The Enablement Platform POC project has been in development for 3 years. Five councils agreed to participate in the project with the MAV, in partnership Telstra. The POC is designed to demonstrate some of the operational, financial and security advantages of have a local government infrastructure hub that would allow a single connection to state and federal government, key ICT service providers, and the Internet.
The project has experience some frustrating delays, due partly to lack of resources at the MAV, and partly due to a major internal restructure of Telstra.
In December, after some negotiation, the MAV and MAV Technology secured a renewed commitment from Telstra to deliver the Enablement Platform POC and to address TPAMS vs MAV procurement contract issues.
As a result, many councils are now choosing to renew their contracts through MAV, rather than through the State govt, and the Enablement Platform project is now back on the agenda, and expected to commence with 5 councils and the MAV connected on 1 March 2018. Once the POC has fully commenced, regular communications to the sector will be provided over the 6-month term of the POC.
Outcomes from the POC will include a business model for scaling the platform to enable all councils to connect at a cost comparable to their current ICT costs, but with significant efficiency and productivity gains.