A recent visit through Central Victoria has highlighted that while regional Australia is often perceived to be slightly more conservative than metropolitan areas, very little of the current political discord is affecting their interest in, and support for, the NBN. Political confusion and miscommunication may have hampered the preparation of some local councils but things are on the mend.
I visited the region at the invitation of the NBN4Bendigo Loddon Mallee Committee and travelling through the towns of Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Echuca and Bendigo, I met with local councils, business leaders and representatives from healthcare and education to explore with them the opportunities and challenges the NBN will present to them.
I attended over a dozen meetings with groups and decision-makers and was pleasantly surprised that there was no resistance to the NBN anywhere. On the contrary, the NBN had the absolute support of the close to 400 leaders I met during this trip.
When I launched my broadbanding of regional Australia campaign in the 00s (visiting over 50 local councils) I received great support from conservative political leaders. Support from these political leaders has diminished since the change in Government in 2007, and I was worried that at a local level enthusiasm for the NBN may have waned also.
That most certainly was not the case. The decision-makers, at least, have an excellent understanding of what the NBN means for them. That is perhaps not yet the case when one moves deeper into the regional communities, but during the tour I also did eight media interviews (TV, radio and newspapers) – a sign that there is widespread interest in the topic throughout this region.
Perhaps what has happened over the last four years was that, due to the political confusion surrounding the NBN, some of the local councils dropped the ball somewhat, and this had become clear to them when they noticed that their towns were not on the initial NBN Co rollout list.
A lot of them have realised that 700 local councils are now trying to convince NBN Co that they are NBN-ready and would like to see the NBN rolled out in their local council area as quickly as possible. And, with typical regional ‘can do’ approach, the councils in Central Victoria are bouncing back with a vengeance, determined to rectify the situation in time for the next NBN Co announcements in 2012.
Not telecoms but regional infrastructure
The most important message for these councils is that the NBN is not a telecoms issue but a national infrastructure one, similar to roads, electricity, water and other infrastructure. The importance of the NBN is probably greater to regional Australia than elsewhere, and therefore it is essential that they don’t get buried under the marketing, PR and lobbying campaigns from metro Australia. For this reason regional Australia needs the support of its political leaders.
Most, if not all, fully understand – at a strategic level – the social and economic benefits that the NBN will bring to regional Australia. Key issues related to the new infrastructure, such as the lifestyle in regional areas, the sustainability of these communities, the environmental challenges and the opportunities for economic development are all very well understood.
All of the community leaders I met recognised that the future is uncharted and that what some people might see as sufficient now will not be sufficient in five or ten years’ time. Nobody wants to go back to dial-up and it was not too difficult for them to understand that DSL will soon be the dial-up version of the future.
Regional NBN infrastructure
Once the trans-sector vision of the NBN is fully understood it is also much easier to discuss what is needed to make it happen. Farmers along the Murray are professional business people. They understand the need to monitor their almond trees, irrigation systems, water levies, weather conditions, cattle movements, fences, etc. It is not difficult to explain the Internet of Things to them, and from that point they also appreciate the need for an infrastructure that can handle the capacity needed to process and analyse that data in real time. Healthcare people understand the importance of security and privacy and all of this leads to the need for a robust infrastructure. People agree that it is better to make investments in quality infrastructure rather than to do it ‘on the cheap’. They fully grasp the fact that the current broadband infrastructure is not sufficient to manage what will be needed in the future.
Council leadership
The successful outcome here boils down to leadership, and regional leaders need to take that into account. One way of making that happen is through the formation of local community steering committees, with representatives from the various community sectors. This should be supported by a dedicated council officer or perhaps a regional coordinator covering the combined regional councils.
It is good to see that Bendigo, Mildura, Swan Hill and Echuca are now well underway with their NBN Co engagement strategies.
Main activities include:
Strategic broadbanding plan for each community (what makes this community special and how can the NBN be used to support it, and at the same time provide for new social and economic opportunities;
Mapping of existing infrastructure;
Mapping of key businesses, especially those outside the fibre footprint;
If needed, look for opportunities to link them to fibre (fibre-to-the-farm) – perhaps the Victorian State Government $87 million fund could be used for this?
Engage with the community (meetings, displays, brochures, school competitions, awards for innovative ideas from businesses and the community) – also reach out to the outer rural communities;
I stressed the importance of engaging with young people – as usual most of the people I met with were well and truly over the age of 35 – we also need the ones under 25;
Work with local teachers, nurses, doctors, community and social workers to create an NBN-inclusive community;
Also make the community NBN-ready from the perspective of the physical NBN Co rollout (engage with them, check where the council can assist, etc).
By the end of this trip I was more convinced than ever that the NBN is here to stay in regional Australia. None of the people I met would be willing to have the NBN taken away from them, and to then wait another five years for a new plan to be developed.
