Comms bodies SPAN and ACIF merge

Consolidation amongst industry bodies continues with the merger of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and the Service Providers Association (SPAN).

The two bodies will now operate under the banner of the Communications Alliance and will aim to offer a unified input into the planning of next generation networks.

According to the SPAN and the ACIF, the new body is the most broadly representative organisation in the industry’s history.

Explaining the merger Communications Alliance CEO Anne Hurley said that the rapid pace of change in the communications industry required new strategies and different structures to effectively advocate the industries interests and concerns to government.

“We will certainly be using the successes achieved by ACIF and SPAN as our building blocks, but the Communications Alliance will have a more extensive mandate to tackle the big issues, especially in forward planning for the industry,” Hurley said in a statement.

“Because of our broad representative membership base, we can take the lead in defining the future industry framework, complete with goals, timeframes and best practice guidelines.”

As reported in iTnews, the Australian Voice over IP Association (AVoIPA) industry body merged under the ACIF in May.

AVoIPA was founded in February 2005 as a niche industry body to represent VoIP network operators and service providers.