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FNQ Digital Connectivity Needs Analysis

Qualitative insights to inform technical solutions for improved telecommunications in Northern Gulf communities

AUTHORS Amber Marshall, Allan Dale, and Carrie-Ann Wilson

JUNE 2021

Funding

This project is funded under the Community Development Program, which is jointly funded under the Commonwealth/State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018. Although funding for this product has been provided by both the Australian and Queensland Governments, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of either government.

Partners

Lead organisation

University partners

Industry partners

Authors

Amber Marshall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the QUT Digital Media Research Centre investigating digital inclusion in regional, rural, and remote contexts. Her passion for this work is fuelled by her experiences living in remote Australia (2014-2017), particularly her struggles to stay connected in the bush while completing her PhD with the UQ Business School. Amber recently led a consortium of six university and industry partners to undertake a Northern Australia Communications Analysis funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA). Her recent work has focused on investigating digital connectivity infrastructure needs and solutions in the North, as well as digital AgTech adoption on Queensland farms.

Allan Dale is a Professor of Tropical Regional Development at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, and is the Chief Scientist for CRCNA. Allan is also a University Fellow with Charles Darwin University’s Northern Institute and has a strong interest in integrated societal governance, with a particular focus across the tropical world, Northern Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef. He leads JCU’s contributions to Queensland’s Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE) and the Clean Growth Choices Program, the Human Dimensions of the GBR, the Northern Development agenda, and emerging approaches to Collective Impact.

Carrie-Ann Wilson is a Master of Philosophy candidate at James Cook University investigating human factors in implementation and adoption of connectivity technologies by small-medium enterprise in regional, rural, and remote Australia. She holds a Master of Digital Design, Graduate Certificate on Human Nutrition, and Bachelor of Built Environment (Industrial Design). Carrie-Ann is also the Founder and Creative Director of Scenic Rim Design, which is based on a rural property near Beaudesert, Queensland.

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Executive Summary

This project brought together Northern Gulf property owners, councils, development organisations, technical experts, and service providers to collaboratively identify and define mobile, telecommunications, and broadband failures during the 2019 monsoon trough and recovery phase, and devise novel technical solutions and systemic improvement options for the future.

This needs analysis sought to understand the digital connectivity needs of Northern Gulf residents to directly inform digital connectivity technical solutions that ‘work’ in and for remote communities. Through direct engagement with 100+ people, we canvased mobile and internet experiences, requirements, and possible solutions in three stages from October 2020 to March 2021. This included: • Face-to-face and Zoom interviews with approximately 25 residents across the Northern Gulf from various sectors and locations to understand individual digital connectivity needs; • Three community engagement workshops held in Croydon, Einasleigh and Dimbulah, involving 60+ participants to understand the lived experience of digital connectivity in the region; and, • An online survey focused on prioritisation of needs and possible solutions identified in the interviews and workshops.

Emergent priorities and opportunities for improved digital connectivity and outcomes in the Northern Gulf fell into five categories. 1. Remote domestic telecommunications: Improved access to voice and text across properties. 2. Agricultural digital technologies: Access to Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for improved productivity. 3. Connectivity for community events and visitors: Increased mobile/broadband capacity for influx of visitors. 4. Enterprise-grade connections for businesses: Improved services (speed, data, latency) for reliable connections for technologies supporting critical sales processes. 5. Robust telecommunications for disaster response: Improved coverage and inter-operability of mobile networks with independence from other critical infrastructure.

Overall, this needs analysis points to three key directions for mobile and broadband solutions for the Northern Gulf region.

1. Digital literacy and awareness: Broadscale education of end users is required to address under- utilisation of existing infrastructure and services, for social and economic outcomes.

2. Last mile solutions: Where major infrastructure is not being connected through to homes, businesses, and organisations, end users need options for investment in modest hardware to get connected.

3. Strategic infrastructure investment: Develop regional partnerships and co-investment models to advocate for, plan, and execute significant projects that address backhaul shortfalls across the Gulf and Cape Peninsula.

This report should be read in conjunction with the Technical Audit and Strategy Document.

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Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...... 1 2. Contextual Review ...... 2 2.1 The Northern Gulf region ...... 2 2.2 Regional telecommunications and digital inclusion...... 2 2.3 Emergency and disaster communications ...... 3 2.4 Known issues and recent developments ...... 4 3. Methodology ...... 6 4. Interview Results ...... 7 5. Workshop Results ...... 10 5.1 Croydon and surrounds ...... 10 5.2 Einasleigh and Forsayth ...... 11 5.3 Dimbulah and Mutchilba ...... 12 6. Survey Results ...... 13 6.1 Digital connectivity needs in and around the home ...... 14 6.2 Digital connectivity needs for businesses in town ...... 15 6.3 Digital connectivity needs on farms/businesses outside of town ...... 16 6.4 Digital connectivity needs for community organisations and emergency services ...... 17 6.5 Ways to improve digital connectivity and digital skills and capability ...... 18 7. Emergent Priorities and Opportunities ...... 19 8. Conclusion ...... 22 9. References ...... 23

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List of Tables

Table 1: ADII scores from 2016 to 2020...... 3 Table 2: ADII scores in 2020...... 3 Table 3. Needs matrix: Summary of digital connectivity needs by sector and domain...... 9 Table 4. Survey responses about ways to improve digital connectivity and digital skills and capability. 18

List of Figures

Figure 1. Survey participants by local government shire within Northern Gulf...... 13 Figure 2. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs in and around the home...... 14 Figure 3. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs for businesses in town...... 15 Figure 4. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs on farms/businesses outside of town...... 16 Figure 5. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs for organisations and emergency services...... 17

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1. Introduction This project brought together Northern Gulf property owners, councils, development organisations, technical experts, and service providers to collaboratively identify and define mobile, telecommunications, and broadband failures during the 2019 monsoon trough and recovery phase, and devise novel technical solutions and systemic improvement options for the future.

Funded under the Queensland Governments’ FNQ and NQ Monsoon Trough - Category C Flexible Funding Grants Program, the aim of the project was to develop legitimate, practical, and affordable options for individuals, businesses, and organisations to get connected, and pathways to developing greater digital capability to respond to challenges and capitalise on opportunities in the future.

