: "He brings a wealth of experience, not only concerning broadband networks but also regarding what applications consumers like to send over them."

PieNetworks announce in June 2010 that Telstra would deploy 50 of its Hotspot Webphones for a four month trial with a view to a large scale deployment around Australia.

iTWire reported plans for the trial back in March. http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/deals/39655 We noted also that it was not Telstra's first trial of PieNetworks' products, which we had reported in January 2007, pointing out then that it was the latest in a whole series of Telstra's attempts to introduce multimedia payphones stretching back more than a decade, none of which had led to large scale rollouts.

The trial commenced in November and the kiosks have now been installed in all major airports around Australia. Telstra released a media release in December 2010 saying that feedback had been overwhelmingly positive. "Really I would say it's exceeded our expectations. People say they like the large, easy to use, touch-screen and full size keyboard. People can browse the web, look at emails or photos, and at the same time talk on the phone or send texts. There is also a handful of free content available."