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Networking Australia's Future - Chapter 3
Overview
A culture of innovation is essential if Australia is to remain internationally competitive in the coming decades.
Making best use of communications and information technologies and services means re-engineering existing processes rather than the piecemeal automation of current functions.
The opportunities presented by new communications services will result in fundamental restructuring in many industries, and the creation of global markets in which individual tasks are rapidly and cheaply passed to international centres of expertise.
Many long-established traditions and practices will be challenged: professional roles, organisational and industry structures, hierarchical supervisory practices, social and cultural mores. This chapter considers possibilities in the business, health and education sectors.
The Group believes that pilot projects are needed to encourage cooperation between the user community, network operators and service providers and content creators. Such projects will also help to familiarise participants with some of the new services and provide a testbed to encourage the development and application of innovative communications services.
The need to innovate
Competitive advantages are at best fleeting. Innovative applications of new technologies rapidly make existing processes obsolete.
Whether Australia catches the 'next wave' is up to Australians. If we are to remain internationally competitive, we must be willing to make the changes that will keep us at the forefront of new information and communications services.
In Chapter 2 we emphasised the evolutionary nature of the changes ahead. In developing our infrastructure we must take account of the skills of consumers, the creation of content and applications, and the demand for services.
But in other senses the changes will be dramatic - we are unlikely to see a period of sustained stability in the near future.
The key message of this chapter is that over time the new communications services and the growth of global information networks will result in a fundamental restructuring of industry and business, and of the delivery of education, health and government services. Rather than incremental improvements in efficiency or the piecemeal automation of clerical functions, these changes imply a complete re-examination of information flows, internally and with clients, and of organisational and industry structures.
Trade in information services is growing rapidly, and even such industries as construction are extremely information intensive. We can no longer think in terms of imports and exports or of physical distances creating local, regional and national markets. We have to think in terms of one, global market.
There are many barriers - institutional, organisational, legal, social and cultural - to the immediate adoption of new practices. In Chapter 1 we said that technologies should not be imposed on the community. But we do believe that only if the barriers to adoption of new technologies and services are lowered will Australians have the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with other countries.
In its submission the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade noted the importance of global networks to 'the opening of international markets for Australian information and communication exports, and the development of an internationally competitive and outward-looking economy'.
Australia is giving strong support to multilateral efforts to liberalise the telecommunications and information technology and service sectors in a number of forums. The Uruguay Round of negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services provides a substantial basis for future liberalisation of the telecommunications sector. This will be given further impetus through consideration of the United States' Global Information Infrastructure initiative in coming Group of 7 meetings on telecommunications.
Australia is also working through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to promote trade liberalisation and, through the APEC Telecommunications Working Group, to expand trade in telecommunications goods and services and encourage the adoption of compatible telecommunications technology in the region.
This chapter considers some of the possibilities created by new communications services and global networks in the business, health and education sectors. Although the examples used may be quite specific, we stress that an innovative culture must be adopted in all sectors of the economy if we are to maintain our international competitiveness and the quality of life we now enjoy.
Business
The terms 'electronic commerce' and 'process re-engineering' relate to the management of information within and between firms and the resulting organisational and production efficiencies.
A simple example of this is the use of bar codes on retail goods. Scanning a bar code at the point of sale might automatically update store inventory and revenue records and, through automated network communications links, trigger ordering, shipping and production activities all the way back to the warehouse.
In many industries the availability of portable computers, mobile links to computer networks, and services such as video conferencing are changing the function of central offices. Staff can spend more time with clients or 'on the road', still having full access to data files, still able to hold meetings with colleagues and have calls redirected and, via broadband links, able to collaborate on work of almost any nature. Significant savings can thus be achieved in accommodation costs - a small number of desks with computer sockets can be sufficient for a central office.
The nature of corporations is changing too. A loose consortium of companies connected by high-capacity data links - the 'virtual corporation' - enables expertise to be drawn in as required. Documents, files or graphics can be readily transmitted to the best-qualified staff, or to offices with light workloads. A single company representative in each country might be sufficient to capture or maintain a share of the market.
Manufacturing, architectural and engineering design and graphics can be worked on simultaneously by staff in different cities; software can be sent anywhere in seconds.
Only those companies that exploit these opportunities will be competitive in the future. Office accommodation costs, under-utilised staff, and a lack of specific expertise could undermine a company's efficiency in increasingly tough markets.