Importantly, while initial focus was on responding to and recovering from disaster events, this report delivers viable digital connectivity and inclusion solutions to improve everyday life in the Northern Gulf, as well as foster development, growth, and social cohesion across Far North Queensland.

This document outlines the qualitative research component of the project which aimed to understand the digital connectivity needs and priorities of Northern Gulf populations to directly inform technical solutions.

This report is organised according to the four stages of data collection and analysis: 1. Contextual review: Geography, infrastructure, and issues 2. Interviews: Canvassing needs 3. Community workshops: Understanding lived experienced and issues 4. Online survey: Prioritising need and effort. The work provides essential insights from end users about the kinds of connections and services they require to pursue the economic and social opportunities of most importance to them. The prioritised needs and emerging solutions arising from this report directly inform the Strategy Document and should be read alongside the Technical Audit.

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2. Contextual Review

2.1 The Northern Gulf region The Northern Gulf region is located in the north-west corner of Queensland, just below Cape York Peninsula. The region is defined as a combination of the Mitchell, Staaten, Norman and Gilbert river catchments. The region’s settlement pattern is dispersed, and clustered in the Upper Mitchell catchment and along the Gulf coast, with a network of very small communities scattered throughout the Gulf plains and Einasleigh Uplands. It includes the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of: Mareeba Shire (part); Croydon Shire; Etheridge Shire; Cook Shire (part); Carpentaria Shire (part); and Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire.

The total population for all five LGAs in 2016 was 29,719, with over 70% located in Mareeba Shire, which is home to the major regional service centre of Mareeba town. The other 30% of the population live in small remote and coastal townships with limited services and accessibility, especially during the monsoon season. Rainfall is variable across the large, diverse landscape, with falls averaging between 600 and 1500mm annually.

Ninety percent of the Northern Gulf region is grazing land. There are approximately 160 grazing properties, covering an area of roughly 17 million hectares. Other important industries include agriculture, tourism, mining, health, education, conservation, and Indigenous enterprise. The main transport corridor which services these industries is the Savannah Way (QLD-NT-WA), with the Gulf Savannah section stretching 1,254 km from Cairns to Lawn Hill.

The combined social and economic cost of the flood damage to the region was $5,681 million (Deloitte Access Economics, 2019). Of this, $807 million was related to damage to public infrastructure, which included communications systems and other telecommunications infrastructure (excluding privately operated assets). However, these estimated figures were likely much higher, as they were unable to account for the on-going intangible costs (such as community cohesion) and flow-on impacts (such as business disruption) for end users and service providers in the area.

2.2 Regional telecommunications and digital inclusion The Northern Gulf’s telecommunications infrastructure is concentrated in regional centres and along transport corridors. Along the Savannah Way, 4G mobile coverage is available in main towns such as Mt Surprise, Georgetown, and Croydon. In recent years, 4G small cells have been installed in smaller communities such as Almaden and Forsayth, and 3G is still available in some areas. However, the main East-West arterial is still littered with black spots.

In terms of internet, most of the Northern Gulf region is serviced by NBN fixed wireless or satellite broadband. NBN fixed line services are restricted to larger towns like Mareeba and Normanton. Optic fibre has also been installed to connect Kurumba residents to fixed line internet, and a range of other ad hoc installations have occurred in the region. Details of these connections can be found in the report provided by AirBridge Networks.

The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII)—an annual ‘census’ of digital inclusion—provides further information about connectivity infrastructure and services. As well as access, it also measures affordability of services and digital ability of end users. The Northern Gulf is located in the North West Queensland (NWQ) region as defined by the Index. Table 1 shows a summary of Digital Inclusion scores since 2016. Table 2 shows a breakdown of NWQ’s 2020 scores into the three measures comprising the overall score. It should be noted that due to the small sample sizes in NWQ, these scores should be read with caution.

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The ADII data show that digital inclusion has risen consistently across all three measures in Australia, Queensland, and NWQ. However, North West Queenslanders remain well below the State and National averages. There is a particular disparity in the Digital Ability scores between urban and rural Queenslanders, which is very pronounced in NWQ. This shows that the challenge to improve digital connectivity in the Northern Gulf should also be focused on promoting individual- and community-level capacity to make use of connections once they are in place.

Australia Queensland Rural Qld NWQ 2016 54.5 53.5 50.8 43.4 2017 56.5 55.3 51.7 45.9 2018 60.2 58.9 53.0 52.8 2019 61.9 60.9 56.0 48.8 2020 63.0 62.2 56.8 52.6 Table 1: ADII scores from 2016 to 2020.

Australia Queensland Rural Qld NWQ Access 76.3 76.1 72.5 67.7 Affordability 60.9 59.7 52.3 54.0 Digital Ability 52.0 50.7 45.2 36.1 Overall Digital 63.0 62.2 56.8 52.6 Inclusion Table 2: ADII scores in 2020.

2.3 Emergency and disaster communications Each LGA in Australia has a Disaster Management Plan, which outlines the principal response mechanisms for responding to disasters such as fire, flood, and cyclone. Local councils prepare and execute these plans, leveraging information and support from other agencies such as BOM and State and Commonwealth Governments (where applicable). These plans also outline the local Council’s communications capabilities and their expected use in the event of a disaster. In the 2019 Northern Queensland Monsson Trough event, 39 LGAs were impacted across the state.

As an example, from the Northern Gulf region, the Etheridge Disaster Management Plan lists its landline, mobile, and satellite phone assets, and available internet and mobile services. Notably, Council’s landline network was recently moved to a VOIP (internet-based) platform. The Plan reveals that mobile signal is limited to Georgetown, Mt Surprise, and Forsayth, with small amounts of reception at 40 Mile, Kidston, and Flags Lookout. Despite this, official communications to enable activation of the Plan rely principally on mobile infrastructure and services.

The Plan also notes the limitations of public disaster communications:

Within the Etheridge Shire the only commercial Radio and Television broadcast that is relevant to the region from a news and weather perspective is the ABC Regional Radio Townsville (AM), satellite re-transmission in Georgetown and broadcast at 100 watts giving a coverage of up to 45km radius and ABCTV digital television which is accessed via satellite (VAST) system.