People are getting it and it is about time we had bipartisan support for at least the vision and the strategy of the NBN. Once you have that agreement you can start looking at how to implement it, and it is there that some leeway can be allowed for differing political positions.
Paul Budde is the managing director of BuddeComm, an independent telecommunications research and consultancy company, which includes 45 national and international researchers in 15 countries.
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NBN hope for the bush
A recent visit through Central Victoria has highlighted that while regional Australia is often perceived to be slightly more conservative than metropolitan areas, very little of the current political discord is affecting their interest in, and support for, the NBN. Political confusion and miscommunication may have hampered the preparation of some local councils but things are on the mend.
I visited the region at the invitation of the NBN4Bendigo Loddon Mallee Committee and travelling through the towns of Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Echuca and Bendigo, I met with local councils, business leaders and representatives from healthcare and education to explore with them the opportunities and challenges the NBN will present to them.
I attended over a dozen meetings with groups and decision-makers and was pleasantly surprised that there was no resistance to the NBN anywhere. On the contrary, the NBN had the absolute support of the close to 400 leaders I met during this trip.
When I launched my broadbanding of regional Australia campaign in the 00s (visiting over 50 local councils) I received great support from conservative political leaders. Support from these political leaders has diminished since the change in Government in 2007, and I was worried that at a local level enthusiasm for the NBN may have waned also.
That most certainly was not the case. The decision-makers, at least, have an excellent understanding of what the NBN means for them. That is perhaps not yet the case when one moves deeper into the regional communities, but during the tour I also did eight media interviews (TV, radio and newspapers) – a sign that there is widespread interest in the topic throughout this region.
Perhaps what has happened over the last four years was that, due to the political confusion surrounding the NBN, some of the local councils dropped the ball somewhat, and this had become clear to them when they noticed that their towns were not on the initial NBN Co rollout list.
A lot of them have realised that 700 local councils are now trying to convince NBN Co that they are NBN-ready and would like to see the NBN rolled out in their local council area as quickly as possible. And, with typical regional ‘can do’ approach, the councils in Central Victoria are bouncing back with a vengeance, determined to rectify the situation in time for the next NBN Co announcements in 2012.
Not telecoms but regional infrastructure
The most important message for these councils is that the NBN is not a telecoms issue but a national infrastructure one, similar to roads, electricity, water and other infrastructure. The importance of the NBN is probably greater to regional Australia than elsewhere, and therefore it is essential that they don’t get buried under the marketing, PR and lobbying campaigns from metro Australia. For this reason regional Australia needs the support of its political leaders.
Most, if not all, fully understand – at a strategic level – the social and economic benefits that the NBN will bring to regional Australia. Key issues related to the new infrastructure, such as the lifestyle in regional areas, the sustainability of these communities, the environmental challenges and the opportunities for economic development are all very well understood.
All of the community leaders I met recognised that the future is uncharted and that what some people might see as sufficient now will not be sufficient in five or ten years’ time. Nobody wants to go back to dial-up and it was not too difficult for them to understand that DSL will soon be the dial-up version of the future.
Regional NBN infrastructure
Once the trans-sector vision of the NBN is fully understood it is also much easier to discuss what is needed to make it happen. Farmers along the Murray are professional business people. They understand the need to monitor their almond trees, irrigation systems, water levies, weather conditions, cattle movements, fences, etc. It is not difficult to explain the Internet of Things to them, and from that point they also appreciate the need for an infrastructure that can handle the capacity needed to process and analyse that data in real time. Healthcare people understand the importance of security and privacy and all of this leads to the need for a robust infrastructure. People agree that it is better to make investments in quality infrastructure rather than to do it ‘on the cheap’. They fully grasp the fact that the current broadband infrastructure is not sufficient to manage what will be needed in the future.
Council leadership
The successful outcome here boils down to leadership, and regional leaders need to take that into account. One way of making that happen is through the formation of local community steering committees, with representatives from the various community sectors. This should be supported by a dedicated council officer or perhaps a regional coordinator covering the combined regional councils.
It is good to see that Bendigo, Mildura, Swan Hill and Echuca are now well underway with their NBN Co engagement strategies.
Main activities include:
By the end of this trip I was more convinced than ever that the NBN is here to stay in regional Australia. None of the people I met would be willing to have the NBN taken away from them, and to then wait another five years for a new plan to be developed.
People are getting it and it is about time we had bipartisan support for at least the vision and the strategy of the NBN. Once you have that agreement you can start looking at how to implement it, and it is there that some leeway can be allowed for differing political positions.
Paul Budde is the managing director of BuddeComm, an independent telecommunications research and consultancy company, which includes 45 national and international researchers in 15 countries.