2. Compendium of Priorities and Initiatives (continued)
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
National Broadband Network
In April 2009, the Government established a new company to build and operate the National Broadband Network in urban, regional and rural areas. The company will invest up to $43 billion over eight years to build the network, which will initially be publicly owned; private investment will be encouraged from the initial build stage. Within this funding envelope the Government's objective is to:
- connect 90 per cent of all homes, schools and workplaces with optical fibre, fibre to the premises or 'FTTP', providing broadband services to Australians with speeds of up to 100 megabits per second — a hundred times faster than those currently used by many households and businesses
- connect all other premises in Australia with next generation wireless and satellite technologies that will be able to deliver 12 megabits per second or better.
It is also expected that the National Broadband Network will support up to 25,000 jobs every year, on average, over the eight year life of the project. The Government is immediately investing $250 million to address broadband 'black spots' throughout regional Australia through the timely rollout of fibre optic transmission links connecting cities, major regional centres and rural towns.
Rural and Regional NBN Initiative
The Government has announced an $80 million Rural and Regional National Broadband Network Initiative to build on the National Broadband Network by supporting initiatives which improve service delivery and promote broadband take‑up and use in regional, rural and remote communities.
Funding boost to the Digital Regions Initiative
The Government's initial $46 million for the Digital Regions Initiative, committed earlier this year in response to the Regional Telecommunications Review, has been augmented by an additional $14 million over four years to accelerate the benefits to regional communities of access to high‑speed broadband.
ABC Local Regional Broadband Hubs
The ABC will receive $15.3 million to encourage and assist the development of user generated content and to establish community web sites and portals, creating 'virtual town squares' for communities to share experiences.
The funding provides for more than 50 enhanced regional broadband hubs to be rolled out over the next three years. Funding will be used to identify and employ local producers to work on cross‑media stories and to train audiences to create their own content.
Rural NBN Coordinators
$5 million over four years has been allocated to fund the appointment of Rural NBN Coordinators to encourage local government, community and business usage of the broadband opportunities provided by the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program.
Regional Telecommunications Review
The Government responded on 5 March 2009 to the recommendations made by the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee, chaired by Dr Bill Glasson. In line with the recommendations made in the committee's report, the Government initially committed $61.1 million in funding across three programs.
The Government has committed new funding of $46 million over four years for the Digital Regions Initiative to enable the use of digital applications to improve services in education, health and emergency services in regional communities in partnership with state, territory and local governments. As part of the Rural and Regional NBN Initiative, an additional $14 million has been provided to the Digital Regions Initiative to accelerate the benefits to regional communities of access to high‑speed broadband.
Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme
The Government will provide $11.4 million over four years, commencing in 2009‑10, to continue and enhance the subsidies available under the Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme for Australians living and working in areas without terrestrial coverage.
The enhancements to the Scheme include:
- an increase in the subsidy for applicants in areas without access to terrestrial mobile phone coverage from sixty per cent to eighty five per cent, to a maximum of $1000 per handset
- the ability for applicants in areas without access to terrestrial mobile phone coverage to receive additional subsidies to replace handsets that were previously purchased under the scheme two or more years ago
- the ability for health and emergency services organisations to access more than two handsets based on demonstrated need.
Indigenous Communications Program
The Government will provide an additional $3.7 million to a $30 million refocused Indigenous Communications Program over the next four financial years, to install community phones in around 300 Indigenous communities, and to monitor and maintain the newly installed phones and around 250 previously installed phones. The program will work with states and territories to provide computer training and increased public internet access facilities in remote Indigenous communities.
Digital switchover
The Government has committed $152.3 million for a package of measures to drive the availability of improved television services as Australia makes the transition to digital. The package focuses on the regions that will lead the switch to digital‑only television services: Sunraysia, centred on the city of Mildura in north‑west Victoria in the first half of 2010; regional South Australia in the second half of 2010; regional Victoria in the first half of 2011; and regional Queensland in the second half of 2011.
Further information
Further information about these and other broadband and communications initiatives relating to rural and regional Australia is available at www.dbcde.gov.au.
Information about the digital economy and the digital switchover is available at www.digitalready.gov.au.
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