The Plan states that disaster warnings will normally be issued by the BOM to the majority of media outlets, but that Council has the ability for a public warning to be issued to the community via the broadcast Radio/TV system. This complex yet limited system is vulnerable to interruptions, especially

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during a disaster event such as a cyclone on the coast or flood event inland (Etheridge Shire Local Disaster Management Group, 2017).

The 2019 monsoon flood event exposed several of the communications vulnerabilities listed above in disaster response across the Northern Gulf and elsewhere. Community leaders reported that remote monitoring of river levels could have enabled them to respond more quickly and effectively. More robust, numerous and integrated weather stations would also assist with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Overall, access to real (or near-to-real) time data is becoming critical as weather events become more frequent and unpredictable.

2.4 Known issues and recent developments There are several known, long-standing digital connectivity gaps and issues in the Northern Gulf region that prevent communities from accessing infrastructure and services for everyday and disaster communications and operations. These include but are not limited to: • Inter-reliance for power and communications infrastructure; • Numerous mobile black spots along arterials; • Reliance on satellite broadband in many instances (e.g., homesteads), whose functionality is weather-dependent; impacted by latency, and data/speed restrictions; • Dissatisfaction and confusion of telecommunications consumers in remote areas regarding plan options, cost, installation, maintenance, interoperability, and service; and, • Thin telecommunications market in remote areas. Ongoing enhancement of mobile and broadband technology—both quality and coverage—is vital for the effective management of emergencies and disasters, and the safety of emergency responders. In the wake of the 2019 event, relevant following observations were made on the Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub. • The use of predictive data and intelligence plays an increasing role in preparedness for and management of disaster events and recovery. • There is an ongoing deep reliance on the passion and goodwill of emergency services personnel in the response and recovery phases of emergency management. This presents ongoing challenges to the wellbeing of emergency responders. • Ongoing enhancement of communications technology is vital for the effective management of emergencies and disasters, and the safety of emergency responders. • An increased level of exercising across agencies and hazard types and simultaneous disaster events will enhance clarity of role for all agencies that play primary and secondary roles in emergency management. • Information distributed to the community during disasters and emergency events needs further refinement. Message clarity, simplicity of action required, timeliness, and the use of multiple mediums must be considered. • The use of the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System as a national framework for incident management must continue to evolve in an all-hazards environment given the nature, severity, frequency, and the likely concurrency of future events. • Agencies and government will continue to be challenged by the cost of emergency and disaster response and recovery. Understanding the real costs of response enables public value to be assessed, and more efficient management of future events. Most of these suggestions can only be realised if digital infrastructure and services are prioritised and strategically funded towards whole-of-region solutions. Such solutions should not only be tailored to

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emergency and disaster response, but to the community recovery and ongoing social and economic needs of individuals, households, businesses, organisations, local governments, and communities.

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3. Methodology The research sought to understand the digital connectivity needs of Northern Gulf residents to directly inform digital connectivity technical solutions that ‘work’ in and for remote communities. Through direct engagement with 100+ people, we canvased mobile and internet experiences, requirements, and possible solutions in three stages from October 2020 to March 2021. Interviews Semi-structured interviews (approx. 60 mins) were conducted by QUT’s Amber Marshall and Carrie Ann-Wilson with approximately 25 residents across the Northern Gulf. Face-to-face interviews took place in or around Mareeba, Mount Molloy, Chillagoe, Dimbulah, Mount Garnet, and Georgetown. Zoom interviews canvassed residents in or around Normanton, Kurumba, Hughenden, Croydon, and Burketown. Interviews were recorded and notes taken with consent from participants who were recruited from project partners’ networks. The aim of the interviews was to allow participants to be heard, and to capture their everyday needs for mobile and broadband connectivity. Workshops Community engagement workshops were held in three locations identified as deserving of particular consideration (as explained in the results): Croydon, Einasleigh, and Dimbulah. Participants were recruited through project partners networks and word-of-mouth. Workshops were facilitated by JCU’s Allan Dale with support from QUT’s Amber Marshall and Northern Gulf CEO Zoe Williams. AirBridge Networks were also represented. Overall, approximately 60 participants had the opportunity to identity and discuss issues and consider potential solutions that could ‘work’ in their homes, businesses, and communities. Workshops were not recorded for practical reasons (e.g., poor sound quality in community spaces), but notes and photographs were taken by team members. Online Survey After collating the data from the interviews and workshops, a survey was developed to elicit which needs were the most pressing for Northern Gulf residents. The survey was divided into four sections relating to digital connectivity in four key domains drawn from analysis of interview and workshop data. • In and around the home • Businesses in town • Farms/business outside of town • Community organisations and emergency services The survey was distributed through Northern Gulf’s formal communication channels (mailing list, social media, etc.) and yielded 34 responses with an 85% completion rate. Although a physical survey may have yielded more participation, budgetary and practical constraints did not allow for this. Nonetheless, the responses do give a useful indication of priorities across several geographies and sectors. Data analysis Interview and workshop data were analysed thematically (Flick, 2006) to arrive at matrix of needs and insights (discussed in the following results sections), which directly informed the structure of the survey. The survey data is presented in graphs and figures generated by Survey Monkey and are interpreted on the backdrop of the qualitative insights from interviews and workshop.

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4. Interview Results Semi-structed interviews were conducted with people from across the Northern Gulf. Participants represented a range of men and women, age groups, and occupations including councillors, tour operators, park rangers, bureaucrats, educators, farmers, and NRM workers living and working in small towns and on remote properties. Interviewees were asked about their experiences and perceived performance of telecommunications infrastructure and services in their area before and after the 2019 monsoon event, along with what they needed to be able to access digital technologies. Participants were also asked about what telecommunications improvements/initiatives would be required for them to effectively respond to disaster events and live/work effectively on an everyday basis.

