A broadband awareness initiative
Government Involvement
Federal
Broadband Development Network — Clever Networks.
The Broadband Development element established a Network that operates on two levels: focusing on the state or territory broadband priorities; and at the regional sector and community level. The Broadband Development Network comprises up to 25 individuals across Australia who will assist regional communities to enhance understanding of, access to and use of broadband.
Each state and territory has been invited to co-fund a Broadband Project Manager to work at a state or territory level on strategic broadband development priorities and will be complemented by Broadband Project Officers working on implementing regional priority broadband projects.
The Broadband Project Managers will undertake activities such as identifying and documenting priority areas and opportunities for new and/or improved broadband services, or assisting communities and sectors to develop skills and capabilities to realise the social and economic benefits broadband can deliver.
Each Broadband Project Officer will be focussed on regional broadband projects. Their activities may include supporting broadband infrastructure and network rollout or identifying and documenting priority areas and opportunities for new and/or improved broadband services. In Tasmania, the TECC is undertaking the Broadband Project Officer role.
State
Tasmanian Broadband Development Program (TBDP)
The Tasmanian Government, through the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts is partnering with the Australian Government, through the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), the Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre (TECC) to implement a number of initiatives under the Tasmanian Broadband Development Program (TBDP). This program aims to stimulate competitive backbone infrastructure developments and increase awareness and understanding in relation to the benefits broadband has to offer.
The TBDP is overseen by a dedicated project manager located within the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts' Food, Manufacturing and IT&C (FMI) unit. A primary objective of the TBDP is to stimulate opportunities that could be realised by the government's Strategic Alliance partnership with Aurora Energy in using the State's fibre optic backbone network.
Local
Local Government has a significant role in the development of sustainable broadband services, particularly in regional areas where the business case may be insufficient to attract commercial suppliers. As the primary public service provider and infrastructure manager to local communities, local government is in a key position to facilitate the growth of broadband through:
- The delivery of online services to local communities.
- The development of policies and programs that encourage the provision of affordable broadband services at the local level.
The broadband vision for local government directly supports the national vision, recognising the need for all levels of government to work collaboratively on this important task and to leverage the unique role of local governments in the widespread uptake and deployment of broadband services. The broadband vision for local government is:
To be a leader in the facilitation, utilisation and delivery of broadband services at the local levell
To this end, the specific objectives of this broadband action plan for local government are to:
- Define the role of local government in the development and delivery of broadband services.
- Facilitate the access and uptake of broadband services by local government, particularly in regional areas.
- Promote the uptake and utilisation of broadband services by the community.
- To provide a coordinated planning framework that will align the activities of local governments, commercial telecommunications carriers, government agencies and other stakeholders in the roll-out of broadband services across Australia.