Businesses will most readily adopt new communications services that can be demonstrated to provide commercial returns. Governments can play a role in accelerating the uptake of services by acting as a leading edge user to demonstrate the viability of those services and by making firms aware of their benefits through programs such as AusIndustry in the Department of Industry, Science and Technology.
A consultancy commissioned by the Group noted that major projects in the building and construction sector have always involved collaboration. Early mainframe computers centralised this activity, but local area networks are leading to distributed computing and linking of data systems between organisations.
Networked computer aided design applications allow an on-site project manager to view and revise design drawings with an off-site architect; site views, product images and animated simulations can also be incorporated.
If process re-engineering is to eliminate inefficiencies, duplication and sources of error, processes must first be redesigned: just imposing information technologies on existing processes can exacerbate current inefficiencies.
Increased flexibility and efficiency are being achieved through concurrent engineering techniques - parallel rather than sequential design and manufacturing processes. Product designs are usually modified before manufacture to reduce production costs and improve reliability. Network applications such as interactive graphics and computer aided design, multi-party video conferencing and high-speed file transfer allow design and manufacturing teams to work together from the start of a design, with significant savings.
In Chapter 1 we noted that trends towards increased travel and less structured family life are creating demands for more flexible forms of communication. Parallelling this, the availability of a range of new information services and the cost of travelling are encouraging people to work from home or distributed company offices. As economic activity becomes more information intensive, it makes sense to transfer information rather than people and goods. Mobile communications technologies and services such as video conferencing are now making this possible.
Concerns over the environmental impact of mass transport and the inefficiency of daily commuting and its impact on family and social life also suggest that traditional central business district company offices will gradually diminish in size.
Telecommuting from home is currently limited by the capacity of existing telephone connections to support high-data-rate functions such as video conferencing and graphics and file transfer, and by consumer equipment costs.
There are also many occupations where close contact with colleagues or physical access to office equipment and services is necessary. But in other areas the potential productivity gains will challenge traditional hierarchical and supervisory structures. Telecommuting awards, workers' compensation, and in some cases liability issues still need to be resolved before working from home becomes widespread.
Small regional or distributed offices offer many similar benefits to home-based telecommuting but also maintain contact between company staff, and may make more efficient use of infrastructure and hardware.
Building bridges for CAD
The architectural consultants are in Melbourne, the marble experts are in Milan, the acoustic engineers are in Sydney, the engineering company is based in Japan, and the client is in one of the fast developing nations of Asia. This is a typical recipe for many major architectural, engineering, construction or manufacturing projects - highly specialised skills dispersed far and wide, sometimes around the globe. Bringing these skills together has usually meant time-consuming and disruptive jet-setting, the novelty of which wears off after just a few 12 or 24-hour flights.
One reason that the experts from the disciplines mentioned can't conduct most of their business over the phone is the constant need to refer to their designs. It isn't enough to have paper copies in front of all parties because the danger of misunderstanding exactly what is being indicated may prove disastrous. And while much of the design is computer aided (CAD), transferring the design using phone lines, couriers or post is too slow.
Given Australia's geographical position, it's not surprising to find Telstra's Melbourne Research Laboratories and CSIRO's Division of Building, Construction and Engineering at the forefront of a new approach to inter-city and international consultancy. It's called CAD Conferencing, and it incorporates live video with the capacity for high-speed transfer of CAD drawings so that a designer can call a remote office and display images on a video screen for discussion with the client.
The package can be used by large international organisations right through to small consultancies, removing the need to bring them to a single physical location. In the early stages, it means that designers can meet frequently with clients, using CAD Conferencing, to interpret their needs and respond quickly with design concepts. It can eliminate the need for short overseas visits by allowing the team to conduct interactive design sessions. The designers benefit, and so do the clients.
Health
The health sector depends on the quality of its information and the speed with which it is transmitted. Detailed, accurate and timely information is essential for patient records, for diagnosis and for administration. Efficient information management and distribution will increasingly provide the key to the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective health services.
New communications services can dramatically improve health care quality and reduce costs. But if the potential benefits are to be realised a coordinated national approach is required to implement process and culture changes across the health sector.
The Group commissioned a consultant to report on the use of broadband services in the health sector. The report stated that:
Broadband services will play a major role in the process of establishing an integrated health sector information system. As well, broadband will provide an opportunity for the delivery and implementation of improved diagnostic techniques such as teleradiology, improved access to medical knowledge through on-line services, and, perhaps most importantly, improved communications between different health care professionals. However, the health care industry has a long history of rigid institutions which are necessary in this politically sensitive area. Concerns about privacy, professional demarcation, and, most importantly the delivery of quality health care will strongly influence the diffusion of broadband applications in this sector.
