tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/digital-inclusion-19734/articlesDigital inclusion – The Conversation2023-10-23T04:52:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160852023-10-23T04:52:58Z2023-10-23T04:52:58Z‘Digital inclusion’ and closing the gap: how First Nations leadership is key to getting remote communities online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555170/original/file-20231023-23-vi5czm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C4025%2C2993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mapping the Digital Gap Co-researcher Guruwuy Ganambarr using her mobile phone to connect to wifi in Gäṉgaṉ homeland, East Arnhem Land, NT.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Featherstone</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more than 1,500 remote First Nations communities and homelands around Australia, and about 670 of them have no mobile phone coverage. In research with 495 people from ten remote communities, we found 45.9% were “highly excluded” from increasingly important digital services and tools. </p>
<p>Digital inclusion for First Nations people is part of the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement">National Agreement on Closing the Gap</a>. The agreement calls for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have “access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives”, and “<a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/national-agreement-closing-the-gap/7-difference/b-targets/b17">equal levels of digital inclusion as other Australians</a> by 2026”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-remote-aboriginal-families-limited-phone-and-internet-services-make-life-hard-heres-what-they-told-us-201295">For remote Aboriginal families, limited phone and internet services make life hard. Here’s what they told us</a>
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<p>There is still some way to go, as our research shows. As one person in a remote community described their situation, “the internet here in Galiwin’ku past 10am is hopeless. [It] further marginalises people already living in an isolated community.”</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">new report by the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a>, released today, proposes a series of practical strategies to the Australian government to reduce the digital divide for First Nations Australians, particularly those living in remote communities and homelands. </p>
<h2>Digital inclusion and the digital gap</h2>
<p>We are part of a team that studies digital inclusion – the ability to access, afford, and effectively use digital technologies – across Australia. Each year, we publish the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a> which gives scores out of 100 for inclusion in different regions and groups of people around the country. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.admscentre.org.au/mapping-the-digital-gap/">Mapping the Digital Gap project</a>, we are researching digital inclusion among First Nations people in remote communities.</p>
<p>There is a significant gap in <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/dashboard/firstnations.aspx">digital inclusion for First Nations people</a> compared with other Australians, which widens substantially with remoteness. </p>
<p>Nationally, we found a “digital gap” of 7.5 points between First Nations people and others in Australia. In remote Australia the gap is 24.4 points, and in very remote communities and homelands it is 25.3 points.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Australia coloured in shades of red, with darker shades around capital cities and the east coast and lighter shades inland. A key shows how the colours correspond to different scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">First Nations scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index by remoteness, including the gap against the national average.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.25916/a01g-fp91">Mapping the Digital Gap: 2023 Outcomes Report</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The biggest contribution to this gap comes from access to communications services. There are some 1,545 remote First Nations communities and homelands across Australia, and 670 have no mobile coverage. Many of the others need much better access to affordable and reliable connections. </p>
<p>First Nations people primarily use prepaid mobile services for voice and data, so expanded access to mobile and wifi services are a critical first step. </p>
<p>Of the 495 remote First Nations people who participated in our study, 45.9% were rated as “highly excluded” based on their inclusion index scores, compared with 9.4% of people across Australia. </p>
<h2>First Nations leadership on closing the digital gap</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/closing-gap/implementation-measures/first-nations-digital-inclusion-advisory-group">First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a> was established by Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland in January 2023 to provide First Nations leadership on policy and programs to address closing the digital gap. </p>
<p>The advisory group consists of five highly experienced First Nations people, supported by a seven-person expert panel and a secretariat within the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure. The group is chaired by veteran media professional and Noongar woman Dot West, with researcher Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an Alyawarr man and coauthor of this article, as deputy chair.</p>
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<img alt="A group of nine people posing for a photograph." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Members of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group and the expert panel with Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland. Back row, left to right: Che Cockatoo-Collins, Neil Turner, Daniel Featherstone, Lyndon Ormond-Parker and Scott Winch. Front row, left to right: Lauren Ganley, Michelle Rowland, Dot West and Talei Elu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">advisory group’s initial report</a> was released by West, Rowland, and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney. This report follows the release of the federal government’s <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/first-nations-digital-inclusion-plan-2023-26">First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan</a> in July.</p>
<p>In the introduction to the report, West outlines the importance of Closing the Gap Target 17:</p>
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<p>Digital inclusion is a critical enabler for a vast array of other benefits, including health, education and social connectedness, as well as making sure First Nations people have access to the information they need to make decisions for themselves and their families.</p>
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<p>She describes the need for a collaborative approach to achieve this ambitious target. </p>
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<p>To meet Target 17 will require significant and new investment by governments in partnership with industry and those communities where the digital gap is most pronounced. The most effective approaches will be ones that reflect local priorities and are based on direct engagement with communities.</p>
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<p>In the report, the advisory group outlines a number of practical recommendations to help close the digital gap. These include:</p>
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<li><p>providing affordable pre-paid mobile plans</p></li>
<li><p>improved access to government communications programs</p></li>
<li><p>fit-for-purpose connectivity options such as community wifi connections, prepaid NBN services, new satellite internet projects, and upgrades to improve TV access.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-communities-embrace-technology-but-they-have-unique-cyber-safety-challenges-69344">Aboriginal communities embrace technology, but they have unique cyber safety challenges</a>
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<p>Other recommendations are supporting the development of digital skills needed to safely and confidently use online services, and access to relevant news and media, including local First Nations services. </p>
<p>Improving national data collection for the 70% of First Nations people who live in urban and regional Australia, to measure progress, is another key recommendation. This builds on an earlier outcome of the advisory group’s advocacy, <a href="https://spatial.infrastructure.gov.au/portal/home/item.html?id=cebfe7afe0894bd9bda06edbd65b9d17">an interactive map of connectivity in First Nations communities</a>.</p>
<h2>Shared decision-making</h2>
<p>The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is built on a partnership approach between governments and First Nations people, which includes co-design and co-delivery of programs. </p>
<p>The first of the reforms at the centre of the agreement is to “strengthen and establish formal partnerships and shared decision-making”. If this reform is enacted by governments nationally, it is likely to lead to meaningful progress on Closing the Gap. </p>
<p>This advisory group provides an example of how First Nations leadership can provide practical, appropriate and evidence-based input on key policy areas that affect First Nations people and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Featherstone is employed within the RMIT University node of the ARC funded Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005). He leads the 'Mapping the Digital Gap' research project within the Australian Digital Inclusion Index team, both of which are primarily funded by Telstra. Daniel is also a member of the Expert Panel which support the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndon Ormond-Parker is an Aboriginal man of Alyawarr descent from the Barkly Tablelands region of the Northern Territory. He currently holds a part-time ARC Discovery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (IN220100008) with the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University, and a part-time position as a Principal Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005), RMIT on the Telstra funded project Mapping the Digital Gap. He is also deputy chair of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p>A new report shows how remote First Nations community face obstacles to digital inclusion – and what can be done to remove them.Daniel Featherstone, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLyndon Ormond-Parker, Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012952023-03-29T19:02:52Z2023-03-29T19:02:52ZFor remote Aboriginal families, limited phone and internet services make life hard. Here’s what they told us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517585/original/file-20230327-23-y6a0wp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C39%2C3742%2C2774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s well understood that the <a href="https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org.au/the-digital-divide/">digital divide</a> disproportionately affects people living in regional Australian communities. Remote Aboriginal communities in particular are among the most <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/first-nations/">digitally excluded</a>, yet there is little research looking at how these families experience digital inclusion.</p>
<p>Our research project, Connecting in the Gulf, shares stories directly from Aboriginal families living on Mornington Island, off the coast of Queensland in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Our <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/projects/connecting-in-the-gulf/">full report</a> is published online.</p>
