The content on this page and other DCITA document archive pages is provided to assist research and may contain references to activities or policies that have no current application. See the full archive disclaimer.
Networking Australia's Future - Chapter 6
Overview
Communications and information matters will need continuing review in the coming years.
The Group considers that a national strategy drawing together education and community access, industry development and the role of government is essential. It should be built on the talents of young Australians and the processes of network evolution and community consultation.
The Group recommends establishing an advisory council chaired by the Prime Minister to support this strategy, with membership including representatives of industry, carriers, users and researchers.
Government leadership will be a critical part of the national strategy. A ministerial committee is required to coordinate policy development.
As a leading user and creator of information, government should commit itself to the use of information networks - internally, for interaction with business, and for the delivery of services to the public. The National Library of Australia could maintain a directory of electronic government services to help people find their way around government information.
An evolutionary approach
- In Chapter 1, the Group proposed a managed, evolutionary approach to the development of network infrastructure. This approach would be based on:
- commercial investment in communications infrastructure, with mechanisms to promote the phased extension of interactive broadband services to all Australians;
- continuous upgrade of the existing telecommunications network, to provide an interactive digital services capability throughout Australia within five years;
- government-funded narrowband digital connections to schools, libraries, community centres and post offices, and upgrades to broadband as available.
The high cost of an integrated broadband network to all Australian homes and businesses obviously calls for phased implementation of any major development proposal.
Although it has been suggested that Australian capital markets could raise the necessary funds for the development of broadband networks in capital cities - and the financial returns might justify such an exercise - the Group nevertheless believes that an evolutionary approach is also appropriate for metropolitan areas.
There are many elements in the creation, packaging, delivery and use of broadband services and, regardless of the availability of network infrastructure, the potential of broadband services will not be realised overnight. Adoption of enhanced communications services will be influenced by a range of other factors:
- Although Australia has one of the world's highest penetration rates for personal computers (around 30 per cent of households), very few computers are sold with modems to enable on-line services to be used. The high cost of consumer equipment for interactive services can be expected to limit demand in the near to medium term.
- A significant proportion of the population lacks the confidence or facility with computers to be able to use network services without training. Computer courses in school curricula, and the availability of self-paced computer courses in libraries, community centres and tertiary institutions would improve computer literacy in the community.
- Exploitation of opportunities created by the convergence will be encouraged if the carriers increase the availability of digital services through flexible tariff options.
- There are important organisational, institutional and legal difficulties relating to the use of broadband services that will take some time to resolve. Perhaps more importantly, it will take some time before people are comfortable with new practices and a culture can develop around new technologies and services.
- Only a limited range of on-line services is currently available to the general population in Australia. Widespread adoption of interactive services will be encouraged by the availability of an extensive range of local services. The creation of interactive multimedia content in important sectors such as education, health and entertainment is still in its early stages.
The Group suggests that the many issues that await resolution call for a comprehensive strategy emphasising coordination between government, industry and the community and encouraging private sector involvement.
Development of infrastructure needs to go hand in hand with development of services, training of users and demand for services, although we can build on existing industries before their services are available on networks. Australia already has an established film industry; interactive multimedia products being published on CD-ROM will soon be networked; and the computer skills required to create and use on-line services are becoming basic requirements in a range of industries.
We need a comprehensive strategy for developing an interactive services industry and for resolving convergence issues in a narrowband environment, to put us on course for the transition to a broadband network.
A national strategy for new communications networks
Although the opportunities presented by new communications systems will be great, many challenges remain. We face great change. Precise directions for technology, service developments and customer demand remain obscure, and we need to guard against committing ourselves now to solutions that may turn out to be premature.
In this report the Group seeks to describe a framework for handling these future challenges. We realise that we can't, right now, solve all the problems that may emerge in the future. As the National Library submitted
The Commonwealth Government's highest priority should be to ensure a communications environment in which desirable public objectives can be achieved, the interests of various stakeholders balanced effectively in the public interest, and ongoing public policy developed effectively in response to rapidly changing technologies and their broader effects.
We agree.
To help set this communications environment, a continuing national strategy needs to be put in place based on the principles outlined in this report. The strategy would embrace the process of evolution from narrowband to broadband, the strong emphasis on education, the need for pilot projects to develop content, services and applications and to test them, and especially the talents and drive of young Australians to lead the way. It would include government becoming a leading-edge user of networks, and the private sector and the community also taking up the opportunities offered. Most importantly, the strategy must be built on a commitment to continuing consultation, to draw the community into the process of deciding our communications future.
The elements of the strategy have been spelled out in this report. They include:
- links to schools, libraries, medical and community centres;
- a National Strategy for Broadband Networking in Education;
- support for training;
- a community applications fund;
- industry development strategies including industry development plans, local content provisions, and the development of networked services and applications;
- a role for government which would include acting as a leading-edge user and working with industry to develop an appropriate regulatory framework, including in such areas as privacy and open access to networks for service providers.