Below is a summary of interviewees’ responses pertaining to digital connectivity infrastructure, services, and capability. Infrastructure Participants noted that critical mobile and broadband infrastructure is somewhat lacking in places across the Northern Gulf. While participants were connected to the internet and use digital technologies daily, they were often disgruntled with the reliability and capacity of connections. A common complaint was that 3G/4G services in towns do not cope with demand during peak periods (e.g., early evening). This is especially the case when large numbers of visitors come to town for events or on tours. For example, when the Savannahlander tourist train arrives in Mount Surprise on Friday afternoon, mobile services are hampered.

Interviewees also emphasised the inter-reliability of telecommunications with other critical infrastructure, such as energy. They identified particular risks to safety of people and property in disaster events where a single tower supporting all communications and energy services is compromised. One participant in Mount Molloy emphasised that shared infrastructure, combined with topographical challenges, had led to digital and physical isolation during flood events.

Participants said they have different experiences and issues with providers of broadband (i.e., NBN satellite/fixed wireless providers) and mobile (mainly Telstra and sometimes Optus). While there are several NBN providers to choose from, participants were often confused and/or uninformed about the options available to them for personal, educational, and enterprise use. Participants reported they were often not able to find services best suited to their circumstance and were reluctant to change providers or plans in case they were disconnected. For example, many complained about data caps on NBN satellite connections, but were unaware they could upgrade to Sky Muster Plus to receive unmetered data (except for VPN and streaming).

Finally, interviewees expressed frustration in being unable to properly connect to existing infrastructure, even if it was close by. For example, mobile coverage maps often do not reflect actual access on the ground, and optic fibre cables that run through some towns cannot be accessed without considerable cost and negotiation with the carrier. Participants described their use of antennas, boosters, dishes, sleeves, and other supplementary infrastructure to try to get more out of their services, sometimes spending thousands of dollars on network upgrades on their property. For example, Northhead Cattle engaged AirBridge Networks to install a private network to service their domestic and commercial internet needs.

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Services Interviewees reported poor customer service from mobile and internet providers, high comparative costs of services, and long wait periods for installation and maintenance of equipment. Critically, there is a lack of local knowledge and skills to trouble-shoot dropouts, leading to limited or no service for extended periods of time. Many interviewees said they are or have been engaged in long disputes with service providers over unreliable services and did not seem aware of other support available to them, like the Regional Tech Hub. Furthermore, despite their discontent, many feel beholden to Telstra for mobile service because they have the largest network. This is also the case for broadband provision, even though Telstra do not sell NBN satellite internet plans most suited to remote areas.

While mobile coverage was one of the biggest concerns for participants (especially on remote properties away from the homestead), interviewees acknowledged that mobile coverage on the arterials had improved in recent years (owing to the Mobile Black Spot Program). A critical issue, however, is that some black spot funding has been awarded to Optus which does not improve service for most Northern Gulf residents who are with Telstra. Participants did not have awareness of IoT networks currently available in the region, assuming that mobile networks were needed for implementation of agricultural technologies.

Capability Owing largely to the above-mentioned infrastructure and service limitations, participants identified they are constrained in their capacity to leverage digital technologies in life and work. For example: • Caravan parks are unable to provide guest Wi-Fi, which impacts visitation to their area and venue; • Graziers are unable to provide internet access to workers, which constrains attraction and retention of young staff; • Park rangers are unable to communicate reliably between head office, the ranger station, and rangers in the field; and, • Small businesses cannot reliably use EFTPOS or offer online bookings/ordering to customers. Accordingly, enterprises and organisations cannot meet the requirements of doing business in the digital economy. Interviewees expressed an interest in adopting new digital technologies, especially for disaster response and farming, if connectivity could be improved to accommodate it. While several options may be available to consumers right now, they are unaware of where and how to seek assistance in choosing appropriate technologies. There are also barriers associated with cost and coordination of effort across organisations, such as council, business, and state/federal government agencies.

Table 3 details more fine-grained analysis of the specific needs of participants based on sector and domain of use.

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Domestic Commercial Gov/Public Interface Trends/Future Needs Grazing/Ag • Online shopping • eCommerce (accounting, banking) • Portals (NLIS, compliance) • Data/speed for attracting • Video/streaming • IoT (weight bridges, collars, sensors, etc.), • Video streaming (training) and retaining skilled staff cameras, GPS • Resources/support (satellite • Big data collection and • Wi-Fi (staff) imagery, grants) analysis on farm • Emergency/redundancy comms (during net/power outage) Tourism • Home/staff comms network • Visitor Wi-Fi • Public Wi-Fi hotspots • Domestic tourism (private) • EFTPOS (secure, fast, reliable) • Boosted mobile service increasing, but mobile/Wi-Fi • Cloud-based platforms (bookings, social media) during peak days/season infrastructure not adequate • Emergency/redundancy comms (during net/power outage) Education • Video/voice calling • Downloading resources (data heavy) • Social media comms • Increased data, speed, • Cloud-based learning • Portals, incl. VPN (library, grading) • Teachers/students phoning latency requirements as • Real time online assessment • Apps (phone/tablet) parents more goes online • Video streaming (YouTube) Health • Video/voice calling • Telehealth (back-to-back) • Online services (MyGov, My • Patient-centred care – keep • Online resources/supp-ort • Portals/eHealth (incl. VPN/security) Health Record) patient home (chats, info, video) • Video/collaboration (MS Teams) • Health alerts (text, email, • Exploring how people can • Emergency comms other) use personal equipment • Health monitoring (data • Virtual hospital (first aid, upload) doctors, allied health) Indigenous • Mobile comms, social media • Indigenous enterprise (see ag and tourism needs) • Online gov services • Needs to align closely with communities (personal health and safety, (uploading docs, apps, local aspirations social connections) phone/mobile) • Co-design • Remote comms (rangers, homelands, FIFO) Emergency • Receiving alerts/information • Connecting to corporate platforms (firewalls) • Weather/water monitoring • Increased opportunity to services/ (text-over-Wi-Fi, ABC Radio, • Video/collaboration (MS Teams) (IoT, cameras, GPS) work from home Parks & social media) • Remote comms, GPS • Financial support Wildlife • Redundancy when • Emergency coordination (lost person, fire) (online/mobile) mobile/net/power lost (homes/towers) • Phone 000 Table 3. Needs matrix: Summary of digital connectivity needs by sector and domain.