<p>Working with the community, we developed a research method called “show and yarn” in which families showed us their devices and yarned about their experiences of digital inclusion.</p>
<p>Yarning is an Indigenous way of sharing knowledge. It was an important aspect of our work, since better outcomes are achieved when Indigenous people have a say in the design and delivery of <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/">policies, programs and services</a> that affect them.</p>
<h2>How do families living remotely connect?</h2>
<p>Mornington Island residents have poor quality mobile and broadband services, and few options. The island’s only mobile network, Telstra 4G, is concentrated on the township of Gununa and is prone to <a href="https://www.mornington.qld.gov.au/visiting-community/useful-information/">congestion and outages</a>.</p>
<p>The other main digital services are:</p>
<ul>
<li>a free community wifi spot in Gununa with a 100-metre radius</li>
<li>a few solar-powered and satellite-enabled outstation phones placed across the island</li>
<li>the option to purchase NBN satellite plans from certain providers. </li>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A cyclone-proof, solar-powered outstation phone about 20km from the township of Gununa.</span>
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<p>The island, which has about 1,200 residents, is slated to receive a major upgrade under the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/internet/regional-connectivity-program-including-mobile-black-spot-opportunities">Regional Connectivity Program</a> sometime soon, but families were unaware of when this would happen.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digitising-social-services-could-further-exclude-people-already-on-the-margins-103201">Digitising social services could further exclude people already on the margins</a>
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<h2>Extending a culture of sharing</h2>
<p>The families we spoke to told us they use their mobile phones almost exclusively to make calls and access the internet. </p>
<p>In many cases, devices are shared between several family members, and data is shared via hotspotting when someone runs out. This is reflective of a broader culture of sharing, but can also be a source of conflict.</p>
<p>As one community member told us:</p>
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<p>I hear a lot of people […] On Facebook, my mother is talking about hotspotting, they are sick of hotspotting […] I’ve got no data because we’ve got to hotspot for them […] If someone wants to use the internet to do a bank transfer, they’ll come up and ask. </p>
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<p>Although families can purchase contract-based satellite internet connections, they spoke of poor past experiences, and a fear of being locked into contracts. They expressed that they would rather rely on prepaid credit than risk going into debt. </p>
<p>Interviewees also preferred to use data in their own homes despite the free community wifi spot, reflecting a family-oriented way of being. </p>
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<span class="caption">Mornington Island residents showed us their devices and yarned with us about how they experienced digital inclusion.</span>
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<h2>Digital literacy is a challenge and opportunity</h2>
<p>The families spoke of a gap between young people who quickly learn how to use technology, and Elders who aren’t as savvy online. We heard stories of young people pestering family members for online passwords and hotspots, and then using and/or sharing these with other people without permission. </p>
<p>As one person explained:</p>
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<p>Some family members do feel like you’re taking advantage of them at times, when they feel like ‘Oh, I should share’. And it’s the same way with the banking, with the money. They’d feel like they’re obligated to share.</p>
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<p>They also described how limited and unreliable mobile phone reception and coverage was impacting cultural activities. </p>
<p>For instance, phone reception stops just out of town and doesn’t cover most of the land and sea of the island. Sick and elderly people with safety concerns are scared to leave the township for activities out on Country. </p>
<p>One Elder suggested more young people would go out for cultural activities if outstations had better phone and internet coverage:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’ll make them happy and have that pride in being out on their own land […] Whether it’s newborn turtle, or crab, fish, and them showing it off and it’ll give them that self-pride and happiness […] ‘This is what I caught’ – and they’ll show more than one family (on Facebook).</p>
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<span class="caption">Some families had access to tablets and gaming consoles, mostly used by hotspotting prepaid mobile data.</span>
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<h2>What’s being done about the digital divide?</h2>
<p>In January, the federal government established a First Nations <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland/media-release/albanese-government-establishes-first-nations-digital-inclusion-advisory-group">Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a> to accelerate progress towards <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/targets">Closing the Gap targets</a>. An Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan is also being developed, with contributions from <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/economic-development/indigenous-digital-inclusion-plan/indigenous-digital-inclusion-plan-idip-discussion-paper-submissions">key stakeholders</a>. Both of these developments are promising. </p>
<p>Boosting infrastructure in remote Aboriginal communities is not favourable for profits, given the small number of residents. Yet it’s essential for ensuring these families feel safe, that they can continue cultural practices, and access the many employment, health and education benefits of being online. </p>
<p>Most of all, we must listen to Indigenous voices and work with these communities to improve speed, reliability and access to services. Organisations such as <a href="https://indigimob.com.au/">InDigiMOB</a> are working hard to achieve this.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inequality-why-can-i-enter-your-building-but-your-website-shows-me-the-door-182432">Digital inequality: why can I enter your building – but your website shows me the door?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessa Rogers receives funding from the Australian Research Council as a DECRA fellow. The Connecting in the Gulf project is funded by QUT's IGNITE Grant Scheme, and the AuDA Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Marshall has previously received funding for related research from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Queensland Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Osman and Thu Dinh Xuan Pham do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Families living on Mornington Island have to make compromises due to a lack of digital services – including missing out on cultural activities on Country .Jessa Rogers, First Nations Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyAmber Marshall, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyKim Osman, Senior research associate, Queensland University of TechnologyThu Dinh Xuan Pham, Research Project Officer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824322022-05-16T19:59:10Z2022-05-16T19:59:10ZDigital inequality: why can I enter your building – but your website shows me the door?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463233/original/file-20220516-14-wal10h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=129%2C68%2C5622%2C3759&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people hear the term “accessibility” in the context of disability, most will see images of ramps, automatic doors, elevators, or tactile paving (textured ground which helps vision impaired people navigate public spaces). These are physical examples of inclusive practice that most people understand.</p>
<p>You may even use these features yourself, for convenience, as you go about your day. However, such efforts to create an inclusive physical world aren’t being translated into designing the digital world. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large wheelchair sign is visible to the left of a wheelchair ramp." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463211/original/file-20220516-25-nl8hd8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New buildings are required to comply with a range of physical access requirements, which may include tactile paving (seen in yellow).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Accessibility fails</h2>
<p>Digital accessibility refers to the way people with a lived experience of disability interact with the cyber world. </p>
<p>One example comes from an author of this article, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-07-13/dark-patterns-online-captcha-accessibility-disability-community/11301054">Scott</a>, who is legally blind. Scott is unable to purchase football tickets online because the ticketing website uses an image-based “CAPTCHA” test. It’s a seemingly simple task, but fraught with challenges when considering accessibility issues. </p>
<p>Despite Scott having an IT-related PhD, and two decades of digital accessibility experience in academic and commercial arenas, it falls on his teenage son to complete the online ticket purchase.</p>
<p>Screen readers, high-contrast colour schemes and text magnifiers are all assistive technology tools that enable legally blind users to interact with websites. Unfortunately, they are useless if a website has not been designed with an inclusive approach.</p>
<p>The other author of this article, Justin, uses a wheelchair for mobility and can’t even purchase wheelchair seating tickets over the web. He has to phone a special access number to do so.</p>
<p>Both of these are examples of digital accessibility fails. And they’re more common than most people realise.</p>
<h2>We can clearly do better</h2>
<p>The term “disability” covers a spectrum of <a href="https://www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/diversity-and-inclusion/disability/definition-disability">physical and cognitive conditions</a>. It can can range from short-term conditions to lifelong ones.</p>
<p>“Digital accessibility” applies to a broad range of users <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/">with varying abilities</a>.</p>
<p>At last count, nearly <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/2018">one in five Australians (17.7%)</a> lived with some form of disability. This figure increases significantly when you consider the physical and cognitive impacts of ageing. </p>
<p>At the same time, Australians are becoming increasingly reliant on digital services. According to a <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/consulting/connected-government/potential-of-digital-inclusion.html">2022 survey</a> by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, 45% of respondents in New South Wales and Victoria increased their use of digital channels during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>In contrast, research undertaken by <a href="https://www.infosys.com/australia/digital-accessibility-journey/executive-summary.html">Infosys in December 2021</a> found only 3% of leading companies in Australia and New Zealand had effective digital accessibility processes.</p>
<h2>But have we improved?</h2>
