Dirt tracks off the superhighway: How COVID widened the digital gap for remote First Nations communities in Australia
Dirt tracks off the superhighway: How COVID widened the digital gap for remote First Nations communities in Australia Book Section
Digital Inclusion: International Policy and Research
- Author(s): Featherstone, Daniel
- Secondary Author(s): Yates, Simeon, Carmi, Elinor
- Published: 2024
- Publisher: Springer International Publishing
- ISBN: 978-3-031-28930-9
Abstract: This chapter outlines findings from a 2020 review of the impact of telecommunications infrastructure programs on internet access in Australia’s remote Indigenous communities (RICs) and outstanding needs. This review was undertaken for the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) about 6 months after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The review outlined over $155 million of investment in telecommunications infrastructure in RICS by governments and industry over the last 5 years. However, it found that significant gaps in access and usage of communications technologies remained due to issues of affordability, lack of last mile delivery or community access facilities, service quality and congestion, and barriers to using online services. Some communities have chosen to not accept infrastructure due to concerns around cyber-safety, potential impacts on cultural and social cohesion, and ongoing costs of services and maintenance. Without a coordinated digital inclusion strategy in place to address these barriers, there is currently a patchwork of solutions. The chapter concludes by outlining the report’s recommendations and noting subsequent policy efforts to address the growing digital divide for First Nations people in Australia, including establishing a target to close the digital inclusion gap.
- Urls: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28930-9_2
- Publisher Location: Cham