The consultant's report helped the Group to identify a number of areas in which some form of process or culture change may be necessary.
A fundamental starting point to electronic processing and transfer of information in medical facilities is the digitisation of medical data. This is a huge task and will require a reallocation of resources within major institutions.
Staff training is another important area. For some time larger medical institutions have been providing equipment and training for staff in computer-based applications. But greater resources and increased specialisation will probably be needed in the future. There may also be a pressing need for more training and resources for smaller scale operations such as general practices, pharmacies and rural medical institutions.
A number of State, Territory and Commonwealth health departments and agencies are moving to electronic information systems. There does not, however, appear to be a coordinated approach to the operation and development of these systems and networks, despite the similar database requirements of the various health information systems, the mobility of the client base, and common dispensing and billing procedures. Considerable efficiencies may be possible if the various networks are linked in an integrated national health communications network.
Privacy is an overriding concern in the electronic transfer of health records. Concern centres on access to patient records and it appears that the risk of disclosure has retarded the development and use of communications networks and services.
The integrity of databases is also a major limiting factor. The medical profession is increasingly being subjected to legal challenge, and undoubtedly the prospect of inaccurate information being placed on a database is another potential area for litigation.
The Group recognises that these are important considerations in the development of health communications networks. If we do not confront and resolve them, however, we may be accepting a lower standard of health care than we need to.
There may be advantages in a national approach to resolving these issues, using advice of experts in the health field. Accordingly, the Group suggests that the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council consider establishing a taskforce of State, Territory and Commonwealth officials to identify major impediments and possible solutions to the development of a national communications network in the health sector.
Education
Broadband networks and services can make a great contribution to education.
The authors of a study of demand in the education sector commissioned by the Group concluded that 'education has in place some proven applications poised to utilise significant broadband capacity as soon as this becomes available at affordable prices'. Potential demand for the following was identified:
- remote delivery of classes;
- flexible access to multimedia course material and audiovisual educational material;
- on-line information discovery;
- collaboration in virtual 'shared spaces';
- network-based course administration procedures.
Some broadband services with limited interactivity are already available to students by satellite, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria and in the distance education sector in Western Australia and Queensland. In the school sector, access to on-line services is widely available in some States, but in others availability depends on the initiative of individual institutions. The Group considers that a national approach to the introduction of sophisticated network services in education is essential. The widespread introduction of such services in educational institutions will, however, challenge and extend both students and teachers.
Providing infrastructure and equipment is in many ways the easiest part of the task. The challenges go beyond technology to the fundamentals of teaching and learning. They will involve major cultural changes.
The Group agrees with the Open Learning Technology Corporation that developing an educational framework appropriate to broadband services will be the principal challenge. It is important that a cross-sectoral strategy be devised and implemented to ensure that the extension of broadband services in education is not seen as purely a matter of extending connectivity.
We must explore the potential contribution of new features and services such as interactivity, multimedia applications, and networked information discovery to optimising educational outcomes for each sector. We need to assess the possibilities they offer for self-directed learning on one hand and collaborative learning on the other. The Group agrees with the Corporation that teaching and learning styles and roles that emerge from the introduction of new services should be articulated: they will probably be very different from current practice.
The Group expects an increase in the use of networked information resources based outside the educational sites that use them. The Open Training and Education Network submitted that as more on-line and computer-based interactive content becomes available, teachers will no longer be merely custodians of knowledge, but facilitators, assisting students to conduct research and providing access to outside specialists. The Network also noted a new role for teachers in developing networked content and services.
The availability of training, information and support for teachers will be a key factor in determining whether the new services will be used to their full potential. Teachers will need to be proficient in the use of the basic technologies, aware of the possibilities of the services, and able to impart enthusiasm about them to students. They will also need to be comfortable with new styles of teaching. Initial teacher training and continuing professional development of teachers should take these matters into account.
Students, too, will need to develop new approaches to learning. Initially, familiarity with the technologies and methods of gaining access to networked resources will need to be encouraged. Longer term, we expect to see an emphasis on higher level analytical skills at earlier stages in education, as locating information becomes a less demanding task.
Educational curricula will need to describe and integrate the skills and competencies associated with the new services and applications. The skills and competencies will also need to be integrated into the assessment procedures in the final years of school, to be accepted as a legitimate part of the educational experience. An integrated approach to the funding of equipment, and access to and use of telecommunications and information services will have to be developed.
