* Connecting the Country Telecommunications, media, electronic commerce and information services in rural & regional Australia A conference organised by the Communications Law Centre and the National Farmers’ Federation Albury, 28–29 September 1998 Gil Appleton Editor October 2000 RIRDC Publication No 00/147 RIRDC Project No WS978-15 © 2000 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 0 642 58177 0 ISSN 1440-6845 Connecting the Country Publication No. 00/147 Project No. WS978-15 The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the conference participants. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. The panel discussions, comments, and the question and answer sessions are transcribed from tape recordings of the conference proceedings. Any errors which may have occurred in transcription or editing are the responsibility of the Communications Law Centre. Recordings were not available for all participants as indicated in the papers. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details Communications Law Centre The White House University of New South Wales UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052 Phone: 02 9663 0551 Fax: 02 9662 6839 Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.comslaw.org.au RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in October 2000 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint Foreword This report is an edited summary of the proceedings of a two-day conference Connecting the Country: Telecommunications, Media, Electronic Commerce and Information Services in Rural and Regional Australia, held in Albury in September 1998. National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and the Communications Law Centre (CLC) were represented on the 1996 Review of the Standard Telephone Service. This review concluded that Australia should establish a new goal in communications policy: that an enhanced level of telecommunications service, a ‘digital data capability’, should be accessible to all Australians by 2000. The Government accepted that recommendation and it was enshrined in the Telecommunications Act 1997. In mid–1999 the Parliament passed an amendment to the Act incorporating a ‘digital data capability’ into Australia’s universal service arrangements. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), NFF and the CLC are committed to the social and economic importance of making high quality, affordable communications services available to all Australians. This goal provides a number of challenges. First, there is the technological and economic challenge of making adequate levels of service available throughout the country. But secondly, there is the business, social, cultural and educational challenge of exploring and explaining the possibilities of new media and communications services. These challenges need to be confronted in an environment of constant uncertainty about technical capabilities, costs and consumer demands. Connecting the Country was planned as an event to address these challenges and their implications for rural, regional and remote Australia. It provided an opportunity both to discuss major policy issues and to find practical solutions to real problems of direct relevance to the people of the Murray region and beyond. This project follows on from substantial research carried out by RIRDC on electronic communications systems. Funds were provided from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Federal Government. This report, a new addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 600 research publications, forms part of our Human Capital, Communications and Information Systems R&D program, which aims to enhance human capital and facilitate innovation in rural industries and communities.. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter Core Jock Given Wendy Craik Managing Director Director Executive Director Rural Industries Research Communications Law Centre National Farmers Federation & Development Corporation iii Acknowledgments We would like to thank all the sponsors of thus giving the event national and international Connecting the Country for their generous reach. support. The event was held as part of a major collaborative research project being undertaken Session Sponsors in 1998 and 1999 by the CLC, in conjunction • Wesfarmers Dalgety – Telecommunications with industry partners Cable & Wireless Optus service quality in rural & regional Australia and the NFF, on ‘Mapping Future Directions for • Farmwide – What’s on the Web for Farmers? Rural Communications in Australia’. The project • Bendigo Bank – Financial Services is supported by the Australian Research Council • La Trobe University – Making electronic under its Strategic Partnerships with Industry commerce work for my business Research and Training (SPIRT) program. • Rural Press – What is electronic commerce and how do you do it? Major Sponsors • Charles Sturt University – Education and • Rural Industries Research and Development Health Corporation (RIRDC) – which committed • Office of Information Technology (OIT) – support immediately and published this Electronic Delivery of Government Services volume • Cinemedia – Community Initiatives Cable & Wireless Optus (then Optus Communications) Special thanks to Melissa Hankinson at the CLC, • Telstra Corporation Rosie Simpson at Farmwide and Bradley Hayden • Austar—which sponsored the Debate and Dot Browne at Countrywide Conference Management for their huge roles in making it all ABC radio and multimedia made a major happen. commitment to the event. Outside broadcast facilities were established at the venue as a base Thanks finally to Gil Appleton for turning the for some rural affairs radio programs for the two multimedia fragments of audio-tapes, slide days, the sessions were ‘audio-streamed’ and presentations and speeches into this report. regular text-summaries of presentations and other information were placed on the ABC web site, List of Abbreviations ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ISP Internet Service Provider ACA Australian Communications Authority Kbps Kilobits per second ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer LAN Local Area Network Commission LEO Low Earth Orbit (satellite) ACIF Australian Communications Industry Forum MDS Multipoint Distribution System ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line MHz Megahertz AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System MMDS Microwave Multipoint Distribution System APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation NFF National Farmers’ Federation AQIS Australian Quarantine Inspection Service OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and CLC Communications Law Centre Development CND Calling Number Display POP (Internet) Point of Presence CDMA Code Division Multiple Access PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network CSG Customer Service Guarantee RCTS Remote Commercial Television Services DRCS Digital Radio Concentrator System RIRDC Rural Industries Research & Development FRAN Farmwide Regional Access Network Corporation GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit (satellite) RTIF Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure GSM Global System for Mobile Fund GST Goods and Services Tax STD Subscriber Trunk Dialling HCRC High Capacity Radio Concentrator STS Standard Telephone Service HDTV High Definition Television TDMA Time Division Multiple Access IDD International Direct Dialling TIO Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman ISD International Subscriber Dialling USO Universal Service Obligation ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network iv Contents Foreword................................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. iv List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... iv Contents ..................................................................................................................................................v Executive Summary............................................................................................................................... vii Key Themes of Connecting the Country............................................................................................. vii Connecting the Country: Business and Social Strategies.......................................................................1 Chair: Ian Donges, President, National Farmers’ Federation...............................................................1 Speakers:.........................................................................................................................................1 Keynote Address .....................................................................................................................................6