To support this strategy, we recommend the establishment of a broadly based advisory council and a coordinating group at the highest levels of government.
The advisory council would have several functions. Greater cooperation between the elements of the interactive service delivery chain - content creators, service providers, users and network operators - can be engendered. In a pre-competitive environment the council could also develop and implement a process to promote cooperation among industry players involved in convergence. Consumer groups, and communications researchers should also be included.
Through this council a coordinated strategy to create viable industries can be developed - a strategy that takes account of the changing capacity of the network infrastructure to deliver services, of the penetration of home hardware to gain access to them, of the migration from narrowband towards broadband services, and of the needs of consumers. The strategy should include pilot projects to provide data on the types of services customers use.
The council should consult with the community about communications policy issues. It should also support the multimedia initiatives announced in Creative Nation by looking at how to draw people together to develop creative content and by providing advice on broad goals and priorities to be pursued. The council should play a part in, and provide guidance for, the series of national multimedia forums announced in Creative Nation.
The council could also look at how best to assess community needs for new communications services (see Chapter 4) and consider the need for a sub-group on standards (see Chapter 5).
The Group has noted the announcement by the Prime Minister in a speech to the National Strategies Conference on November 1994 that he will chair a broadband services council. We strongly support this announcement, which is consistent with our notion of an advisory council.
We suggest that the council be called the National Information Services Council to reflect the need to encompass broadband and narrowband networked services. It would also reflect the increasing importance of information technology in our society.
The Expert Group recommends that, to provide leadership for the national strategy, the Government establish a National Information Services Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, and in his absence the Minister for Communications and the Arts, and including visionary and informed people drawn from industry, creators, carriers, users, consumers and researchers.
A leadership role for government
Leadership at the highest national level will be a critical part of the strategy. It can be provided by a committee within government, drawing together ministerial representatives of all portfolios relevant to the development of an Australian information network. This committee would have responsibility for policy coordination across the communications, arts, industry, education and other relevant sectors.
The Group is confident that government can make substantial cost savings through better information management and the use of networks for service delivery, at the same time demonstrating the benefits of new communications services to the private sector and the wider community. A commitment to efficient internal practices should be combined with a policy of making government information and services available electronically.
There has already been a considerable stirring of network activity within Commonwealth, State and Territory and local government agencies. A notable example of an innovative network is the Department of Social Security's planned Community Information Network that will link individuals, groups of people and organisations in local communities in selected pilot locations across Australia (initially in the Australian Capital Territory, then in pilot locations in Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia). The Network is an excellent prototype of a public information network sponsored by government. It will not only provide information on social security payments and local services, but also a mechanism for individuals and communities to communicate with each other, to share information and ideas through public access to e-mail and newsgroup facilities. People will be able to gain access to the network through computers and modems in their own homes, in workplaces, schools and other educational institutions, or through local access points in their community such as libraries, community shopfronts and neighbourhood centres.
Despite the excellent work under way in this and other projects, the Group considers that agencies need more encouragement to develop networked information and communications services. Coordination and access warrant particular attention. For example, there could be a danger of each agency setting up its own separate access points or failing to interconnect its networks with others, thus duplicating infrastructure requirements and making it more costly and difficult for people to use the services.
In its report entitled The Networked Nation, ASTEC (the Australian Science and Technology Council) argued that government needs to stimulate public interest and facilitate access to government information via electronic networks; it also noted the need for a coordinated approach by government. It recommended the establishment of a Commonwealth Government Information Services Task Force to provide this coordination, to develop pilot programs, to investigate options for extending community access to networked information, and to develop a directory of government information publicly available over networks.
The Expert Group supports ASTEC in this. It believes there is a need for coordination to manage internal government communications networks.
The Expert Group recommends that the Government establish a Ministerial Committee on National Information Services, to be chaired by the Minister for Communications and the Arts, with membership including the Ministers for Finance, Industry, Science and Technology, Consumer Affairs, and Employment, Education and Training. The Committee would have responsibility for coordination of policy across the relevant sectors, including government use of networks.
The involvement of the States is vital, so the Council of Australian Governments should be involved in the discussion of national information services issues.
As a first, modest step in spreading network services within government, the Group recommends that all government departments and agencies be connected through e-mail. This should include a file or document transfer capability. An interdepartmental committee should be established to report to the ministerial committee on the development of an information services network within the Commonwealth Government.
Agencies should also create public directories within their internal computer networks through which the public can gain access to information about agency services, reports in the public domain, and non-restricted information that might be of public benefit or interest. An electronic central directory of available services (as recommended by ASTEC) could be maintained by the National Library, with indexing and searching facilities to help users to easily gain access to information from all levels of government.
Government agencies should also establish facilities for electronic transactions with business, such as lodgment of tenders and government contracts. This could be extended to enable most transactions with government to be performed electronically, with Australia Post, for example, functioning as a collection agency by providing access facilities.
