t was this move that led Nick on to coordinating BT’s activities worldwide and his eventual path to Australia, to establish BT International’s office in Sydney in the late 80s. When his expat contract was up, he decided there was no going back and took on the fresh challenge of starting a broadcasting business from scratch in Australia for TVNZ. The company has achieved considerable growth and provides engineering services throughout the country to the broadcasting industry. It also owns and runs Australia’s maritime communications network on behalf of the Federal Government. With the acquisition of AAPCS a year or so ago, the Australian operations now also cover mobile communications, and over 60 percent of the Kordia Group’s revenue is from Australia. As managing director, Nick’s responsibilities cover strategic direction, business development, customer relationships, general management and statutory obligations.
Did you harbour a long-held ambition to get involved in the industry?
I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of the modernisation to digital in both the telecommunications and broadcasting industries, and the convergence of the two. From when I was under 10 years of age, I had a secret ambition to live in Australia and spent much of my time building shortwave radios and scouring the airwaves for Radio Australia from our home in north-west England. So in that sense both broadcasting and Australia were long held ambitions, however it wasn’t a ‘do or die’ thing, but I certainly gave 100 percent to secure the career opportunities when they presented themselves.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow in your footsteps?
I’m sure many young people with a technical interest would find RF broadcasting extremely interesting, together with its various offshoots, but unfortunately they probably pass it by in favour of information technology and web-based activities and see transmission as just a pipe. There are so many facets to delivery which shouldn’t necessarily be overlooked in favour of applications and content when looking for a career. With increasing mobility and wireless platforms becoming the way of the future, I would say it’s a great time to join our part of the industry, particularly in a converged communications, information and entertainment environment. I think that you have to decide pretty early on though as to how close to the technology you want to be. For instance, do you want to be a hands-on integrator or operator, or just use the basic principles and functionality but in a commercial business environment.
What would you like to see happen in the industry that you think would enable you to work more effectively?
This is quite a difficult question because the answer is probably ‘time.’ This is because we are at such a fascinating point with so many influencing factors such as media ownership changing, new channels A and B, TV delivery to mobile devices, the advent of digital radio and proliferation of wireless broadband. How many bases do you cover and how will it all pan out? So I think stabilisation and clarity of direction is the obvious answer to what I would like to see in the industry but it will take time for market forces and regulation to determine this.
If you had the opportunity to do any other job, what would it be and why?
I often joke with my kids about why they can’t hit on a Skype or YouTube-type idea so that I can be on their board and keep them commercially focussed with good corporate governance whilst they deploy their youthful initiatives. That would be really interesting - to in effect have one’s time again knowing what you know now.
What do you find most enjoyable about working in this industry?
Going back to your previous question about what I would like to see happen in the industry, I think it’s the multiple changes and advancements that are currently taking place that make it challenging as well as exciting and enjoyable. The transformation is driven by so many factors, such as technology, consumers, regulation and key industry players – but not necessarily in that order! Also, what happens in Europe, North America or Japan is not necessarily what will happen here. So it really is a case of weighing it all up and using your own judgement but being prepared for twists and turns in such a dynamic industry – that’s what makes it all so fascinating.
What in your view are the most important developments happening in broadcasting at present and how do you think they will affect both Kordia and the industry in general?
Two of the main developments for us currently are the new media ownership rules and the two new channels A & B. There is much attention given to the war chests that are being built up by broadcasters through partial divestment to private equity groups, and in some cases, total acquisition. But our interest is in what influence the new stakeholders will bring to maximise return on their new investments. A good way would be to outsource network operations where we can offer a really efficient service, since we already maintain 600 sites across the country that transmit ABC and SBS television and radio. Having designed and built much of the DTT roll-out in Australia, including the very first capital city installations, we are well experienced to do likewise for the two new channels the government are proposing – whether for datacasting or mobile TV. I think also that EME (electromagnetic energy) is a growing awareness issue for the industry and we have significant skills in not just measurement but also in areas such as the effects on metallic body implants.
Looking ahead, how you do see the industry in five years from now?
I hope by then that we’ll have switched off analogue television and that the channels will be re-allocated, bringing fresh content and applications, and of course design and build business to Kordia. Within five years, digital radio should be prevalent in both the FM and AM bands. I personally think audio quality is really important, obviously for radio but also television where much emphasis is often put on high definition video but not necessarily sound or surround sound. Hopefully, within five years we’ll have a standard wireless interface within our homes for high-definition products, such as set top boxes, DVD players, games consoles, etc, so I think distribution within the home is as big a topic as distribution to the home. As a consumer, I also think there is some way to go before we have really good lightweight mobile handset products which have permanent broadband connections offering TV, music, email, fast web browsing with clear display, radio and camera with videophone - and that don’t need charging every few hours. It sounds like a bit of a wish list but we are almost there. From a delivery point of view, there are a proliferation of technology standards emerging such as WiMax for broadband access, DVB-H for handheld television, DAB and DRM for digital radio, and so on, however there is a bit of a battle going on as to whether some of these belong in the broadcasting or telecommunications industries or both, but only time will tell.
If you could eradicate one problem that exists in the industry at present, what would it be and why?
I think training is a big issue. As we’ve been discussing, many young kids these days enter IT-related industries and the principles of broadcast transmission have fallen by the wayside. The age profile in our part of the industry is very high and we struggle as a company to recruit good quality skilled technicians and engineers. In fact, because our work force is so large, through necessity we have had to develop our own in-house training courses and we have in effect become the industry’s de facto trainer. We’re currently formalising plans to offer external training and we expect to have accredited courses available very shortly, starting with EME awareness.