If broadband capacity is to be used by educators, educational content appropriate to local requirements will have to be available. The Group welcomes the announcement in Creative Nation that Cooperative Multimedia Centres will be created to help the education sector produce multimedia titles and accelerate the uptake of multimedia within the education and training sectors. Extensive liaison between these centres and the different sectors of education will be necessary to ensure they are responsive to the needs of users, and the potential for integration with other relevant networked sectors, such as libraries and museums, should be explored.
Obviously, close cooperation between State, Territory and Commonwealth governments will be necessary to implement a national strategy for broadband networking. A national education network, with flexible delivery of national or even international education programs and resources, will challenge existing administrative boundaries. There will be questions about the funding and administration of resources, such as specialist teachers or library services, that are used on a nationwide basis.
Quality control, security, consistency of technical standards and basic common practices, and research and development will also need to be dealt with at the national level. Both the Open Learning Technology Corporation and the Open Training and Education Network have urged that codes of ethics for users and service providers be developed to cover concerns about the material that would be available to students over the networks.
Some educationalists are sceptical about the potential of new technology, taken in isolation. The promise of earlier technological innovations, such as computer-assisted learning, has yet to be fully realised. But we are confident that, properly integrated into the learning process and properly supported, broadband services will benefit education.
The Expert Group recommends the development of a National Strategy for Broadband Networking in Education in anticipation of the extension of high capacity links to educational institutions by 2001.
Involving the community in change - pilot projects
There is much uncertainty about the types of services consumers will demand, the advantages and practicalities of the various technologies, and the willingness of users to consider new ways of doing things. The Group considers that there would be great advantages in a program of pilot projects to prepare the community for processes of change and for businesses to develop experience in meeting consumer needs.
Governments should work with the carriers to implement pilot projects as soon as possible. This may require governments to provide financial incentives and to support pilot projects by, for example, making government information and services available.
Before implementing any pilot project, it would be necessary to determine the source and type of content and services that the trial will make available. The success of such projects depends on providing services that are appropriate to the community, and which are designed with the skill level of the intended users in mind. The pilots should be evaluated after completion to help prepare guidelines for a possible extension of the program. The results of the evaluation should be disseminated widely to stimulate and focus innovation in the development of a broadband services industry in Australia.
The Group sees pilot projects as an ideal means of learning more about such issues, and preparing Australian people and companies to be leaders in developing and using new technologies and services.
There are many new services waiting to be tested, many users wanting to try new ways of disseminating information, and many new technologies still being developed. The Group believes there would be benefits in trials in a number of complementary areas:
- broadband services to homes;
- narrowband on-line services connecting a community;
- community applications;
- innovative education applications;
- access to cultural collections;
- health services.
Broadband services to homes
The Group believes that the real benefits of broadband cable trials will come from the possibilities for consumer interactivity with the services, and the involvement of the community and local industry in creating content. Many elements of broadband delivery technologies are still being developed, and a broadband cable trial would provide network operators with valuable experience in customer billing and management and conditional access systems.
Telstra has announced that it intends to run an ADSL trial in 1995 and an interactive cable television trial in 1996. These trials could provide a valuable opportunity for network operators, service providers and local content creators to establish links with consumers and test reactions to their services. The trials should offer service diversity and customer interactivity with the services.
Telstra's cable services trial in Centennial Park, Sydney has already provided a small-scale opportunity for community groups, libraries, educational institutions, film and video makers and local residents to collaborate in the operation of a community cable service.
The trial has enabled a variety of interests to participate in a new technology venture and receive training in all aspects of the project. The services have also provided an outlet for program material - arts, experimental and youth - that might not otherwise be distributed.
Narrowband on-line services connecting a community
Narrowband links between all members of a community would allow a range of new possibilities to be explored in areas such as e-mail, group discussion sessions, and access to information databases such as classified ads, Yellow Pages, and government services information.
The success of such a trial would depend on local community groups, schools and businesses developing interactive on-line applications that encouraged the exploration of new business processes, social interactions, and communications between students and their schools, for example. Services supporting people working from home, such as file transfer capability, could also be provided.
Computer companies could use such a trial to test reactions to new customer interfaces and develop user-friendly services. Appropriate training should be made available to ensure that sections of the community are not excluded.
Community communications
Uptake of new communications services will be constrained initially by a lack of awareness of the benefits services can provide and a shortage of specific-purpose applications. A 'kick start' is needed to overcome these problems.