<p>Areas that <em>have</em> shown accessibility improvement include <a href="https://blog.hootsuite.com/inclusive-design-social-media/">social media platforms</a> such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, food ordering services such as <a href="https://www.afb.org/aw/20/4/16411">Uber Eats</a>, and media platforms such as the ABC News app.</p>
<p>Challenges still persist in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognizant/2022/03/03/how-to-make-online-banking-disabled-people-friendly/?sh=21a3d5dda4a5">online banking</a>, <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Websites-critiqued-on-accessibility-to-disabled-customers">travel booking sites</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2020/12/30/accessibility-of-online-shopping/?sh=66a9d883e49e">shopping sites</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10209-021-00792-5">educational websites and content</a>. </p>
<p>Data from the United States indicates lawsuits relating to accessibility <a href="https://www.essentialaccessibility.com/blog/web-accessibility-lawsuits">are on the rise</a>, with outcomes including financial penalties and requirements for business owners to remedy the accessibility of their website/s.</p>
<p>In Australia, however, it’s often hard to obtain exact figures for the scale of accessibility complaints lodged with site owners. <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/publications/overlooked-consumers-20-australian-population-disabilities">This 1997 article</a> from the Australian Human Right Commission suggests the conversation hasn’t shifted much in 25 years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rendered illustration of a disabled man in a wheelchair and woman with a hearing aid lifting weights." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463213/original/file-20220516-19-vjfht8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s a human right to have fair and equal access to the web and all its services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>There are solutions at hand</h2>
<p>There’s a clear solution to the digital divide. The World Wide Web Consortium’s <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines</a> (WCAG) standard has been widely adopted across the globe. It’s universally available, and is a requirement for all Australian public-facing government websites.</p>
<p>It guides website and app developers on how to use web languages (such as HTML and CSS) in ways that enable end users who rely on assistive technologies. There are no specialist technologies or techniques required to make websites or apps accessible. All that’s needed is an adherence to good practice.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, WCAG is rarely treated as an <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/web-accessibility-laws-australia-new-zealand">enforceable standard</a>. All too often, adherence to WCAG requirements in Australia is reduced to a box-ticking exercise. </p>
<p>Our academic work and experience liaising with a range of vendors has revealed that even where specific accessibility requirements are stated, many vendors will tick “yes” regardless of their knowledge of accessibility principles, or their ability to deliver against the standards.</p>
<p>In cases where vendors do genuinely work towards WCAG compliance, they often rely on automated testing (via online tools), rather than human <a href="https://zoonou.com/resources/blog/why-automated-accessibility-testing-tools-are-not-enough/">testing</a>. As a result, genuine accessibility and usability issues can go <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262352732_Benchmarking_web_accessibility_evaluation_tools_Measuring_the_harm_of_sole_reliance_on_automated_tests">unreported</a>. While the coding of each element of a website might be WCAG compliant, the sum of all the parts may not be.</p>
<p>In 2016, the Australian government adopted <a href="https://www.accessibility.org.au/policy-and-research/australian-policy/">standard EN 301549</a> (a direct implementation of an existing European standard). It’s aimed at preventing inaccessible products (hardware, software, websites and services) entering the government’s digital ecosystem. Yet the new standard seems to have achieved little. Few, if any, references to it appear in academic literature or the public web. </p>
<p>It seems to have met a similar fate to the government’s <a href="https://www.governmentnews.com.au/national-transition-strategy-web-accessibility-in-transition/">National Transition Strategy</a> for digital accessibility, which quietly disappeared in 2015.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/good-design-lies-at-the-heart-of-normalising-disability-nzs-new-ministry-for-disabled-people-must-make-it-a-priority-171720">Good design lies at the heart of normalising disability – NZ’s new Ministry for Disabled People must make it a priority</a>
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<h2>The carrot, not the stick</h2>
<p>Accessibility advocates take different approaches to advancing the accessibility agenda with reticent organisations. Some instil the fear of legal action, often citing the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1RbzjUBT1s">Maguire v SOCOG case</a>, where the 2000 Olympic website was found to be inaccessible. </p>
<p>In a more recent example, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-05/blind-woman-launches-court-action-against-coles-over-its-website/5869874?nw=0&r=HtmlFragment">Manage v Coles settlement</a> saw Coles agree to make improvements to their website’s accessibility after being sued by a legally blind woman.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Screenshot of the top of Coles's 'accessibility' section on the company's website, with a red Coles logo on the top-left." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463210/original/file-20220516-21-7tu89a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After getting sued by a legally blind customer in 2014, Coles made improvements to its website’s accessibility features.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot/Coles</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Coles case, the stick became the carrot; Coles went on to win a <a href="https://www.accessibility.org.au/award-winners-2019/">national website accessibility award</a> after the original complainant nominated them following their remediation efforts. </p>
<p>But while the financial impact of being sued might spur an organisation into action, it’s more likely to commit to genuine effort if this will generate a <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/business-case/">positive return on investment</a>.</p>
<h2>Accessible by default</h2>
<p>We can attest to the common misconception that disability implies a need for help and support. Most people living with disability are seeking to live independently and with self-determination.</p>
<p>To break the cycle of financial and social dependence frequently associated with the equity space, governments, corporations and educational institutions need to become accessible by default. </p>
<p>The technologies and policies are all in place, ready to go. What is needed is leadership from government and non-government sectors to define digital accessibility as a right, and not a privilege. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-our-cities-more-accessible-for-people-with-disability-is-easier-than-we-think-124420">Making our cities more accessible for people with disability is easier than we think</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Hollier is on the board of the not-for-profit Disability in the Arts Disadvantage in the Arts (DADAA), and is CEO and Co-founder of the Centre For Accessibility Australia. The Centre for Accessibility Australia receives government grants for accessibility activity, but the funding has no specific bearing on the content of this article. The accessibility award that Coles won (after the Coles v Manage case) was awarded through the Centre for Accessibility Australia – however Scott was not involved in the voting for the award, or the nomination of Coles, and CFA was not involved in the website remediation.
This story is part of The Conversation's Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. It is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Brown is on the board of the not-for-profit Disability in the Arts Disadvantage in the Arts (DADAA)</span></em></p>There is little evidence organisations consider digital accessibility by default. It usually happens if they have a senior accessibility champion in their ranks, or when they get sued.Scott Hollier, Adjunct Senior Lecturer - Science and Mathematics, Edith Cowan UniversityJustin Brown, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), School of Science, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1217432019-08-15T20:00:14Z2019-08-15T20:00:14ZLogged out: farmers in Far North Queensland are being left behind by the digital economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288119/original/file-20190815-136180-w5m5mz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C1680%2C899&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting with the digital economy is a trickier prospect out here.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NGRMG</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Farming families and communities in Queensland’s remote north are being left behind by the digital economy, putting them at significant social and economic disadvantage. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.cairnsinstitute.jcu.edu.au/connectivity-and-digital-inclusion/">report</a>, launched in Cairns today, details the impacts of low levels of “digital inclusion” among farmers in Far North Queensland (FNQ), for whom reliable internet connection is not a given. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
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<p>People in rural and remote areas – including Indigenous communities – score much lower than urban Australians on the <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a>. This index – which measures access to technology, affordability of connections, and digital ability – shows that North West Queensland (which includes FNQ grazing lands) is one of the least digitally included regions in Australia. </p>
<p>The index also shows that farmers have lower digital inclusion scores than others in similar socioeconomic circumstances. Farmers’ experiences of digital exclusion are therefore worthy of investigation. </p>
<p>While some Australian farmers are getting online and adopting various forms of agricultural technology such as drones, sensors and automated vehicles, many are being left behind. Given that a <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/australias-tech-future">2018 federal government report</a> on Australia’s tech future predicted that agriculture will be transformed by digital technologies, it is important to understand how best to help farmers in remote areas get on board. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Digital Inclusion Index - Queensland (2018)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research revealed a range of findings about the impacts of low levels of digital inclusion for FNQ farmers. Here are four of the main insights from the report.</p>
<h2>Farmers pay more for less</h2>
<p>Challenges with unreliable services, network congestion, slow internet speeds, and data caps in rural and regional Australia are <a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-australia-is-crying-out-for-equitable-access-to-broadband-69711">well documented</a>. In rural FNQ, mobile, internet and landline connections are often intermittent or drop out altogether. Therefore, many farmers “layer up” on service plans and devices. </p>
<p>For example, a FNQ farming family may have several mobile phones and plans with different providers, a satellite phone and plan, a home landline, and a wireless or satellite connection to the National Broadband Network (NBN). An urban family, meanwhile, may have just one provider that guarantees access and unlimited data to all devices in the household. Farmers pay more for less. </p>