In the health and education sectors further study is needed to determine how savings might be achieved using networks for service delivery. There are already many initiatives in both of these sectors, and there is potential for cost savings and greatly improved service quality. Such networked services could also form the basis of substantial export industries. Coordination will be needed to avoid duplication and to minimise the risk that services for which the States and Territories have responsibility adopt incompatible standards.
Major efficiency gains available to government through application of information and communications technologies to service delivery are likely to accrue through a whole-of-government approach to the use of electronic services. Economies of scale are achieved by sharing infrastructure for the delivery of health, education and welfare services to regional areas; e-mail connections are more valuable if all government agencies have systems that can communicate with each other; and uniformity of government electronic transaction services induces the private sector to adopt compatible systems.
A whole-of-government approach does not mean massive capital outlays. E-mail and file transfer services are already available through the Internet and other on-line services, which can also be used to offer public access to government information on departmental file servers. Initial demand for electronic access to these services might be low, but it is important that government takes the lead in building the range of services available and increasing the incentive for the business sector and wider community to move towards greater use of communications services.
Another benefit of government taking a leading-edge role will be the creation of a market for local manufacturers and software firms. This is essential to gaining critical mass in local industry: competition and high-volume sales lead to lower costs and provide a base for export. As with services, government purchasing policies can establish de facto industry equipment and software standards through choice of network components and systems. Government purchasing policies should encourage plurality of suppliers to foster competition in the supply industries.
To promote the use of networks, the Commonwealth Government should set aside a pool of funds to be allocated to agencies on a matching-funds basis for projects for new networked information services. A fund of about $20 million per year would be a minimum for this purpose, although the precise size of the pool should be determined by the Government after consideration of current and prospective activity. The Group is aware that it may be difficult to allocate such a sum at a time of financial stringency. Nevertheless, networks will in the medium to long term result in considerable cost savings, and an alternative would be to draw this pool from existing information technology budgets within agencies.
Defining what government information the community wants and how to make that information accessible should not be left just to government agencies. Close consultation with the community will be necessary. The National Information Services Council could establish a working group, including government representatives as well as representatives of users of government information and the community, to look at what and how information might be made available.
Finally, if governments are to encourage industry development, it would be desirable for them to use private sector developers as much as possible for the design, implementation and management of networks.
To foster the role of government as a leading-edge user, the Government should commit itself to use of communications networks both for internal use and for services to the public. As an initial step, Ministers and departments should have e-mail connections so that members of the public can communicate with them electronically. Information services should be provided on line, through Internet access/servers and commercial services as they become available.
The Expert Group recommends that the Commonwealth Government should establish a fund, to be allocated on a matching-funds basis, to projects for new networked information services put forward by agencies. Preference should be given to those projects with the greatest user benefits and widest applicability as a model for other government services. The Commonwealth should wherever possible participate in pilot projects such as those proposed by Telstra.
Looking to the future
The Expert Group believes that the development of a vibrant content creation industry, a managed evolutionary approach to the development of infrastructure and services, and the adoption by government of a strong leadership role will best position Australia to exploit the opportunities created by a rapidly changing communications environment. The benefits will be maximised if access to the new networks and services, for both consumers and service providers, is widely available as early as practicable. Focussing our efforts now on the education sector will ensure that Australia is as well equipped as any nation for the industries of the future.
As an interactive services industry is established, it is critical that we pay attention to the growing importance of communications networks as a basis for competitive advantage.
Where some of the benefits from new communications (such as improving health and education services or expanding trade and cultural opportunities) cannot be captured by a network operator, the possibility of under-investment in infrastructure arises.
Our interim report briefly surveyed major national information infrastructure strategies around the world. The strategies vary between extremes on the respective roles of government and the private sector in planning and financing new infrastructure.
Decisions about the rate of communications infrastructure development are constrained by the availability of technology and assumptions of future technological progress. No country wants to be left behind in an environment of rapid technological progress, but few countries can afford the luxury of committing themselves to unproven technologies.
The Group is confident that the strategies it has proposed will position Australia among the world's leaders in information and communications services, but it acknowledges that important matters need continuing review and the attention of experts in diverse fields.
Further research is required into the impact enhanced communications services will have on urban and regional planning and future patterns of employment and lifestyle. From an individual perspective, quality-of-life questions can be expected to assume increasing importance during the next decade. From a government perspective, the impact of networks on decentralisation and the cost of providing other forms of essential infrastructure and services will be equally important.
In the past year the Group has seen ample evidence of the talents and enthusiasm necessary to take advantage of the opportunities presented by new communications services. Implementation of these services in the coming years will take the coordinated efforts of business, industry, government and the community.
During the past year we have learnt the advantages of capturing the skills and enthusiasm of the community in developing options for the future. We are particularly keen to build on the talents and the sense of fun and adventure of new generations as they come to grips with the opportunities that are emerging.
If Australians do exploit the opportunities, substantial new export markets will be opened for our businesses, cultural industries, and high-quality education and health services. Not all of the changes will be easy, but the reward will be access to a rich culture and an environment in which individuals can create and distribute content, interact with network services, and explore new forms of communication with each other.