Showing foresight--which some would say is uncommon in government--a few are even catering to future requirements, so as not to fall behind in an increasingly-competitive market for IT investment.
In fact, the move towards the roll-out of broadband infrastructure is most keenly expressed in the smaller states, faced as they are with less options when it comes to attracting IT investment.
Enterprising Governments?
Contrary to late nineties economic ideologies, the roll-out of broadband often requires a significant level of government involvement in the provision of infrastructure--at least in the initial phase. As the telecommunications industry has not been able to provide significant competition to Telstra, so far, many state governments are wading into the murky waters of broadband provision to do what the private sector alone cannot do.
In Western Australia, the Minister for State Development, Tourism and Small Business, Clive Brown has thrown his weight behind the Statewide Telecommunications Enhancement Program (STEP).
"Under the STEP program, the government used its aggregated buying power to attract a second broadband data service provider in WA," Minister Brown explained.
The program includes a "Development Deed" that commissions Optus to build satellite communications infrastructure throughout the state. To date, 140 satellite data terminals have been installed. In a similar deal, Telstra is rolling out BigPond Direct POPs into major regional centres.
"The Western Australian Government is also discussing, with carriers and ISPs, the opportunity to introduce wireless broadband Internet services into the state using the broadcasting spectrum recently made available for this purpose by the Commonwealth," Brown said.
In a similar vein the South Australian Government department for Information Economy, headed up by Dr Michael Armitage, has invested in the establishment of a communication network in South Australia providing 18,000 residents with an alternative to Telstra.
Launched in conjunction with South Australian telco Agile Communications, the broadband telecommunications network covers not only Adelaide, but also regional areas. The project was funded through grants from the Federal 'Networking the Nation' program, a state-wide attempt to improve Internet infrastructure.
With the Tasmanian Department for State Development leading the charge, State Premier James Bacon, opened parliament in September this year with a commitment to roll out optic fibre to every Tasmanian household over the next five years.
In the meantime, the government is investing heavily in attracting developers to the state to work on applications in order to make the uptake of broadband more attractive to Tasmanians.
This has been sparked, in part, by the lacklustre interest in broadband access amongst the five thousand homes offered broadband access through the Launceston Project. Despite being offered broadband access at significantly reduced rates, only 400 homes took up the offer.
David Bartlett, manager of Innovation Science and Technology for the Department of State Development, says that the experience of the Launceston Project has led the state's legislators to focus on making broadband more attractive to households.
"We are looking at encouraging the development of applications to increase the perceived value of broadband in your average household," Bartlett said. "There is that whole chicken and egg debate when it comes to broadband--who will take up the service without the apps, and who will build with apps if no one has the service?"
In an effort to combat this dilemma the Tasmanian government has concentrated on attracting broadband application developers to the state, along with other technology-focused companies. Generally, it has also removed the payroll tax obligation for high-tech companies locating off the mainland.
"Essentially we are looking at future-proofing the state against the next century," Bartlett said. "And broadband is a big part of that equation."
Are your reporters aware of the existence of the Australian Capital Territory? The ACT's TRANSACT fibre network is already delivering telephone, digital TV and fast Internet services in Canberra at competitive prices.