<h2>Data is scarce in remote households</h2>
<p>Data scarcity is also an issue for farming families, particularly in remote households with only satellite internet connection. Unlike the unlimited fixed-line NBN plans available in urban areas, plans using NBN’s <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/lift-off-for-first-nbn-satellite">Sky Muster</a> satellite are capped, and often more than half of the data is only available in off-peak times, such as between midnight and 7am.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/internet-in-space-nbns-plan-to-bring-broadband-to-rural-australia-46618">Internet in space: nbn's plan to bring broadband to rural Australia</a>
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<p>This affects how remote families live, and limits people’s access to digital opportunities. Farming women in particular have to monitor the data consumption of adults, kids, workers, and visitors – often there is not enough to go around. </p>
<p>Deciding what digital activities (banking, homework, job-seeking, video-calling) to prioritise – and who misses out – can be stressful and contentious. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Data scarcity is also an issue for farming families on the Savannah Way, Far North Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Marshall</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Farmers need to be online to comply with the law</h2>
<p>To meet their <a href="https://www.mla.com.au/meat-safety-and-traceability/red-meat-integrity-system/about-the-livestock-production-assurance-program/lpa-accreditation/">accreditation requirements</a>, FNQ cattle producers must complete online modules on various topics including biosecurity, transport methods, and animal welfare. Complying with <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing">vegetation clearing laws</a> also involves accessing <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/maps/map-request">maps</a> that are only readily available online. Many farmers struggle to gain access to the internet, log in on a suitable device, navigate the online platforms, and complete the mandatory training. Many therefore risk noncompliance. </p>
<p>For similar reasons, some graziers are resisting digitisation of the <a href="https://www.nlis.com.au/">National Livestock Identification System</a>, which is used to track the movement of cattle nationally. This system is essential for biosecurity, meat safety, product integrity, and market access. Breaches to the system could have catastrophic consequences for the beef industry, for instance in the event of a freeze on the wider movement of cattle. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers complete an online LPA animal welfare module at a Northern Gulf Resource Management Group toolbox talk, Almaden Pub.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Marshall</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The network is essential</h2>
<p>FNQ farmers rely on mobile and internet coverage across properties and between townships for all sorts of activities, from coordinating the everyday school run to responding to an emergency such as a bushfire. Although two-way radios still play an important role in emergency response, people can only respond if they are in range. </p>
<p>In many instances, FNQ farmers can only access reliable phone or internet from their house or the nearest township. While the national <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/mobile-services-and-coverage/mobile-black-spot-program">Mobile Black Spot Program</a> is helping to bridge gaps in mobile phone service along major road routes, affordable solutions are needed to beam wifi signals substantial distances from the house. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-remote-indigenous-communities-online-19549">Getting remote Indigenous communities online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do to help?</h2>
<p>There are several things government and industry could do to help improve digital inclusion in FNQ agricultural communities: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Improve mainstream telecommunications and internet infrastructure, and <strong>embrace alternative hardware solutions</strong> in communities and on properties. For example, <a href="https://www.wi-sky.com.au/">Wi-Sky</a>, which began as a rural cooperative, has built its own towers to offer alternative internet plans to locals in several remote sites in Queensland and New South Wales.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Redefine affordability</strong> to take account of the “layering up” phenomenon when developing telecommunications policy at all levels. Current methods to determine affordability do not accurately reflect the true cost and value for money of digital connectivity in rural areas. Telecommunications companies could revise their plans to give their rural customers better value for money, for instance by offering tailored mobile plans for intermittently heavy data users who are out of range for long periods. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Boost farmers’ digital ability</strong> to help them do business in the digital economy. Targeted digital ability programs could foster specific skills that farmers want and need, such as using the livestock identification system. These programs could be delivered in partnership with industry organisations such as <a href="https://www.agforceqld.org.au/">AgForce</a> that already have people on the ground in rural and remote areas. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally, <strong>give farmers a voice</strong>. Our policy-focused report was accompanied by two other reports focusing on <a href="http://accan.org.au/grants/completed-grants/1432-connectivity-and-digital-inclusion-in-far-north-queensland-agricultural-communities">participants and particular case studies</a>. Farmers are telling us what they need to take part in the digital economy. It’s up to government and industry to listen, and to work with communities to devise solutions for improved access, affordability and digital ability.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was undertaken by James Cook University’s The Cairns Institute, with funding from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), in partnership with Northern Gulf Resource Management Group. Dr Marshall co-authored the research with Prof Allan Dale (JCU), Prof Hurriyet Babacan (JCU) and A/Prof Michael Dezuanni (QUT). </span></em></p>Remote Queensland farmers are among the least “digitally included” communities in Australia, according to a new report that documents the impacts of low access, affordability and digital ability for families and communites.Amber Marshall, Research fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1151352019-04-10T02:08:47Z2019-04-10T02:08:47ZLabor will prioritise an NBN ‘digital inclusion drive’ – here’s what it should focus on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268500/original/file-20190410-2901-s8ixq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People with poor broadband services spend more time in queues at the bank and for other services that should easily be accessible online. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/march-6-2017-auckland-new-zealand-593951771?src=nFLlgVBNKLlA3hwiAAa8oQ-1-1">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The national broadband network (<a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/">NBN</a>) has been a major issue in federal election campaigns for close to a decade. </p>
<p>And the 2019 version of the NBN bears little resemblance to the futuristic, egalitarian earlier editions. </p>
<p>Despite years of controversy, cost over-runs, and delays, the coalition government says our <a href="http://mitchfifield.com/Media/MediaReleases/tabid/70/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1688/NBN-marks-10-years-On-track-for-2020-completion.aspx">$50 billion national network</a> is finally nearing completion. </p>
<p>But Labor’s Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has <a href="http://www.michellerowland.com.au/media_release_labor_s_plan_to_improve_the_nbn_9_april_2019">set out some different priorities</a> should her party achieve government in the coming election. One of these is a “digital inclusion drive”, aimed at improving access to the internet for older Australians and low-income households. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-the-nbn-and-australias-digital-divide-78911">Three charts on: the NBN and Australia’s digital divide</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In addition, Labor is making no immediate commitment to <a href="http://www.michellerowland.com.au/speech_address_to_commsday_summit_labor_s_responsible_plan_to_improve_the_nbn_9_april_2019">replacing copper connections with fibre</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, if elected, it will fund service and reliability fixes for those on the copper NBN, and impose service guarantees for small businesses and consumers. It will examine what has happened to the economics of the network, looking at its cash flow, pricing, capital structure, and future options for network upgrades. </p>
<p>Labor’s policy will disappoint those hoping for a fast-tracked return to <a href="http://ministers.treasury.gov.au/DisplayDocs.aspx?doc=pressreleases/2009/036.htm&pageID=003&min=wms&Year=&DocType">that party’s original (2009) vision</a> of high-speed fibre for (almost) everyone. But its 2019 plan is an important acknowledgement that network infrastructure is only one part of the NBN story. </p>
<h2>Affordability and digital inclusion</h2>
<p>The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (<a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">ADII</a>) provides data on the affordability of internet services for Australians since 2014. It shows that recent, modest improvements seen by some households have been matched by declines in affordability for a number of Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inclusion-in-tasmania-has-improved-in-line-with-nbn-rollout-will-the-other-states-follow-102257">more digitally excluded groups</a>. </p>
<p>The results for low-income households, single parents, people outside the labour force, Indigenous Australians, and people with a disability remain poor. </p>
<p>The good news for Australian consumers is that the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/accc-telecommunications-report/accc-communications-market-report-2017-18">pricing of mobile services has improved</a>, reflecting competitive pressures and the reduced cost of delivery as a consequence of investment by network owners.</p>
<p>But when we look at fixed broadband services — the kinds of connections used by most households — recent price increases by NBN have led to a decline in the number of <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/speech/nbn-affordability-a-growing-issue">low-cost plans on the market</a>. This change post-dates the most recent ADII report (2018), and the effects are beginning to work their way into the market.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inclusion-in-tasmania-has-improved-in-line-with-nbn-rollout-will-the-other-states-follow-102257">Digital inclusion in Tasmania has improved in line with NBN rollout – will the other states follow?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Communications costs matter</h2>
<p>Communications services have a knock-on effect in many other areas of life and work. </p>
<p>Access to high-speed broadband can reduce <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/finance/deloitte-au-fas-benefits-highspeed-broadband-v2-240914.pdf">the costs of using other services considerably</a>. This makes critical activities like banking, seeking government information, looking for work, or studying much easier. </p>