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5. Workshop Results

5.1 Croydon and surrounds Context and Background Croydon is situated 529km west of Cairns along the Savannah Way. Croydon town is the heart of the Croydon Shire Council, which has a population of 258 people. The nearest regional centre is Normanton, 150km to the west. Tourists to Croydon travel via road or the Gulflander heritage train (arriving weekly from Normanton). Croydon’s services include a primary state school, primary health centre, police station, and visitor information centre.

The traditional owners, the Tagalaka people, have various interests in the shire, including an aquaponics enterprise in Croydon town and a ranger program at Littleton National Park (approx. 50km east of Croydon). Grazing is the most prominent industry in the shire which includes some of Queensland’s largest pastoral properties (e.g., Strathmore Station is 9310 square kilometres). Other local businesses include a pub, caravan park, and fuel and general store.

Croydon and the surrounding areas are regularly impacted by cyclone-related events. Flooding of the Gilbert and Norman Rivers can cut off travel, freight, and services in both directions along the Gulf Developmental Road. A significant feature of the 2019 flood event in this area was that floodwaters from the Flinders River were so large that they broke out and contributed to the flood peak recorded in the lower Norman River (BOM, 2019), contributing to significant loss of livestock.

Croydon was chosen as a target area because of its position at the far western end of the Savannah Way. While there are black spots and limited broadband along the whole arterial, the Georgetown- Croydon and Croydon-Normanton stretches are particularly under-serviced. While a Telstra 4G small cell has recently been installed at Gilbert River as part of the Australian Government’s Mobile Black Spot program, locals say more needs to be done to provide continuity to service in high use areas.

Workshop Participation and Insights The Croydon community workshop was held on Monday 30th November 2020 at the Doris Casey Hall in Croydon. A diverse group of participants representing various interests, including local government, graziers, tourism and hospitality operators, and natural resources management discussed deficits of existing telecommunications infrastructure and services. The group also worked to identify the specific digital connectivity needs that were or weren’t being met in home, business, and community contexts.

Specific concerns were raised about telecommunications for disaster response. Local government representatives from Croydon and Carpentaria Shire noted that they almost exclusively rely on mobile phones to coordinate community responses, which are virtually useless out of mobile range. Others (in the group and other interviews) reported that unofficial channels (like Facebook and messaging apps) were the most effective way to reach locals in real time during disasters. However, these communication channels depend on personal connections established prior to the event, possibly excluding others (such as newcomers) from essential information and messages.

The participant group showed a strong desire to “get connected” to bring their operational activities (e.g., tagging, tracking, fencing), administrative activities (accounting, marketing, etc.), and domestic activities (education, health access, etc.) in line with 21st century standards. Participants were glad to have been “heard’ by the project group, stating that they had felt left behind. Participants were eager to stay in touch with the project’s progression and to see technical options being offered and delivered in a timely fashion.

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5.2 Einasleigh and Forsayth

Context and Background Situated in the Etheridge Shire, Einasleigh and Forsayth are 50kms apart and approximately 50kms south of the Gulf Developmental Road (as the crow flies). Both have a rich heritage in gold mining and have populations of around 100 people. These towns are on route for people traveling north from The Lynd along the unsealed roads of the Gregory Highway and Einasleigh-Forsyth Road towards the larger towns of Mount Surprise and Georgetown.

The traditional owners are the Ewamian people who own and operate Talaroo Station near Mt Surprise. While the main industry in the area is grazing, there are some spectacular tourist attractions nearby, including Cobbold Gorge near Forsayth, Copperfield Gorge in Einasleigh, and the Undara Caves near Mount Surprise. Popular with grey nomads and holidaying families, this is one of the few regions in Australia that benefited from the COVID-related interstate and transnational lockdowns owing to Queenslanders exploring their own backyards.

While this community was not impacted as greatly as other towns within the Gilbert Catchment in 2019 floods, Einasleigh TM recorded its second-highest peak flood height in its 51 years of record during this event (BOM, 2019). Nonetheless, natural disaster events like cyclones, storms and fires frequently cause interruptions to telecommunications and other services. While Forsayth has been connected to 4G for some time, Einasleigh only gained similar reception in October 2020 with the installation of a Telstra 4G small cell. Moreover, telecommunications and power infrastructure are interdependent and can fail simultaneously.

Workshop Participation and Insights This workshop was attended principally by graziers and members of local government. As in Croydon, participants expressed an urgency in solving digital connectivity issues in the region. Emergency response was the most important need for better quality and more widespread mobile service. While many were satisfied with their internet connections at home (i.e., NBN satellite), participants said more points of connection across properties were required so that, in the event of an accident, help could be called quickly. This points to the importance of networked connectivity on large grazing properties, not just hotspots in homesteads.

Another issue that emerged was the inability of current mobile and broadband services to cater for the influx of visitors/tourists that occur at various times of the year (e.g., when the Savannahlander train arrives in Einasleigh, the 4G small cell can struggle to cope with the passengers’ smart phone demand). Rural events, such as races, also put stress on the existing services, which are designed to cater to local population only. Recent requirements for visitors to sign into events/venues using a QR code on their mobile device has also threatened the viability of events, with the Einasleigh Easter event committee citing this as a factor in deciding to cancel the event for the second year in a row.

Participants also highlighted that the influx of domestic tourists in the outback has increased the demand on mobile and broadband infrastructure. For example, Cobbold Gorge reported extremely high visitation in 2020, resulting in more visitors, but also staff and suppliers, occupying the remote site. Owners reported their local network was over-whelmed and were scrambling to find a new, cost- effective solution before the 2021 peak season, but they did not have adequate knowledge of what they needed or who was best to provide a solution.

