![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-1-1024x576.jpeg\")
Countries around the world are already recognising the need to invest, with countries like the United States spending big to support the \u201cglobal race to unlock AI\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Brady warned the key hurdle Australia faced was not research, but infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s often discussion about the technology, data centres and energy we\u2019ll need to power Australia\u2019s digital future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut not as much about the digital infrastructure we\u2019ll need to connect it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout connectivity, none of it will work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Brady warned failure to do so will have a deeply negative effect on Australia\u2019s living standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three critical issues Australia must address<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Telstra boss said she has told the federal government Australia needs to have the right digital infrastructure, the right skills to access the technology and the right regulatory settings that strike a balance between growth and risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of this was a call for a national digital infrastructure plan both in the air, the ground and undersea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA plan the telco sector can align behind and work with other sectors like energy to deliver\u201d, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Brady said she was \u201cencouraged by the conversations we\u2019ve started as action and the recognition of the roles digital infrastructure plays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow we need to build on it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n Ms Brady also pointed out the need to upskill Australians, as the world becomes more dependent on digital services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is about making sure Australians have the right skills as AI reshapes our economy and workforce, that they can trust that new technologies are being deployed responsibly and everyone can participate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said while the development of AI brings with it big opportunities, it is uncharted territory, and a \u201cshared vision\u201d was required to make the most of the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe best way for us to ensure public safety and trust while encouraging innovation is to collaborate deeply,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the chief executive asked government to set the right regulatory settings which balance risk and growth for the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRegulation has an important role to play in the economy and our sector \u2026 but as Treasruer Chalmers has identified, we need to cut the clutter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to find a better way that encourages investment and keeps our national vision in mind, and we\u2019re keen to work with governments and regulators on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n News Corporation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Telstra chief Vicki Brady has warned Australia must act quickly with a bold national digital strategy or risk missing a crucial opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":282163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[213,273,35,9282,1],"tags":[9485],"class_list":["post-282162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-australia","category-breaking-news","category-telecommunications-news","category-uncategorized","tag-telstra"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=282162"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282167,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282162\/revisions\/282167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/282163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=282162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=282162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=282162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-1024x576.jpeg\")