Give Australians improved telecommunications coverage, quality and access by taking strategic actions to improve digital inclusion, regional telecommunications and broadband quality levels.
- Social benefits
- Connected regions
Key messages
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia’s largest ever telecommunications infrastructure project. By every measure, the network has improved greatly since its launch, and it has achieved its major milestones. The latest NBN strategic plan commits to major further investment over the coming years. This includes improving data speeds for people with slow or inconsistent service on Fibre to the Node and Fixed Wireless technologies.
The regional Mobile Black Spot Program has improved mobile coverage to many hundreds of communities across Australia, but there are areas in regional and remote Australia where the coverage, quality and reliability of mobile telecommunications services still need to improve. This issue requires a strategic approach by governments and industry to identify key communities, transport corridors and businesses that require the improvement of existing terrestrial mobile services or new terrestrial mobile coverage.
Despite progress, a digital divide continues to split Australia. Affordability, digital literacy, accessibility, digital device availability and other obstacles are preventing older Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, regional Australians and lower-income families from enjoying the same digital benefits as the rest of society.
What are the impacts?
Closing the gap in digital inclusion by improving satellite and fixed wireless services improves the quality of telecommunications access in regional areas. Implementing the Digital Inclusion Roadmap ensures affordable broadband access for those on low incomes, in particular groups receiving government assistance.
The Mobile Blackspot Program has improved mobile coverage to communities across regional and remote Australia, connecting remote communities and stimulating key regional economic sectors.
An outcome of innovative governance approaches to telecommunications infrastructure investment includes the delivery of the regional tech hub to assist people in regional, rural and remote Australia to realise the benefits of being digitally connected.
A clearly-owned digital inclusion roadmap will improve social inclusion, bring a strategic focus to closing the digital divide, enhance centralised funding and drive investment in larger, more impactful projects.
How easy is it to implement?
Regional Australia presents inevitable geographic challenges for traditional mobile coverage. Involving more partners across more levels of government and more network operators will progressively lower investment costs.
The Universal Service Guarantee provides access to baseline services across Australia. A multi-year upgrade program has delivered significant improvements to fixed wireless capacity, supported by co-investment with NBN Co.
A national upgrade program to many thousands of premises will be straightforward for many, but highly complex and potentially costly for a smaller number of properties that are heritage, complex or particularly difficult to connect to the NBN.
How certain are the outcomes?
Eight out of ten Australians believe comprehensive digital connectivity is now essential for their work and home lives. This suggests a high level of community acceptance for raising the basic quality, inclusiveness and regional coverage of NBN. The risks lie in achieving a delicate balance between shareholder return, network quality and end user affordability.
Confidence that the benefits of the reform will be realised through continual improvement is evident through existing progress and strong research that supports addressing the digital divide for vulnerable groups.
Government control within newer investment areas of regional Australia is limited. The prevalence of industry co-investment needs to be addressed through localised, community-led investment that can achieve sustainable coverage.
| Economic |
OECD business use
|
| Economic |
National land transport coverage
|
| Economic |
Mobile economic coverage
|
| Social |
Digital inclusion
|
Read more about this recommendation in 7.2 Putting customers at the heart of digital infrastructure in the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan.
Reform implementation pathway
This recommendation comprises of outcomes and activities, which form the reform's implementation pathway.
The implementation pathway is designed to guide change agents on the supporting activities necessary to achieve the overall reform.
For each outcome and activity, we propose change agents to act as:
- Proposed sponsor: facilitate, coordinate and champion the recommendation
- Proposed lead: deliver specific activities or lead related outcomes
- Support: share ownership, contributions or knowledge to enable the reform process.
Connect regional Australians by improving the coverage, quality and reliability of telecommunications, through continued government investment in infrastructure outcomes that are not commercially viable in Rural Communities and Remote Areas of Australia.
0-5 years
Empower customers by stipulating clear performance levels for data speed, reliability and key processes such as installation or repair times in the Statutory Infrastructure Provider Regime. The Regime should clarify and publish basic performance levels and ensure these evolve to include specific targets for repair times and service uptime.
5-10 years
Deliver increased mobile coverage to regional communities under a future approach to funding for mobile telephony in regional areas, to succeed the Mobile Black Spot Program after its sixth round.
0-5 years
Reduce the digital divide in Australian society by launching a national digital inclusion strategy and a rolling national study on key affected groups.
10-15 years
Close the gap in digital inclusion with a national strategy and roadmap for digital access, affordability, ability and accessibility. A national program should drive a clear strategy for inclusion, set objectives, run studies, develop roadmaps and allocate funding to initiatives.
5-10 years
Ensure the NBN delivers against the customer needs set out in its Statement of Expectations by continuing to invest in upgrade pathways and ensuring basic performance standards are met for all end users.
5-10 years
Deliver improved coverage, speed and reliability to all Australian broadband customers under a published Minimum NBN Customer Charter that obliges all companies involved in delivering a connection (Statutory Infrastructure Providers and retail service providers) to meet a basic guarantee for the end-to-end customer experience. The Charter should include speed (relative to plan selected), reliability, installation times, repair times and rebates.
0-5 years
Ensure NBN end users with slower-performing lines are covered by a prioritised upgrade plan for fixed-line and fixed wireless services, under a published suburb-level plan to upgrade copper lines that are unable to consistently deliver 25 Mbps upstream and 5 Mbps downstream speeds.
0-5 years