The Group proposes the establishment of a program to fund stand-alone community applications using advanced communications services. The program would encourage the resources and creativity of the community and content creators to develop innovative projects that build awareness of what new communications services can offer, link potential users of services with potential creators, and provide communications services to the community.
A similar program being conducted in the United States as part of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) has funded 92 projects. Funding has been provided for projects such as developing job skills for low income earners, information and analysis on mortgages and personal credit arrangements and health, education and social welfare information for urban and rural residents.
The program would seek to help both users and creators of services:
- Users could seek services in areas such as education, health or community welfare for applications such as distance learning, telemedicine, family support and electronic commerce. Users could include disabled groups, local councils, ethnic groups, rural associations and other non-profit organisations.
- Creators of services could provide on-line information databases, community e-mail links, electronic publishing for the disabled, video conferencing for telework and education or community bulletin boards. People from the private sector, education institutions, research organisations or individuals could create such services.
The program would fund projects using a variety of technologies in both urban and rural localities. For example, users might need assistance in purchasing equipment, training, access to government information or administrative costs. Small-scale communications service platforms that would benefit the wider community may need seed funding.
Fundamental to success would be close and effective links between the community, content creators and government.
The Expert Group recommends that the Department of Communications and the Arts administer a program to support innovative applications of communications services by the community sector. Initial funding of $10 million should be made available over three years.
The Group also commends the proposal of the Libraries Working Group of the Cultural Ministers' Council that the existing networked information resources in all Australian public libraries be developed into a national infrastructure for equitable public access to information services such as the Internet.
Today's school of the future
The students have notebook computers, the school has an optical fibre network, the library has information on hard disk and CD-ROM, and students are taught how to think, not what to think. It sounds like a school of the future but in fact it is John Paul College in Brisbane. As part of a philosophy to teach students to respond to the challenges of a changing environment throughout their lives, information technology has been embraced as fully as possible.
The college is using communications and information technology to access and sort the most relevant information available. Students from Year 5 to Year 9 (1000 in all) have notebook computers; this will be extended from Year 4 to Year 12 by 1998. The library can be accessed electronically by students at the school or from their homes and it has subscriptions to the Internet and educational on-line services. Scanners, digital cameras and printers are also available.
The information technology strategy was developed and implemented by the school, with input from all stakeholders - staff, students and parents. A two-year campaign laid the groundwork for the introduction of information technology - making clear its objectives and the responsibilities of the participants.
In the case of the parents, this involves a substantial investment. The costs of hardware, training and staff are ongoing, at about $1.7 million a year. The notebooks account for half of this, with parents contributing $65 a month for three years, so their children can have access to them.
As for the staff, the orthodox roles of both teacher and student have changed; for example, information is no longer the sole province of the teacher. A professional development program acknowledges the levels of expertise already in existence, provides staff with appropriate computer curriculum skills and challenges staff to further explore the application of technology to enhance learning. As part of their industrial agreement all staff have a personal strategy for professional development which they pursue outside school hours.
The school is keen to network the expertise it has developed and help other schools in implementing information technology. It has also identified areas where government and business can assist the process - sales tax exemption for students' computers, encouraging competitive communications tariffs to foster services such as the Internet, and the existence of opportunities to develop electronic information services for schools.
Innovative education applications
Education has a vital role in developing the communications society. Individual institutions are developing their own strategies and some, such as John Paul College in Brisbane, are keen to share their experience as well as the effort of constantly keeping pace with developments. There are considerable benefits in a cooperative approach with governments and large companies taking a role. Students are a group most comfortable with the communications age and can play a role in passing on to the wider community the skills needed in this new environment.
- The recently launched Open Net service should begin to explore the potential of broadband services through a series of pilot projects, including:
- linking a number of schools to enable them to share visual information, for example, ecological information;
- encouraging governments, businesses and the community to participate in the pilots with a particular emphasis on providing the community with the skills it will need for the communications age;
- allowing students in a number of places to share specialist resources through networks - for example, art students in non-metropolitan areas could have access to a 'virtual gallery';
- the creation of an image library on Australian history, to which students could contribute as well as receive.
The Group recommends that Open Net be funded to administer a program of pilot projects on broadband services such as the sharing of visual resources through, for example, image libraries.