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5.3 Dimbulah and Mutchilba

Context and Background Dimbulah is situated 45km west of Mareeba, with a population of approximately 1000. The traditional owners are the Barbaram people. Dimbulah is the Indigenous word for ‘long, permanent waterhole’, which refers to the Walsh River that runs through the town. Nearby Mutchilba is 34km west of Mareeba with a population of approximately 500. The 1950s Tinaroo-Dimbulah irrigation scheme ensured the viability of agricultural industries in this area. While initially tobacco was the crop of choice, modern day crops include mangoes, lychees, and avocadoes. Situated less than two hours’ drive from the major regional centre of Cairns, these towns have relatively robust local supply chains and reliable rainfall sees good production year on year. Mutchilba and Dimbulah are also on route to Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park and the Mungana Mine at Chillagoe. Heading westward from Mareeba and Mutchilba, Dimbulah is the last place to fill up fuel or buy takeaway food—and the last reliable mobile reception—before the town of Chillagoe, a grazing community approximately 100kms away. Dimbulah is thus a critical node on the Burke Development Road for tourists, freight/cattle trucks, and drive-in/drive-out mine workers commuting from Cairns.

Workshop Participation and Insights Community members expressed a range of issues with digital connectivity on agricultural properties, which mainly grow high-value horticulture. Participants reported that a key issue is that farming practices are evolving to demand internet-connected technologies, but the necessary connectivity infrastructure is not always available or reliable. Participants seemed unaware of IoT networks available in the region.

Farmers expressed concern and anger about productivity and profit losses resulting from unreliability and outages of 4G, which they rely on to operate packing facilities, for example. Investment in more productive and sustainable systems, which are enabled by smart technologies, are a high-risk activity for farmers. It is therefore understandable why some farmers shy away from technological investments given the telecommunications challenges. This can have flow-on effects for the horticultural sector in terms of long-term viability and competitiveness.

Other participants expressed frustration with Telstra and Optus mobile services in the area. Mutchilba residents in particular experience issues with outages of the local Optus tower and its incompatibility with Telstra services that dominate the region. The Mutchilba community has posed coordinated requests to Optus to address the issues, as well as asked local, state, and federal government representatives to intervene to advocate for better services, to no avail.

The Dimbulah community expressed slightly different issues with its Telstra service. While the 4G connection is strong in the town centre, properties and businesses on the fringe of town (about 5km out) have limited coverage, which may be adequate for text messages, but inadequate for calls and data use. Residents on fringes of towns tend to “layer up” on service plans to ensure they have redundancy if one service fails (e.g., Telstra mobile, landline, Sky Muster satellite, satellite phone, UHF, etc.), significantly contributing to the cost of being connected.

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6. Survey Results The anonymous online survey consisted of 11 questions, including multiple choice, Likert-scale, ranking, and open-ended formats. The survey was divided into three sections: (1) Demographic information (location, sector, role); (2) Needs prioritisation (in and around the home, businesses, or commercial properties intown, on farms, or businesses outside of town, community organisations and community services); and (3) Prioritisation of actions required to improve internet/mobile connections and digital capability.

The survey was undertaken by 35 people with a completion rate of 85%. Incomplete survey responses were not removed from the data set. As shown in Figure 1, participants were drawn from all but one LGA within the Northern Gulf (Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire). The majority were Mareeba residents, which is reflective of it being the largest shire by population in the region. The sector and role of participants was not as evenly distributed, with approximately half belonging to local government (perhaps owing to their easy access to a computer from which to complete the online survey). Tourism was also well-represented. The interests of these groups were kept in mind when interpreting the results.

Other*

Mareeba Shire

Carpentaria Shire

Cook Shire Croydon Shire

Etheridge Shire

*’Other’ includes participants from Weipa and Tablelands Regional Council.

Figure 1. Survey participants by local government shire within Northern Gulf.

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6.1 Digital connectivity needs in and around the home As shown in Figure 2, looking at combined totals for extremely important and very important, the top three needs in and around the home are: 1. Emergency/disaster comms via mobile/Wi-Fi 2. Accessing government service online 3. Doing basic digital activities. These rudimentary digital connectivity needs, which are somewhat unmet in parts of the Northern Gulf, point to technical solutions that increase mobile coverage to give continuous service across properties, and basic reliable broadband connections and service plans for everyday life. Of least concern to respondents was online education (adult and child, formal and informal), which could reflect a lack of representation of parents (mainly mothers usually oversee distance education, for instance) in the sample.

Basic activities online, e.g., online banking 3

Video-calling and meetings, e.g., Zoom

Video/audio-streaming entertainment

Adult online education, training, research

Distance education for children

Accessing government services, e.g., myGov 2

Accessing health services, e.g., telehealth

Reading or watching news

Emergency/disaster comms via mobile /Wi-Fi 1

Ordering goods or services online

Software updates

Unimportant Slightly Important Moderately Important Very Important Extremely Important

Figure 2. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs in and around the home.

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6.2 Digital connectivity needs for businesses in town As shown in Figure 3, looking at combined totals for extremely important and very important, the top three needs in and around the home are: 1. Banking, invoicing, and accounting 2. Ordering goods or services online 3. Online sales and bookings. These commercially focused needs rely heavily on cloud-based platforms, such as accounting portals and online booking systems. Accordingly, end users need persistent, secure bandwidth and sufficient data to support upload/download any time of the day or night. With many businesses relying on mobile broadband networks, digital connectivity needs are particularly poorly serviced during peak visitation in towns (e.g., when mobile towers are over-whelmed), which is precisely when these businesses are busiest. Users ideally also required redundancy in their connectivity set-up to account for mobile and internet outages, which are frequent in the region.

Video-calling and meetings, e.g., Zoom

Wi-Fi for guests or tourists

Locked-down Wi-Fi for staff only

Camera surveillance such as CCTV

Point of sale, e.g., wireless EFTPOS

Online sales or bookings 3

Ordering goods or services 2

Banking, invoicing, 1 and accounting

Marketing, social media, website updates Online file storage and backups

Software updates

Training and courses using online portals

Unimportant Slightly Important Moderately Important

Very Important Extremely Important

Figure 3. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs for businesses in town.

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6.3 Digital connectivity needs on farms/businesses outside of town As shown in Figure 4, looking at combined totals for extremely important and very important, the top three needs in and around the home are: (1) Remote sensing technologies; (2) Ordering goods or services online; and (3) Software updates.

These results reflect an emerging interest amongst farmers in digital agricultural technologies (e.g., IoT), which had been absent from previous engagement with this cohort. Northern Gulf farmers are now more aware of the opportunities technologies afford and are increasingly concerned that poor levels of digital connectivity are, at least in part, preventing them from accessing them. Other priority needs on farms outside of town included rudimentary, everyday tasks associated with running a business from home. Interestingly, online marketing and social media were seen as the least important needs in this group.

