FryUp: What's another few billion?

Whaddarya worth

'That's fine Mr Stanners, we'll pay for your new network'

Telco bosses keep their public appearances to a minimum, possibly to preserve the mystique of higher office. They pick and choose the conferences they speak at, or as a PR man once told me, "they can't go to them all". So what a surprise to see all three of the top telco CEOs in person — rather than via a dodgy video link — at the Telecommunications and ICT Summit in Auckland this week.

And they certainly had a lot to say. Some of it even funny — TelstraClear CEO Allan Freeth raised the biggest laugh, summing up life in telco land as a combination of Clash of Titans, A Fine Romance and Tim "the tool man" Taylor from Home Improvement. "I don't really get up here to say these things to complain or whinge and frankly I have got better things to do than whinge. And I don't get up here in the misplaced hope that something will change, that is long gone," he told the audience before berating commentators and the media for not providing better analysis on the current state of telco.

But as entertaining as Freeth was he was upstaged by Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners, who thinks taxpayers should front up with more money if they want a fibre network. Exactly how much? Well, $5 billion. You might think that as the head of the most profitable mobile network in the country, he wouldn't welcome the competition. But having accepted it is going to arrive anyway, why not get the taxpayer to fund more of the fibre network and then buddy up to allies Sky TV to deliver services when it arrives? Don’t know, just asking.

Anyway, we at Fryup can not see the ICT Minister Steven Joyce splashing out more taxpayer cash. In government land there's something even more powerful than dollars - votes.

Taxpayers should put up $5 billion for broadband: Vodafone CEO

'We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day'

Sure we all like the perks a job brings, such as the fact that we don't have to pay for heating in the winter and we like working with nice people and, oh job satisfaction is very important too. But, as a particularly astute comment pointed out on the Computerworld website this week, most of us go to work each day to get paid.

So exactly how much future employers think the job their advertising is worth, would be useful. As would an actual job description - which according to one IT recruitment firm only exists for one in ten vacancies its asked to find candidates for.

Perhaps we should all take our lead from supermodel Linda Evangelista (yes, that's her photo) who sent a very clear message to future employers about what she and her supermodel colleages were worth when she famously said: "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day".

IT vacancies lacking descriptions: recruiter


Former FryUp editor gets phished

Don't know what happened here. Nothing to do with you leaving, Juha. Promise.