<p>But when we speak of the cost savings linked with online services, we need also to bear in mind the flip-side of those savings: the much higher costs borne by those, often less well-off, citizens who must access services offline. </p>
<p>If an individual on a low income lacks electronic access to banking or government information, the cost of commuting to do these things in person can be prohibitive — and especially so for Australians living in <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/2018-regional-telecommunications-review-getting-it-right-out-there">remote or regional areas</a>.</p>
<p>For children at school and adults in education or training, a lack of access to the internet means many will <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/221806">fall behind their peers</a>, as access to educational materials and online content becomes a core part of the modern education experience. This has implications for Australia’s ability to take advantage of the next wave of digital transformation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Expensive for everyone</h2>
<p>The costs of inequitable internet access are directly felt by many families, but the broader costs are borne by society. </p>
<p>And so digital exclusion now has the potential to be a drag on Australia’s economic growth and productive potential for decades to come. </p>
<p>For individuals, conducting activities offline may be time-consuming and expensive. But that’s also true for the government. It’s estimated that even taking half of government services online would <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-digital-government-transformation-230715.pdf">save around A$20 billion</a>. </p>
<p>Aside from the costs of lower productivity, economic growth and tax receipts, inequitable access means that the material savings from automated services may never be realised. </p>
<p>Affordable access to broadband also supports the cost effective delivery of core government and other services – such as <a href="https://www.who.int/goe/policies/countries/aus__support_tele.pdf">health</a> – to regional and remote locations.</p>
<p>Although addressing inequitable access will involve costs in the short term, effective policy measures to improve affordability are likely to generate considerable national benefits.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-budget-2019-at-a-glance-114289">Infographic: Budget 2019 at a glance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to improve affordability</h2>
<p>At this stage Labor is not saying what it might do to improve internet affordability for low-income households. </p>
<p>The idea of writing down the NBN has been <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/there-s-a-big-obstacle-to-an-nbn-write-down-and-it-s-in-the-billions-20190213-p50xhn.html">widely discussed</a>. It does, however, have serious implications: it will be very costly to taxpayers. </p>
<p>It will also limit the ability of the NBN to invest in future network upgrades and threaten the economics of uniform national pricing, the NBN’s key promise of equity for regional and remote Australia. </p>
<p>That could mean a return to the pre-NBN communications landscape, with regional and remote Australia relying on increasingly obsolete communications infrastructure while metropolitan Australia moves ahead. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shorten-uses-budget-reply-speech-to-reframe-the-economic-debate-114607">Shorten uses budget reply speech to reframe the economic debate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>A direct increase in cash payments is likely to improve living standards materially for those in poverty, but more money for low income households doesn’t necessarily mean that broadband will be within their reach. </p>
<p>The creation of a concession at a retail level would make the telecommunications companies responsible for selling products at a cheaper rate, which in an era of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-14/telstra-profit-tumbles-as-nbn-continues-to-drain-revenue/10810552">reduced margins</a> appears unlikely to occur. </p>
<p>Also, a series of retail concessions can lead to consumer confusion, as the scope of each scheme and the discounts on offer vary wildly. We’ve seen these problems in the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/restoring-electricity-affordability-australias-competitive-advantage">energy sector</a>. </p>
<p>Another option is to create a wholesale concession, a measure that has been promoted by <a href="http://accan.org.au/no-australian-left-offline">consumer advocates</a>. This would involve the government paying NBN to put a wholesale product into the market that retailers could purchase and retail to low income households. </p>
<p>A nationally uniform concessional service would allow retailers to compete in offering affordable services to low-income households, boost NBN take-up and consequently its revenue and financial viability.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/government-advertising-may-be-legal-but-its-corrupting-our-electoral-process-115061">Government advertising may be legal, but it's corrupting our electoral process</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Focus on inclusion</h2>
<p>While the introduction of a concessional arrangement would involve government picking up a part of the tab for service delivery, it offers sizeable benefits. </p>
<p>By ensuring NBN access for low-income households, the government avoids forgoing a large proportion of the savings that should accrued from the digital transformation of government services (and the benefits to be gained from improving services). </p>
<p>It would also prevent a lower take-up of NBN services and revenues. Without such an arrangement, questions will continue to be raised about the financial viability of NBN, its repayment of outstanding debt to government and whether there needs to be a write-down. </p>
<p>The take up of broadband has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/5k9bcwkg3hwf-en">historically seen improvements</a> in average household income, productivity, and the creation of new kinds of work and services. </p>
<p>In order to maximise the benefits of the current wave of digital change, we’ll need a broader public debate, that goes beyond the relative merits of fibre and 5G. </p>
<p>Policy will need to address the challenge of affordability, invest in digital literacy, and ensure that all Australians can access the services that they need. </p>
<p>While there are many improvements that can and should be made to our national network infrastructure, a focus on the larger problem of digital inclusion is both welcome, and overdue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives funding from Telstra for research on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. He is a Board member of the Australian Communications Consumers Action Network. The author acknowledges the work of ACCAN and his collaborators in the Australian Digital Inclusion Index research team. However, the views expressed in this article are his own. </span></em></p>Labor’s 2019 NBN election policy will disappoint those hoping for a fast-tracked return to that party’s 2009 vision of high-speed fibre for (almost) everyone.Julian Thomas, Professor of Media and Communications; Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1022572018-08-29T06:16:06Z2018-08-29T06:16:06ZDigital inclusion in Tasmania has improved in line with NBN rollout – will the other states follow?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233996/original/file-20180829-86123-s7v9fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rollout of the NBN in Tasmania is well ahead of other states and territories in Australia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/russelljsmith/5588052269/in/photolist-9vNefM-FeA4PD-bpmRaE-xakcir-qjNQdJ-qQP4M2-ZwdECc-WtzaZ4-aZ55Qi-c11crq-iu6viv-ccWzgW-7sfn8R-dsFSNQ-ikj5tg-cpuqwd-Me3vA-rG1KLC-dDCSk3-dJ8RXZ-7zkR3w-dFwNDa-RdtqGs-dqQeVc-dn5VCY-ivhq45-nvE7Jj-Fd2KgN-92VKav-4zD8Gm-ivYcLN-dFCfEY-doq788-6qnEPh-ecoMgz-5gRZJV-FdAre9-FZT6LL-G6KyH5-G6KFpm-TseVaU-bWC8Pj-in3PNK-5h5aT2-bJZ2CV-ecxY8T-Lw5iTv-bUcXJT-ivSzay-dSSif5">russelljsmith/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Released today, the third annual <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a> report shows that digital inclusion – a measure of digital access, affordability and ability – has improved for Australians over the past 12 months. </p>
<p>While the gains were modest across the country (<a href="https://theconversation.com/lack-of-internet-affordability-may-worsen-australias-digital-divide-new-report-81823">reflecting the trend since 2014</a>), the digital inclusion score recorded by Tasmania rose substantially. This improvement is partly a result of the rapid and extensive uptake of NBN services across a state where the rollout is now <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/corporate-reports/corporate-plan-2018-2021.pdf">essentially complete</a>.</p>
<p>Overall, the NBN does not seem to have been hugely successful so far in convincing the more than 2.5 million Australians who are not online to <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">connect</a>. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/the-index-report/about-the-index/">ADII</a>, which comprises more than 100 indicators of personal internet access, expenditure, activity and attitudes, shows that the NBN can directly and indirectly enhance a range of aspects of digital inclusion.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The Australian digital inclusion index: ADII</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/the-index-report/about-the-index/">ADII</a> measures three critical dimensions of digital inclusion: access, affordability, and digital ability.</p>
<p>Each dimension registers a score out of 100, and together these form an overall digital inclusion index score. </p>
<p>An ADII score of 100 represents a hypothetically perfect level of access, affordability, and ability. A score of 70 or over is regarded as high; one below 50 as low.</p>
<p>The ADII is populated with data from around 16,000 respondents to Roy Morgan’s Single Source face-to-face interview and product poll survey collected weekly over the course of a year. </p>
<p>The 12 months of data used in ADII reporting is collected April to March – so 2018 data was collected between April 2017 and March 2018.</p>
<h2>The NBN and Tasmania’s rise in digital inclusion</h2>
<p>Tasmania’s <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">ADII score</a> for 2018 is 58.1. Although this is the second lowest score of any state or territory in Australia (just above South Australia), it represents a major improvement on Tasmania’s 2017 ADII result of 50.1.</p>
<p>The 8.0-point increase in digital inclusion in Tasmania greatly exceeded the 2.2-point rise recorded nationally, reducing the overall digital inclusion gap between Tasmania and the nation from 7.9 points in 2017 to 2.1 points in 2018.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234024/original/file-20180829-195328-4qesub.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tasmania’s digital inclusion – measured by access, affordability, digital ability and overall ADII score – has improved beyond the national average since 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roy Morgan, ADII Dataset, March 2018</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Notably, the gap in the access dimension (which captures if, how, and where people access the internet and the data allowances they have at their disposal) has now all but disappeared.</p>
<p>Tasmania’s access improvement is underpinned by the uptake of NBN services. </p>
