OPINION: A major question for Australia is whether the rollout of broadband should be on the basis of a push (from the service providers) or a pull (from the users)--or both.
There is little doubt among interactive media visionaries that the future success of the industry is connected to the take-up of broadband.
Broadband is about high-speed, always-on access to the Internet and all the services that come with it.
Information from Asia and Europe suggest that Australia is way behind in the broadband stakes. A recent study on broadband usage in Europe, indicates that Sweden (13.8 percent) and Denmark (13.2 percent) lead the continent for Internet high-speed connections by households.
Eight countries were surveyed with Italy and the UK coming last at 0.9 and 2.3 percent, respectively. High-speed Internet access now accounts for 40 percent of home connections in Hong Kong (800,000 at-home broadband users) and it is predicted that by the end of the year more Hong Kong users will access the Internet via high speed services than by regular dial-up. In Korea where government has strongly supported the rollout of broadband, the take-up and use figures are even higher.
By contrast, from what we know of Australia's uptake, it's at about three percent--and that's a fairly optimistic view. Many businesses and most households in Australia are completely confused about the availability, benefits, and costs of broadband services.
Assuming there is a connection between broadband take-up and the future success of the industry, a major question for Australia is whether the rollout of broadband should be on the basis of a push (from the service providers) or a pull (from the users)--or both.
According to some, the push would not be enough on its own. Figures quoted (Telecom, November 2001) indicate that the US$50 billion spent in the US by the cable industries to upgrade their networks for broadband has not been followed by instant take-up of the service. In June of 2001, only about 5.5 million cable modem subscribers out of a possible 65 million homes had taken advantage of the service and the relatively good deals that were being offered.
In Australia, where government policy has meant that free-to-air broadcasters are protected from Internet competition until 2005, the push to broadband has been less than spectacular. But what about the pull factor? What would make the majority of businesses and homes in Australia (and critical mass demands both domestic and commercial broadband adoption) take the plunge and connect to cable or ADSL or satellite?
The content industries suggest that investment in and production of educational programs and materials would make a difference. And the film, music, and television industries all seem to think that some investment in production in their sectors would result in content that would attract subscribers prepared to pay for education and entertainment as they do in other contexts.
Outside the content industries, there is less optimism with some commentators predicting that it will be the longer term development of user-friendly applications that will attract people to broadband. In an attempt to act, rather than interminably discuss these issues, SPAN (the Service Providers Industry Association) with the support of other bodies such as AIMIA, has implemented the SPAN Broadband Xchange project.
It aims to provide a comprehensive and authentic information resource about the availability, and utility, of broadband telecommunications services to potential users, in order to accelerate the take-up and use of this communications technology.
The initial target group for the project is 750,000 small- to medium-sized business enterprises and the idea is to extend the project to eventually cover residential and entertainment applications. SPAN is currently developing a Web site that will provide basic information on broadband--what it is, the advantages of using it, and how to get started.
It seems likely that the combination of a small population and a risk-averse political and commercial culture in Australia will mean that we will not be leading players in the broadband and interactive media stakes. But we don't have to completely miss the race.
Significant movement at the demand end may well be the catalyst that government and the carriers need to make the supply side accessible and affordable. It would also be helpful if the cap of three gigabytes per month on the usage of early adopters was dropped. AIMIA would have hoped that these are just the sort of innovators who should have been encouraged to use new types of broadband content and services.
Lynne Spender is Executive Director of the Australian Interactive Multimedia Industry Association (AIMIA)-a professional association for creators and developers of digital content. AIMIA can be contacted on 02 9252 4938 or at director@aimia.com.au.
Broadband is all about cost and accessibility. The simple idea of the cheaper it is, the quicker the uptake. But the providers have to cover their costs. Providers, like Telstra, have to understand that they can not make billion dollar profits off of soemthing like broadband overnight, so charging people the earth for the service doesn't make any sense, because if the price is high (which it is at present - for what you get), people will not use it.