Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Networking the Nation - bridging the telecommunications gap

Local councils wanting to improve access to telecommunications infrastructure and services in their regions are encouraged to apply for assistance through Networking the Nation &endash; the Commonwealth's $250 million Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. Information technology and telecommunications developments have the potential to deliver enormous benefits to regional, rural and remote Australia.

Networking the Nation is giving country Australians the opportunity to share in those benefits, by helping to bridge the telecommunications gaps between urban and non urban Australia.

Two types of funding are available through Networking the Nation:

• project funding for proposals that have been developed to meet communications needs identified by regional, rural and remote communities; and
• development funding to help communities lacking the resources and expertise to research and develop project funding proposals.

Local councils are in an ideal position to understand their own communities' unique needs and develop proposals that meet those needs for consideration by the independent Networking the Nation Board. The Board, chaired by the Rt Hon Doug Anthony, meets to assess applications about three times a year.

Other Board members are: Professor Gerry Anderson of the University of Ballarat; Ms Lindsay MacDonald, a Queensland wool farmer and telecommunications activist; Ms Johanna Plante, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Communications Industry Forum Limited; and Ms Eleanor Scholz, manager of a regional South Australian telecentre.

To date 40 projects, valued at more than $15 million, have been funded through the Networking the Nation program. The projects cover a range of issues, for example, raising community awareness about the benefits of telecommunications; providing training about, and access to, online information; increasing access to health, education and other services; encouraging the use of electronic commerce; and providing access to the Internet at affordable rates.

A number of these were championed by shire councils or regional development organisations working in consultation with Local Government. Examples of proposals which received project funding include:

• The Bass Coast Shire Council in Victoria received funding of $250,000 to provide an advanced broadband wireless access telecommunications network in their region. Residents of Wonthaggi, Cowes and Inverloch will benefit from the provision of free local calls between subscribers; cheaper calls outside the STD zone; and improved speed for Internet access.
• The La Trobe Shire Council, Victoria, in conjunction with the Monash University Centre for Electronic Commerce received $429,000 to develop an electronic commerce training and awareness project for small to medium enterprises and communities in regional and rural areas to be trialed in the La Trobe Shire, Victoria. Known as E-Comm-AWARE, the project will include a series of 12 seminars targeted at particular groups in the community, an interactive CD ROM, training workbooks, trainer scripts and other supporting tools and technical assistance. E-Comm-AWARE aims to foster a business and community understanding of the electronic communications and electronic commercial services which will underpin the use of the telecommunications infrastructure as it is rolled out in all regions.
• The Riverina Regional Development Board of New South Wales, which extends from Tumut in the east to Hay and Hillston in the West, worked closely with Local Government associations in their region in developing a proposal for project funding. Funding of $48,000 was approved by the Board for the project which, through a consultant, will identify and prioritise options for meeting identified telecommunications needs which include establishing a network to support the Internet and other broadband services across the region.
• The Spencer Regions' Development Association in South Australia has received funding of $435,000 to trial a model for providing affordable Internet access in nine centres throughout the Region. Known as the Spencer Access Network, the project will address inequities in the price of Internet access between urban and regional, rural and remote areas by reducing the cost of access to the Internet in each selected community to the cost of a local call. This will be achieved through the provision of Internet points of presence in locations where demand for the service is adequately proven. The communities of Booleroo Centre, Coober Pedy, Cummins, Jamestown, Leigh Creek, Maitland, Whitwarta, Wudinna and Yorketown will be the main beneficiaries of this project.

A number of organisations were successful in winning development assistance funding under the Networking the Nation program, including:

• The King Island Region Telecommunication Infrastructure Fund Group and the Furneaux Enterprise Centre Inc. received funding of $10,000 each to engage a consultant to assess the telecommunications needs of their respective regions. It is expected that this process will assist the development of strategies to enhance telecommunications infrastructure and services for their regions.
• The Shire of Wiluna, Western Australia, also received funding of $10,000 to engage an independent consultant to look at the development of an appropriate mobile phone facility for the Shires of Meekatharra, Wiluna, Sandstone, Menzies, Leonora, Laverton and the town of Leinster in addition to identifying other telecommunications needs in the region.

Proposals which cover more than one State have also been considered by the Board and have received funding over the program. For example, Farmwide, a company established by the National Farmers Federation, received $5.6 million for a project which will significantly boost the provision of cheaper online access in rural and remote Australia.

Expanding on the successful Farmwide Online Services pilot, the project will involve strategic installation of a number of Internet points of presence and will trial a range of alternative technologies to provide online access, training and support to people in more remote areas, and content development relevant to rural Australians. Some applicants were also successful in seeking funding for detailed planning exercises to identify the best telecommunications solutions for their communities.

The Board considers proposals from State, Territory and Local Government departments and agencies on a case by case basis. Applications are accepted at any time, and the Board will consider those received before 3 June in July, with an announcement about successful projects expected in early August.

For more information, including details of the Board's funding priorities, contact the Secretariat on 1800 674 058 (toll free) or visit the website at www.dca.gov.au/rtif.html

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