<p>Between 2017 and 2018 the percentage of Tasmanians with NBN connections more than doubled, from 29% to 60%. Over this period the NBN became accessible to almost all Tasmanian households. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234027/original/file-20180829-195310-omc1ef.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rollout of NBN in Tasmania is close to complete - and it’s having an impact on internet connectivity in that state.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roy Morgan, ADII Dataset, March 2018</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of these households were required to make NBN decisions in the past year as the <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/residential/learn/device-compatibility/services-that-will-be-switched-off.html">shutdown of existing landline and internet networks</a> progressed across NBN-accessible areas.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/councils-help-with-affordable-housing-shows-how-local-government-can-make-a-difference-94739">Councils' help with affordable housing shows how local government can make a difference</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why has NBN improved access?</h2>
<p>The uptake of the NBN has directly increased the access score for Tasmania because, based on <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/internet-phone/broadband-performance-data">speed and reliability </a>, the NBN is generally a superior fixed broadband technology than ADSL (notwithstanding some <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-17/nbn-complaint-melbourne-man-left-without-internet-six-weeks/9663648">consumer experiences</a>). </p>
<p>An analysis of other indicators contributing to access improvements in Tasmania reveal some secondary NBN effects.</p>
<h3>1. More people signed up for the NBN</h3>
<p>The NBN rollout seems to have encouraged those previously without fixed broadband to establish a connection. Around 11% of Tasmanian NBN subscribers indicate that they did not have fixed broadband a year earlier, while the corresponding “conversion rate” for ADSL connection technology was 6%. </p>
<p>Having fixed broadband of any type fundamentally improves access. So the NBN rollout’s impact on pushing up fixed broadband penetration in Tasmanian from 58.6% of the population in 2017 to 73.7% in 2018 is important.</p>
<h3>2. People signed up for more data</h3>
<p>The NBN rollout has contributed to a large increase in the internet data allowances Tasmanians have at their disposal. </p>
<p>A large number of Tasmanians have moved from ADSL where the average data allowance was 420GB in 2017, to the NBN where the 2018 average data allowance was 545GB. </p>
<h3>3. People are getting better value for money</h3>
<p>The increase in data allowances had a flow-on impact on affordability. In particular, it has improved value for money based on cost per gigabyte of data since the sharp rise in allowances has not been matched by an equivalent rise in expenditure. </p>
<p>Despite this improvement, Tasmania’s affordability score remains lower than the national average. This is largely due to a poor level of relative affordability - Tasmanians spend a <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">larger portion</a> of their household income on internet access than the national average.</p>
<p>It is essential that the speed, capacity, reliability and value for money improvements yielded by NBN connectivity be translated into more productive and rewarding online activity if digital inclusion is to be meaningfully realised.</p>
<p>Tasmania’s digital ability score, which measures people’s attitudes to technology and their capacity to engage in online tasks, rose substantially in the past year. This is reassuring, but the state still trails the national average by 2.9 points on this dimension of digital inclusion.</p>
<h2>Will the NBN fix digital inclusion nationally?</h2>
<p>The direct and secondary effects of the NBN rollout on digital inclusion seen in Tasmania may also be felt in other states as the NBN rollout <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/corporate-reports/corporate-plan-2018-2021.pdf">nears completion</a>. </p>
<p>But the impact will be tempered by local factors. Tasmania registered a substantial improvement in digital inclusion across all three dimensions, but it did so from a <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">very low base</a>. Whether states with higher existing levels of digital inclusion will experience the same NBN step change remains to be seen. </p>
<p>The NBN may have improved the average level of digital inclusion across Tasmania, but <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">deep digital inequalities persist</a> in the state, as they do elsewhere, based on a range of geographic and socio-economic factors. </p>
<p>Low-income earners, those not in the labour force, those who did not complete secondary school, and people aged over 65 continue to record <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">low digital inclusion index scores in 2018</a>, and some of these groups are falling further behind. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-the-nbn-and-australias-digital-divide-78911">Three charts on: the NBN and Australia’s digital divide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-the-nbn-and-australias-digital-divide-78911">recent research</a> also suggests that the NBN may actually exacerbate digital inequality, since the rollout of lower speed and less upgradable NBN technologies is more prevalent in lower socio-economic areas. It will take many years to gauge the long-run social and economic consequences of NBN’s complex, evolving mix of technologies in creating a patchwork of new digital inequalities. </p>
<p>The ADII does not currently capture data on specific NBN technologies. This is an aspect of digital inclusion worthy of further investigation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives funding from Telstra to undertake research on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris K Wilson receives funding from Telstra to undertake research on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index.</span></em></p>Tasmania’s digital inclusion increased dramatically and more than the national average from 2017 to 2018. This change is underpinned by a doubling of access to NBN in Tasmania in that period.Julian Thomas, Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityChris K Wilson, Research Fellow, Technology, Communication and Policy Lab - Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/751322017-04-05T19:21:44Z2017-04-05T19:21:44ZDiversity and inclusion are the heroes in Overwatch, a runaway commercial gaming success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163779/original/image-20170404-21938-dyw5xn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gaming audiences are no longer predominantly white, male zones. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/94565827@N05/30228553755/in/photolist-e7d5Am-GLjkgY-KPBMr5-L9bkLK-LcZotb-MT3Rd1-N4chf2-M6vLSS-M2Fwny-MRMzLK-MRMyGa-MZgs9M-MWcFeS-N4ceTi-N4ccNM-MT3Q5Q-M2FtAb-MRMzf4-MVDoyB-MB1ZBd-MT3PxN-N4ccWT-MVDp4e-M6vCmU-N18bLo-MRMBRr">94565827@N05/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last year saw the release of <a href="https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/">Overwatch</a>, a big budget title by Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s largest videogame developers and producers. A title whose “most basic goal” was: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] to be this bright, positive universe, where everybody feels like they could be a hero.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Overwatch has gone on to great <a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/overwatch-sales-numbers">commercial success</a>, demonstrating the effectiveness of diversity as a core design strategy. </p>
<p>Their cast of playable heroes are straight and gay, men and women, robots, doctors, and criminals – and represent six of the seven continents (sorry, Antarctica).</p>
<p>So why haven’t game developers done this before? The answer may be that, before now, the industry just wasn’t ready.</p>
<h2>An historical problem</h2>
<p>The main audience for videogames has historically been young white men, and the game development industry itself has been – and still largely is – a very homogeneous environment. The industry’s most recent <a href="http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.igda.org/resource/resmgr/files__2016_dss/IGDA_DSS_2016_Summary_Report.pdf">survey</a> found that only 23% of developers were female, and that 81% were from a white Caucasian background.</p>
<p>This lack of diversity has long been a problem for the games industry. In the arcade era of the 1970s and 1980s, little attention was paid to female consumers. When they appeared at all, female and non-white characters were often props or one-dimensional stereotypes. Cultural critic Anita Sarkeesian analyses some of the recurring depictions of women — such as the “damsel in distress” — in her web series <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn4ob_5_ttEaA_vc8F3fjzE62esf9yP61">Tropes vs. Women</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcqEZqBoGdM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Anita Sarkeesian explains that women are commonly depicted as ‘rewards’ in gaming.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although games like Pac-man (1980) met some success in closing the gender gap, it would be many years before diversity was seriously addressed by the industry. Games like <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/dead-or-alive-paradise-psp/">Dead or Alive Paradise</a> (2010) and <a href="http://www.dukenukemforever.com">Duke Nukem Forever</a> (2011) demonstrated just how far the industry had to go.</p>
<h2>A toxic culture</h2>
<p>The industry has been only one part of the problem. Players themselves have contributed greatly to hostile game environments. </p>
<p>In 2011 the website <a href="http://fatuglyorslutty.com/">fatuglyorslutty.com</a> started collecting user-submitted documentation of online abuse directed at female players. Their archives paint a bleak picture of a world in which female gamers’ bodies and sexuality are often the subject of deeply unsettling abuse.</p>
<p>Critics like Sarkeesian <a href="https://theconversation.com/vitriolic-abuse-of-anita-sarkeesian-why-the-games-industry-needs-her-31826">vocally challenged this toxic culture</a>, and in 2014 the culture war came to a head. Sarkeesian, along with many female developers, critics and scholars were targeted as part of the massive cultural backlash coined “<a href="http://gawker.com/what-is-gamergate-and-why-an-explainer-for-non-geeks-1642909080">Gamergate</a>” by actor Adam Baldwin. </p>
<p>While Gamergaters cited concerns over ethics in videogame journalism, the Gamergate movement was repeatedly linked to instances of online harassment including rape threats, death threats, bomb threats, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/doxxing-swatting-and-the-new-trends-in-online-harassment-40234">doxxing</a> (the public release of victims’ private information).</p>
<p>Most academics have since characterised Gamergate as a reaction to a shift in the videogames industry away from its traditional base to a more inclusive one.</p>
<h2>A bold decision</h2>
<p>Development on Overwatch began around the time Gamergate was exploding. The studio was undoubtedly following the fallout, and its decision to develop a title championing diversity was bold, given the cultural climate.</p>
<p>This is especially true given that although <a href="http://essentialfacts.theesa.com">latest figures</a> suggest that more than 40% of gamers are women, the gender division across genres is far from even. <a href="http://quanticfoundry.com/2017/01/19/female-gamers-by-genre/">A recent study</a> found for the two genres into which Overwatch most closely fits – First Person Shooter (FPS) and Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) – the percentage of female gamers were only 7% and 10% respectively.</p>