Video-calling and meetings, e.g., Zoom Wi-Fi for guests or tourists

Remote sensing technologies, e.g., IoT 1

GPS technologies, such as ear tags

Camera surveillance, such as CCTV or drones Point of sale, e.g., wireless EFTPOS

Weather stations and weather monitoring

Online sales or bookings

Ordering goods or services 2

Banking, invoicing, and accounting

Marketing, social media, website updates

Online file storage and backups

Training and courses using online portals

Software updates 3

Unimportant Slightly Important Moderately Important Very Important Extremely Important Figure 4. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs on farms/businesses outside of town. 16

6.4 Digital connectivity needs for community organisations and emergency services As shown in Figure 5, looking at combined totals for extremely important and very important, the top three needs in and around the home are: (1) Community alerts and information sharing; (2) Online forms, e.g., grant applications; and (3) Online file storage and backups.

Not surprisingly, the most important need for community organisations and emergency services is to be able to share information and alerts during emergencies and disasters. Equally, as identified earlier, residents in remote areas and in townships alike require sufficient service to be able to receive these messages from community leaders directly, and to hear public broadcasts on one or more platforms, such as social media, apps, and websites. As reflected in the second and third priority needs, community organisations also require adequate broadband to up/download to/from cloud-based platforms to, for example, fill out lengthy online grant applications without interruption to the connection.

Video-calling and meetings, e.g., Zoom

Community alerts, information sharing 1

Point of sale, e.g., wireless EFTPOS Online sales or bookings

Online forms, e.g., grant applications 2

Ordering goods or services

Banking, invoicing, and accounting Online marketing, e.g., social media, websites

Online file storage and backups 3

Training and courses using online portals

Camera surveillance such as CCTV Software updates

Unimportant Slightly Important Moderately Important Very Important Extremely Important

Figure 5. Prioritisation of digital connectivity needs for organisations and emergency services.

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6.5 Ways to improve digital connectivity and digital skills and capability Finally, respondents were asked to rank, from a predetermined list, ways they thought digital connectivity and digital skills and capability could be improved. The results below indicate that people are willing to contribute effort and money towards improved infrastructure and services but expect more support from service providers. Regarding building up their own skills and capability, respondents indicated that they want help with digital skills development through external programs delivered locally, rather than only learning from each other. This is reflective of people’s recognition that digital expertise is currently lacking in their communities and help from outside is needed.

Ways to improve digital connectivity (ranked answers) 1. Investment in improved hard infrastructure e.g., more mobile towers, more fibre, etc. 2. More support solving local connectivity problems (e.g., slow speeds, dropouts, etc.) 3. Better customer service from providers 4. Better value for money and choice – improved places, data allowances, etc. 5. More support for finding the most suitable providers, plans and equipment 6. More support in setting up your internet connection and equipment Ways to improve digital skills and capability (ranked answers) 1. Provide local digital skills course or workshops, e.g., at the local hall or library 2. Provide online (self-directed) digital skills courses or workshops 3. Access to an IT consultant who offers strategic planning and advice 4. Have an IT support person located in your community 5. See how technologies work in other people’s homes and businesses 6. Have other locals share their knowledge and skills with you Table 4. Survey responses about ways to improve digital connectivity and digital skills and capability.

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7. Emergent Priorities and Opportunities Based on the insights garnered from participants in interview, workshops and an online survey, the following priority areas were identified. These priorities inform the focus of technical solutions and opportunities outlined in the Strategy Document, which accompanies this needs analysis report.

1. Remote domestic telecommunications

Need: People living and working remotely need to be able to communicate with others from any (or more) places on their property. This is imperative for getting help during an emergency, or for being contactable in the event of a disaster (e.g., incoming cyclone). Calls or messages should ideally be able to be made/sent to and from the remote worker. People also require reliable, affordable home-based internet services for essential tasks like accessing government websites and banking, and voice and text communications for community and personal interaction.

Shortfall: Existing telecommunication systems on remote properties are insufficient because they are usually only accessible from the home. For example, landlines are fixed, and Wi-Fi routers generally have limited distribution capacity. Devices currently used beyond the house are also problematic. For example, two-way radios lock communications down to a single channel used by only a few people, and satellite phones/sleeves are relatively expensive and often require that a phone number (other than the person’s usual number) be called, which is usually only known by a few people. Reliable telecommunications in the home itself should be possible for all remote residents under current conditions.

Effort: Remote domestic telecommunications could be improved through a combination of end user education and investment in last mile broadband infrastructure. Solutions should ideally allow end users to use their everyday smart devices to communicate with others via text, call, or mobile app. Effort could be focused on: • Education about the most appropriate service providers and plans for localised needs; and • Technical packages for increasing Wi-Fi footprint on properties, including affordable last mile infrastructure (e.g., antennas, boosters, routers, etc.)

2. Agricultural digital technologies

Need: Farmers are increasingly interested in adopting new digital technologies to improve productivity. In the grazing sector, popular applications include remote sensors for water tanks, GPS ear tags, and weighbridges, all of which involve IoT devices and software, including data storage. Horticulturalists are interested in adopting automation technologies (e.g., for packing, picking) and precision agriculture to inform decision making (e.g., spraying, watering). Many of these technologies can work on mobile, Wi- Fi and/or IoT-specific networks, all of which have different capacities, capabilities, and coverage.

Shortfall: Many farmers are unaware of the types of technologies available to them and lack capacity to make informed decisions about investments. This includes consideration of types and brands of hardware, installation and use of software, management and interpretation of data, and digital connectivity options (Wi-Fi, IoT, mobile) to link devices to the cloud or local network. For example, some farmers have previously invested in AgTech apps requiring 4G reception which is unavailable on many properties on the Northern Gulf.

