Howard Sending an Error Message on Broadband Access8March2007

Howard Sending an Error Message on Broadband Access


Media release - 8 March 2007

The Howard Government is holding back the Victorian economy by failing to deliver adequate broadband access, Minister for Information & Communication Technology, Tim Holding, said today.

Department of Infrastructure economic modelling shows that by 2015, an IT industry with 21st century broadband has the potential to add $15 billion to Victoria’s Gross State Product and create 153,000 new jobs.

So far, the Howard Government has failed to meet the number-one challenge of the communication age – access to high speed broadband. And, the Prime Minister’s announcement this week of a so-called “broadband guarantee” brings us no closer.

“Broadband services in Australian cities are second rate by world standards, while parts of regional Victoria are suffering from third world service. The Howard Government is approaching this problem at dial-up speed,” Mr Holding said.

In Australia, broadband is defined by access speeds equal to or greater than 256 kilobits per second. In other countries, a service is not even considered to be broadband unless it provides minimum speeds in the megabits, or one thousand kilobits, range. In Hong Kong, the slowest broadband is 1.5 megabit per second.

In Australia, less than half of households have access to broadband speeds in excess of 2 megabits, whereas in the UK, Sweden, France, Italy, Canada and the USA, 80 to 90 per cent of households have access to faster broadband.

“Mr Howard claims his “broadband guarantee” will promote supply in blackspot areas. But it replaces a similar scheme that has failed to adequately address Victoria’s needs over the past two years.

“This announcement is just a stop-gap in an election year. It still doesn’t offer a sustainable solution to the problem. For John Howard to suggest that the situation is good except for ‘a few black spots’ is misleading; as is pointing to a large uptake in new users.”

Research commissioned by the Bracks Government and published today shows in detail the lack of services facing many Victorians, and demonstrates that the Howard Government has so far failed to rise to the challenge.

Fifteen per cent fewer people in regional Victoria have broadband access than in metropolitan areas, says the Spend/Demand – Telecommunications in Regional and Rural Victoria 2007 report. It shows there are still more than 55,000 Victorians who want metropolitan equivalent broadband coverage, but who cannot access it, up 9 per cent since 2005.

The Bracks Government has taken the initiative through the VicSmart programme to provide all Victorian Government schools with fibre optic connections, at a cost of $89 million over four years. It is time for the Commonwealth to show a similarly strategic vision.

“It is crucial that the Howard Government support sustainable projects with the $600 million Broadband Connect program and deliver next generation networks for regional Victoria,” Mr Holding said.

“The global shift to next generation applications indicates that it is more important than ever to also look beyond basic broadband.

“The Victorian Government sees the development of next generation networks and services as critical for the State's future connectivity, innovation and economy.

“Around the world, the very high speed and quality of next generation networks will result in sending and receiving high quality video and audio material, in real-time, being part of everyday business and personal communication,” he said.

“Mr Howard should not let Australia and Victoria fall behind the rest of the world,” Mr Holding said.

The Spend/Demand – Telecommunications in Regional and Rural Victoria 2007 report is available as a publication..