<p>Blizzard Activision’s approach with Overwatch was both more nuanced and more substantial than most. Rather than giving a nod to diversity in the form of a single female character or plot element, they wove it into their world with every design decision. They also recognised that diversity isn’t just about the narrative elements, but can be enabled by the structure of the game. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164006/original/image-20170405-5715-eewqhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Overwatch’s Sombra is a hacker reknowned for her stealth and debilitating attacks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Overwatch">Activision Blizzard</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike most FPS games, Overwatch doesn’t rely solely on precision targeting or twitch reflexes. The distinct abilities of the various characters allow players to experiment with different styles of play, and the integrated roles of the characters emphasises the cooperative nature of the matches.</p>
<h2>A mature approach</h2>
<p>To say that Overwatch has solved the diversity problems in games would be an overstatement. Even before its final release, Blizzard Activision found itself <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/28/11321138/overwatch-tracer-pose-removal">criticised by fans</a> first for releasing, and then for retracting, a sexualised image of one of the game’s most popular characters — a female character named Tracer. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2017/1/25/14380716/overwatch-skinny-mei-bug-year-of-the-rooster">Similar controversy</a> erupted when another character, Mei, appeared to have inexplicably lost some of her waist circumference when donning a novelty Lunar New Year outfit.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164008/original/image-20170405-24768-186zta2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Overwatch’s Mei is a climatologist who is on her own adventure to preserve the environment and ecosystem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Overwatch">Activision Blizzard</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Blizzard Activision’s response to these controversies has neither been to shut down debate, nor to engage with it. Instead, they have maintained their creative vision for a game that celebrates diversity. </p>
<p>Responding to the Tracer controversy, for example, game director Jeff Kaplan said that they “weren’t entirely happy with the original pose,” and that an alternate pose “speaks more to the character”. He emphasised that they “wouldn’t do anything to sacrifice [their] creative vision”, asked that the discussion remain respectful, and left it at that. </p>
<p>Responding to the Mei controversy, an Overwatch community manager claimed it was a simple bug, it’d be fixed soon, and “…btw. Happy Lunar New Year”. </p>
<p>Blizzard Activision seems content to let Overwatch speak for itself, and the <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2017/1/26/14376436/overwatch-womens-march-dva">emerging narrative</a> suggests that they’ve achieved their “most basic goal” of diversity, and then some. </p>
<p>Overwatch has demonstrated that diversity and inclusion are no barrier to major commercial success. They have capitalised on a maturing gaming community by presenting their game’s diversity in terms of artistic integrity — rather than political point-scoring. </p>
<p>Whether this approach will be picked up by others in the industry remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The cast of Overwatch playable heroes are straight and gay, men and women, robots, doctors, and criminals – and represent six of the seven continents.Sam Hinton, Assistant Professor in Digital Media, University of CanberraDouglas Catling, PhD Student, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/554772016-03-03T11:18:58Z2016-03-03T11:18:58ZWill the next U.S. president close the digital divide for Americans without broadband access?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113596/original/image-20160302-25872-1jz27di.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If they build it, will you come?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/5500692848">Doc Searls</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of the 2016 presidential candidates’ policy platforms recognize the strategic <a href="http://broadband.about.com/od/speedissues/a/Do-Increased-Boadband-Speeds-Boost-Economic-Benefits.htm">importance of high-speed Internet</a> (HSI), or broadband, in <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/08/26/does-high-speed-broadband-increase-economic-growth/#5d61df8d18e2">transforming the economy</a> and <a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22231347%7EpagePK:34370%7EpiPK:34424%7EtheSitePK:4607,00.html">spurring innovation</a>.</p>
<p>The candidates appear motivated by a shared belief that high-speed Internet and HSI-enabled digital innovations – such as Uber, AirBnB, Amazon, Facebook, Google and so on – are driving economic growth and transforming society. The question then becomes what should be done to further unleash HSI’s potential economic and societal benefits. </p>
<p>The candidates approach Internet issues from different perspectives, dividing along party lines. Suggestions by Republicans <a href="https://www.tedcruz.org/issues/jobs-and-opportunity/">Cruz</a> and <a href="https://marcorubio.com/issues-2/marco-rubio-internet-policy-web-position/">Rubio</a> about minimizing Internet-related taxes and enhancing cybersecurity are indeed important. But these policy platforms are more relevant to the so-called Internet Haves than to the Internet Have-nots who aren’t online.</p>
<p>Only Democrats Clinton’s and Sanders’ stated policies aim to address the fundamental issue of the <a href="http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm">digital divide</a> – the gap between those with digital technologies and access to high-speed Internet <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-divide-technology-internet-access-mary-beth-hertz">versus those without</a>. </p>
<p>However, is what Clinton and Sanders endorse enough to get all Americans hooked up to blazing fast broadband and all it enables?</p>
<h2>Current state of Internet access in the US</h2>
<p>According to the Pew Research Center, the home broadband adoption rate in the U.S. <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/">dropped from 70 percent to 67 percent from 2012 to 2015</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113430/original/image-20160301-31020-1w4ws4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/pi-2015-10-21_broadband2015-02/">Pew Research Center</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cost is a big factor for those who aren’t connected. At the same time, the majority of Americans indicated that having home broadband access (rather than mobile Internet) is critical for many important life activities, including job hunting, access to health information or government services and so on.</p>
<p>Some families do rely on mobile phones as an alternative to HSI, mostly because of its greater affordability. But mobile service providers impose a data cap. And smartphones have limited capabilities compared to regular desktops or laptops, so mobile access isn’t a perfect substitute.</p>
<p>Those who do not have home broadband or who rely on mobile Internet as their sole HSI access are usually <a href="http://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1090.0256">socioeconomically disadvantaged</a> (e.g., lower income, education), racial or ethnic minorities, and/or rural residents.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/pi-2015-10-21_broadband2015-16/"><img width="638" height="705" src="http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/12/PI-2015-10-21_broadband2015-16.png" class="attachment-large" alt="Percentage of adults who have home broadband."></a></p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2012.689271">Research suggests lack of HSI limits</a> education opportunities, career development and social mobility.</p>
<h2>Platform plans</h2>
<p>Both Democrats aim to address the digital divide by offering broadband access to those who currently lack it. </p>
<p><a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/improving-the-rural-economy/">Sanders’ platform asserts</a> that HSI is “no longer a luxury” and he casts the digital divide as a rural infrastructure issue. By missing out on high-speed broadband access, rural residents aren’t able to use it for “21st century commerce, education, telemedicine and public safety.” Sanders’ Rebuild America Act</p>
<blockquote>
<p>would invest US$25 billion over five years to expand high-speed broadband networks in underserved and unserved areas, and would boost speeds and capacity all across the country, particularly in rural areas.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sanders’ website doesn’t mention how he’d hope to finance this expansion.</p>
<p>Clinton’s platform, too, stresses that HSI is “a necessity for equal opportunity and social mobility in a 21st-century economy.” </p>
<p>Part of her infrastructure plan calls for connecting “all Americans to the digital economy.”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>She will finish the job of connecting America’s households to the Internet with a commitment that by 2020, 100 percent of households in America will have access to affordable broadband. She will also invest new resources in bringing free Wi-Fi to public buildings and public transportation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Clinton says she will “harness both public and private capital” to make it all happen.</p>
<p>These free or affordable broadband access plans seem reasonable. But a critical question remains: will the digital divide be resolved simply by offering high-speed Internet access at low or even no cost to the have-nots? </p>
<p>My research suggests the answer is “maybe not.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113427/original/image-20160301-31030-1yz5zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyond access, new Internet users need support and training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/70268842@N00/176800957">Colleen Taugher</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More to it than just hooking up</h2>
<p>The results of <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0894439309335169">numerous initiatives</a> that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2006.00207.x">aimed to address the digital divide</a> collectively suggest the digital divide is a multifaceted problem.</p>
<p>Take, for instance, the case of the LaGrange Free High-Speed Internet Initiative in Georgia. Even when the city made free high-speed Internet access available to everyone, only about <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/25148830">40 percent of the 10,000 eligible households signed up</a>. One cannot help but ask: it’s already free, why don’t you adopt it? </p>
<p>It turns out that for digital have-nots, the challenges go well beyond just the financial and material barriers. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1090.0256">The disadvantaged may also need</a> motivation, knowledge, skills and even confidence in order to use digital technologies. They also need social support that provides the needed assistance and encouragement so as to hop on the Internet. And they may not have opportunities for meaningful use of the high-speed Internet.</p>
<p>To help the disadvantaged cross the divide <a href="http://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1090.0256">requires an orchestrated effort</a> coordinating the various necessary resources – financial, technical, educational and social supports. </p>