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Effort: Effort could be directed towards untangling farmers’ requirements for telecommunications (mobile, broadband) networks from IoT networks, so that farmers can make informed decisions about investments. This could include: • Education about existing access to IoT access (e.g., LTE-CAT M or MBIoT) whose coverage exceeds mobile networks in the region; • Packaged solutions that enable farmers to leverage telecommunications networks for IoT applications (where appropriate); and, • Scoping of regionally based technology and service providers able to deliver packages at affordable prices with long-term technical support and service

3. Connectivity for community events and visitors

Need: Unlike urban contexts, demand for telecommunications in remote areas is uneven across time and geography (e.g., rodeos and races can attract hundreds or even thousands of people to venues on the periphery of small towns). These events can result in mobile phone services becoming completely overwhelmed, causing interruptions to COVID app check-ins, electronic scoring, and communication between event organisers. These events are critical for social and economic prosperity in rural communities, and connectivity is essential to sustain them into the future.

Shortfall: It is unsustainable for permanent infrastructure to be installed to meet peak demand that lasts only a few days per year. However, the services offered by telecommunications providers are often mismatched with the localised needs of rural and remote consumers. For example, the best value mobile plans offered annual contracts are not compatible for high demand in short spurts. Moreover, standardised internet hardware (e.g., modem and router) is designed to be stationary in homes and offices, and are not easily transported to club houses, for example.

Effort: Novel solutions are required to meet the need for connectivity on demand in remote areas. This could include: • Education about portable satellite internet technologies currently available; • Design of new portable, high-capacity broadband hardware; and, • Design of different service plans to match the demand patterns of remote consumers.

4. Enterprise-grade connections for businesses

Need: People conducting business in remote townships and other locations (e.g., Cobbold Gorge, Undara Caves) require enterprise-grade devices, platforms, software, and connections to be viable and competitive. Critical organisational processes (e.g., point of sale, booking, ordering) depend on ubiquitous connectivity, with failover options in case of network/power outages. Moreover, tourists, workers, contractors, and visitors’ Wi-Fi (and/or mobile) connections to be available to them.

Shortfall: Typically, services and plans in remote areas accommodate domestic rather than commercial needs. NBN satellite broadband has capped data and speed, and if 4G mobile broadband is available, capacity is limited (i.e., not unlimited). Consumers also have little awareness of remote enterprise solutions (e.g., Business NBN satellite service). High-capacity networks are often funded privately by big businesses who can afford them (e.g., mining companies can afford to lay fibre for their operations).

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Effort: Effort could be directed toward increasing broadband knowledge, capacity and backhaul in business hubs in the region. This could include: • Education for business owners about enterprise-grade services that are available to them now; • Fostering co-ops of businesses (with council and other organisations) to invest in shared networks; • Packaged solutions that meet business requirements (e.g., splitting ‘public’ guest Wi-Fi network from ‘private’ operational network); and, • Co-design of new services (providers/users) that meet specific requirements of remote businesses.

5. Robust telecommunications for disaster response

Need: Local councils and community organisations, along with state and federal agencies like Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, are first responders during disasters and are responsible for coordinating efforts to save lives and property. Often physically unable to access major centres and resources (e.g., by flooded or damaged roads), leaders and residents need to be able to communicate with officials, media, and each other across vast and remote distances. Unlike business connections that may be concentrated in discreet areas, telecommunications for disaster and governance must be as widespread as possible.

Shortfall: The interdependency of power, mobile and internet connections (sometimes fixed on a single physical tower) presents high risks to communities, especially in disaster events. When telecommunications networks fail, communities, families and individuals can become completely cut off from help and information. Nonetheless, formal emergency response protocols rely on mobile phones and coverage, as well as fixed or other broadband connections in command centres in regional centres.

Effort: Placed-based, strategic investment in telecommunications infrastructure is required to give certainty and safety to remote communities. Efforts could include: • Brokering community-level partnerships for co-investment in improved mobile and/or other connectivity (capacity, coverage, reliability) in and around townships, along arterials, and other strategic locations (e.g., boat ramps); • Advocacy for more strategic governance of federal and state funding to programs (such as Mobile Black Spot and Regional Connectivity Program) to meet actual needs of remote people (e.g., facilitation of solution-sharing across regions; consideration of proposals without co-contribution from communities who cannot afford it); and, • Advocacy for USG to be further strengthened and enforced in remote areas, including relieving the onus on individuals to acquire high levels of expertise to enact their rights to voice and internet services.

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8. Conclusion This needs analysis points to three key directions for mobile and broadband solutions for the Northern Gulf region.

1. Digital literacy and awareness: Broadscale education of end users is required to address under- utilisation of existing infrastructure and services, across mobile, broadband and IoT services. This requires a coordinated, consumer-centred approach to ensure the best possible options are made available in the most suitable locations and for the most viable applications.

2. Last mile solutions: Where major infrastructure is not being connected through to homes, businesses, and organisations, end users need options for investment in modest hardware to get connected. These options must be provider-neutral and duplicated in areas of similar need. Furthermore, co-design of new services/options that better cater to specific needs of remote businesses and communities could help improve value for money and overall outcomes for consumers.

3. Strategic infrastructure investment: Develop regional partnerships and co-investment models to advocate for, plan, and execute significant projects that address backhaul shortfalls across the Gulf. Under the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, Regional Connectivity Program, and Developing Northern Australia agenda, there is opportunity to plan and deliver infrastructure and services that meet multiple needs across regional communities.

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9. References

Australian Government National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency. (2021, April). Coordinator-General travel. https://www.droughtandflood.gov.au/our-community/where-we-have-been

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience. (2019). Queensland, January-February 2019: Storms and floods, 2019. https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/2019-storms- and-floods-qld-townsville/

Bureau of Meteorology. (2019) North Queensland Monsoon Trough: Technical Flood Report (January and February 2019). http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/flood/fld_reports/QLD_Monsoon_Trough_floods.pdf

Deloitte Access Economics. (2019). The social and economic cost of the North and Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte- au-dae-monsoon-trough-social-economic-cost-report-160719.pdf

Etheridge Shire Local Disaster Management Group. (2017). Etheridge shire local disaster management plan 2017 version 3.5. https://www.etheridge.qld.gov.au/downloads/stream/148/esc-ldmg-disaster-mana- plan-2017pdf

Flick, U. (2006). An introduction to qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage.

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