Former Telstra Country Wide chief, Doug Campbell to chair Tassie NBNCo.

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 25 July 2009 09:04

IT Industry - Strategy

Doug Campbell, former head of Telstra Country Wide and former deputy MD of Telstra, has been named as chair of the Tasmanian NBN Company (TNBN Co), a joint venture between NBNCo and Aurora Energy that will rollout and operate the National Broadband Network in Tasmania.

Announcing his appointment, the Government said: "Mr Campbell has 48 years of industry experience: 30 years in Canada competing with established telecommunications providers, and 18 years in Australia as a senior executive in Telstra...He is perfectly qualified to drive forward this...vital first stage of the National Broadband Network."

Before he left Canada in 1988, Campbell was president of Canadian National Communications (CNC), the main competitive carrier in Canada providing voice and data service coast to coast to mainly business users. His first job in Australia, briefly, was as general manager of business operations with AWA. After he retired from Telstra in 2005, Campbell became chairman of Acacia Broadband, one of the bidders for the scrapped National Broadband Network mark 1 that would have largely delivered fibre to the node. Acacia promised that it would deliver 12Mbps to 100 percent of the population rather than the 98 percent target of the NBN mark 1 RFP.

The Government said it was continuing the process to appoint other directors to the board of TNBN Co, and expected to make further announcements shortly. Campbell will take on his chairmanship role "shortly"

The Government separately announced the appointment of former Alcatel president and chief operating officer, Mike Quigley as executive chairman of NBNCo.

Both announcements were made at the opening of the Aurora Energy and National Broadband Network data centre in Tasmania, at which the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, also announced that the communities of Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point would be the first to receive fibre to the premises in the rollout of the National Broadband Network in Tasmania. The government said that about 5000 premises would have access to the NBN by the second quarter of 2010.