<p>But once someone is online, it can be life-changing. Here’s how one physician described a patient from LaGrange:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>She was financially strapped, didn’t have any income. She was using this and actually for her, it brought her out of depression. Because she was very depressed, and she was able to make human contact with people all around the world. And she had friends she would correspond with in India and other countries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even when the digital divide is bridged for some have-nots, we still find inequality in the way people use the Internet. This difference in usage behaviors between the socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged is called <a href="http://www.webuse.org/webuse.org/pdf/DiMaggioEtAl-DigitalInequality2004.pdf">digital inequality</a> or the <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673277">second-level digital divide</a>.</p>
<p>In particular, my colleagues and I found that the advantaged are <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2012.689271">much more productive in using broadband</a> to attain educational, economic, health, financial, social and political benefits.</p>
<p>In other words, access to high-speed Internet may wind up reproducing and enhancing existing advantages.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113599/original/image-20160302-25881-1tkvxok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There’s still a lot more to be done after you lay some cable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vattenfall/7466349584">Vattenfall</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The process is ongoing</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=28832">Municipal governments launch initiatives</a> to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2009.01.002">offer public broadband service</a> with an eye toward multiple benefits: developing a digital labor force, attracting new investment, bridging the digital divide, and harnessing opportunities for digital innovations.</p>
<p>But other stakeholders aren’t as excited. For instance, <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-01-03-fiber-cover_x.htm">incumbent service providers typically criticize</a> these free initiatives as compromising their interests by offering competing service. </p>
<p>Some lawmakers (e.g., <a href="https://www.tedcruz.org/issues/jobs-and-opportunity/">Cruz</a> and <a href="https://marcorubio.com/issues-2/marco-rubio-internet-policy-web-position/">Rubio</a>) oppose such initiatives on the grounds government shouldn’t intervene with market mechanisms.</p>
<p>Even if a Clinton or Sanders administration is able to structure a deal that potentially serves the interests of different stakeholders – government, incumbent service providers, the digitally advantaged and disadvantaged – these initiatives typically encounter <a href="https://www.heartland.org/sites/default/files/municipal_broadband_policy_paper.pdf">financial constraints that endanger their continuation</a>. Any future economic downturn could also challenge the economic sustainability of such deals.</p>
<p>Successfully bridging the digital divide is complicated. Besides providing the financial resources and technological means, an effective plan would need to motivate and encourage the have-nots, develop their digital competencies, and provide technical and social support. </p>
<p>After connecting the disadvantaged to HSI, policymakers should be aware of the second digital divide – rooted in ongoing socioeconomic inequalities – and provide continuous training and community support. </p>
<p>Finally, a successful plan would likely structure deals that serve different stakeholders’ interests and are designed to sustain the initiatives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>J.J. Po-An Hsieh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Democrats’ policy platforms address the fundamental issue of Internet haves and have-nots in the U.S. But research suggests just hooking people up to broadband won’t solve the problem.J.J. Po-An Hsieh, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/463082015-08-24T08:44:08Z2015-08-24T08:44:08ZFor older people, beating loneliness isn’t just about where and who they live with<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92704/original/image-20150821-31397-rhlrgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too many older people feel socially excluded. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kristo-Gothard Hunor/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social isolation and loneliness among older people are public health issues in the UK and have a terrible effect on well-being, physical health – causing depression and mental decline. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/social-isolation-trumps-loneliness-as-early-death-indicator-in-old-age-13069">health risks</a> associated with social isolation have been compared to the harmful effects of smoking and obesity.</p>
<p>Some new forms of accommodation are trying to give older people more opportunity for social contact in order to combat the empty feelings of loneliness. A <a href="http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/village_life_independence_loneliness_and_quality_of_life_in_retirement_vill">new report</a>, launched by the think-tank the <a href="http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/home">International Longevity Centre</a>, surveyed residents in some retirement villages, where people buy apartments with flexible “extra” care on hand. The report argued that village living could promote older people’s quality of life, help to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, and increase their sense of control over their own lives.</p>
<p>Housing with extra care services and retirement villages are still a rarity in the UK. They are also not all the same and other research suggests they may not always protect against loneliness. </p>
<p>Vanessa Burholt and her colleagues at Swansea University <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19424620.2013.870811#.VdWTNrSuHK4">found</a> that while residents might have more social interactions, loneliness itself wasn’t affected. Residents living in accommodation with extra care didn’t necessarily make new friends and felt their real friends were people they knew from before. Some residents still want to connect with “younger” age groups. Many retirement villages are far from city centres and lack access to public transport. People need support to maintain existing meaningful and long-term friendships during and after the move to extra-care housing and also into care homes. </p>
<h2>Housing only part of the problem</h2>
<p><a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/43925/">Our recent research</a> with people living in ordinary mixed communities – which is where the vast majority of older people live – has identified housing as just one of many factors that affect isolation and loneliness among older people. We discovered many ways of promoting the inclusion of older residents within the neighbourhoods they are familiar with. </p>
<p>Some people develop their own “personal convoy” over time, making connections and cultivating interests to protect themselves against future loneliness. Contact with families is important to feel connected. Some local councils are actively nurturing awareness and the capacity of neighbourhoods and communities to support and look out for older people, such as Bristol with its <a href="http://www.linkagebristol.org.uk/about-us.aspx">LinkAge programme</a>. Volunteering within communities (including involving older people as volunteers) can be encouraged – with support from organisations such as Age UK that have experience of training and mentoring volunteers. </p>
<p>Local walking groups, book clubs, local history groups, photography groups, sewing and knitting groups can help. So can using local venues such as parks, garden centres, or cafes as convenient places to meet. For some people, inter-generational activities are helpful, such as school students and older people sharing their skills. One group called <a href="https://equalarts.org.uk/our-work/henpower/">HenPower</a> brings older people together to keep hens and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-chicken-commotion-that-is-improving-life-for-pensioners-25412">combat loneliness</a>, and links up with schools. Others may learn to use the internet from children and share stories related to local history. </p>
<h2>‘Older people’ aren’t all the same</h2>
<p>Of course the term “older people” covers a lot of ground – from “late middle age to early old age” around 55-65 years, to centenarians. People vary enormously in their capacity and outlook at any age, so it would be over-simplifying just to define people by age groups. There is, however, some sense in thinking about different strategies for different situations connected to the life course and physical capacity: what people are likely to want to be doing – and what they can manage to do. </p>
<p>For example, people still under pension age may lose social contacts because of redundancy, or after a break-up, but not yet be eligible for services for older people such as free bus travel or discounted rail fares. They might want support to get back into the flow through voluntary work, or learning digital skills to enhance their employability. </p>
<p>People in their “third age” (65-79) and “fourth age” (roughly 80-85 and older) might want different services. Retirement villages, lunch clubs and day centres are sometimes perceived as being for the “very old” and may not be attractive for the not-quite-so-old – one reason why housing that comes with extra care is strongly marketed as “lifestyle” housing for active ageing. </p>
<p><a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/36591/">Our research</a> has shown that for some people, online social interactions can also be a path to greater social inclusion, with a positive effect on well-being. Wherever someone is living, when increasing frailty or other life changes start to impact on their quality of life, making sure they are “digitally included” could be another way to overcome isolation and loneliness.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92788/original/image-20150824-17793-5k6sj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Time to get online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-1335553p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00%22>pixinoo">pixinoo / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Enhanced digital skills can enable people to benefit from lifelong learning opportunities such as open educational resources and Massive Open Online Courses. However, our <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/44009/">research shows</a> the kind of support needed for digital inclusion differs based on a person’s situation. Some older people lack even basic digital skills, but others might be looking to improve their digital skills for employment. Some may be living alone and may not have informal “technical support” from family or friends – or they might have disabilities or age-related impairments to deal with.</p>
<p>So, we suggest an approach to social inclusion that takes into account all the different ways that older people live, as well as where they live.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shailey Minocha has received research funding from UK's EPSRC, Jisc, VITAE, Wolfson Foundation, Innovate UK and Milton Keynes Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Holland has received research funding from ESRC, Milton Keynes Council, and various charities including most recently the Alzheimer's Society and Thomas Pocklington Trust. She is affiliated with the UCU, the Labour Party and UKUncut.</span></em></p>Older people aren’t all lonely for the same reasons – we need different solutions to help them feel socially included.Shailey Minocha, Professor in Learning Technologies and Social Computing, The Open UniversityCaroline Holland, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Health & Social Care, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.