Cultural collections
Digitising collections in galleries, libraries and museums could enhance viewers' appreciation and make the collections more widely accessible. For example, a multimedia display could present information on each work - what inspired it or its history of ownership or a video interview with the creator. The virtual works would be available independent of a person's location or the time of day and, unlike a conventional institution where typically around 20 per cent of the collection is on view at any time, the entire collection could be viewed.
Such facilities would help satisfy the needs of people who could not visit a gallery or museum as often as they would like, especially people in regional and remote areas and offer visitors greater choice in how they experience cultural heritage. They would also engender a greater appreciation of the arts and of our own unique culture.
There could be significant savings in expenditure on capital works and running and maintenance costs could also be reduced.
These collections are also a potentially valuable resource to multimedia creators. Because the collections are largely funded by taxpayers, they should be used to help Australian creators produce quality, internationally competitive works.
Placing collections on-line will be expensive and will require solutions to intellectual property, cultural issues and technical problems. We are convinced that the opportunities are significant and warrant a pilot to test solutions.
Health services
Health expenditure accounts for about 8 per cent of gross domestic product and has been steadily rising. Our ageing population and the objective of providing equitable services to rural and remote areas dictate that means be found to continually improve the quality of health care while containing costs.
Earlier in this chapter we describe some of the benefits broadband services could deliver to health services but, as our consultant pointed out, 'Cultural, institutional and communications barriers require the suppliers of new technologies to set up pilot programs involving medical practitioners. If the pilot program is successful, diffusion will be facilitated by word of mouth.'
The Dial M for Medicine snapshot is an example of one of several pilot projects in telemedicine under way in Australia.
Dial M for Medicine
It's a common problem in medicine that a specialist viewing a scan, say for a mammography, has difficulty picking up incipient cancer and needs additional scans to form an opinion. In a city, it is easy enough for a woman to undergo a further scan. But in remote Australia, it can take up to eight hours to drive to a clinic or a mobile unit which may visit an area only once in four to six weeks. Broadband services could save patients a lot of anxiety, speed up and improve diagnosis, make better use of specialists' time and medical facilities, and reduce costs.
These services could be used to transmit images from remote units directly to a specialist in a city who can analyse them while the patient is at the scanner. The specialist can ask the technician operating the scanner for additional or alternative views until enough information is available to reach a conclusion.
This example is drawn from a pilot teleradiology project coordinated by the Australian Computing and Communications Institute (ACCI) and involving St Vincent's Hospital (Melbourne), other East Melbourne precinct hospitals, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, the Eye & Ear Hospital, the Mental Health Research Institute and the Royal Park Hospital. It is an effort to address issues of social justice and equity of service for remote communities. As adequate bandwidth becomes available and affordable, the project could be extended to provincial and remote hospitals as far off as Queensland and the Northern Territory and for export as well.
In addition to teleradiology, ACCI aims to provide voice, video and electronic chalkboard multimedia services alongside imaging software for 3D reconstructions, image fusing and volumetric analysis and diagnosis. One of the requirements of the system is for high-volume, short-burst data transfer so that users are not frustrated by delays in image transfer and information interchange. But slower rates and less information may have to be accepted where there is no alternative, such as in extremely remote locations.
The proven benefits of the project include patient transport savings, higher quality diagnoses, equity of access to specialised services from remote sites, wider distribution of medical information and education, higher efficiency imaging systems, image availability throughout hospitals and regions, and development of electronic imaging tools and skills for export.
One of the major barriers to the system's future remains the cost of high-speed telecommunications. Because massive amounts of data carrying capacity are required to achieve the required level of service, the current structures of communications networks make such a system very expensive. Large bandwidth links are usually the aggregation of large numbers of low bandwidth channels on intercity links. Telemedicine needs the maximum bandwidth to a small number of provincial radial sites in a region or State.
Part of the solution to this might be to use a private fibre link to nearby hospitals. But this still leaves the issue of high costs of provision and low-bandwidth offerings in provincial and remote areas. It will remain an issue until service providers devise a delivery mechanism that makes high-bandwidth short-burst usage affordable. Less costly broadband satellite services would also be advantageous for facilitating access to extremely remote sites.
About $1 million has already been invested in the project and the cost for a two-year trial involving three inner city, one suburban and one regional hospital is estimated at another one and a quarter million dollars in capital (85 per cent) and running (15 per cent) costs. Of the capital expenditure, 90 per cent will be on interfaces, infrastructure, imaging, archiving and telecommunications equipment. Three-quarters of the running expenses will be on professional development, telecommunications and maintenance, with professional development accounting for over a third of total running costs.