[LINK] Realising Our Broadband Future

[George Bray]

This coming Thursday and Friday 10-11 December 2009 a high-profile
forum will be conducted in Sydney to workshop the issues around how
the National Broadband Network will affect Australian life.

	Realising Our Broadband Future
	<http://broadbandfuture.gov.au/>

Recent efforts like ACT Senator Lundy's "Public Spheres" using all
sorts of live streaming and social technologies have proven valuable,
as it seems the same participatory aims will be used at this
conference.

	Real Time Streams (Presentations and Discussion Streams)
	<http://broadbandfuture.gov.au/webcasts.html>
	
	Twitter Stream #bbfuture
	<http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23bbfuture>
	
Additionally, remote venues will be included for the discussions.

	Community Forums and Discussion Groups
	<http://bbf.civictec.net/>
	
This message comes to you from the "Link" mailing list, a long-time
email discussion list about development of the Australian internet.
Please forward this message to other appropriate forums with the aim
to foster widespread collaboration before, during and after the
conference.

	Link Mailing List
	<http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link>

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Realising Our Broadband Future
<http://broadbandfuture.gov.au/>

The forum discussion will establish a road-map for government,
business and communities to realise the benefits of high speed
broadband and the digital economy.

Smart Infrastructure

Smart infrastructure encompasses networked infrastructure that uses
sensors and communications technologies to better utilise or sustain
resources. Examples of smart infrastructure include electricity grids
which improve grid reliability and better utilise energy; transport
systems which optimise traffic flows; and water networks which improve
water productivity in agriculture. Emerging uses of smart
infrastructure have the potential to reduce costs, enhance safety and
reduce our environmental footprint.

Digital Education

Digital education includes technologies which will enable schools,
vocational education and training institutions and universities to
publish material online, students and teachers to collaborate online,
students to participate in remote learning and researchers to access
vast quantities of information in an instant. These technologies are
playing an increasing role in the learning environment. The Australian
Government's Digital Education Revolution, combined with the National
Broadband Network, can make Australia a global leader in research and
learning.

e-Communities

e-Communities are groups of people with common interests that use the
online environment to interact and deliver services. These virtual
communities may use social networking websites or add comments to a
blog, message board or wiki. Participation in e-Communities assists
digital literacy skills, promotes social inclusion through online
engagement and improves digital confidence. In the future e-Community
has the potential to enhance knowledge and understanding and enable
community organisations to deliver services at significantly reduced
costs resulting in a better informed and more collaborative society.

e-Health

e-Health is a means of delivering health information and services in a
secure electronic form for the purpose of optimising the quality and
efficiency of health care. Services such as electronic clinical
messaging (discharge, referrals, pathology, and prescriptions) and
remote diagnosis and monitoring can revolutionise the way we access
health care. This will be essential as our population ages to reduce
the costs of health care, improve quality of life and sustain regional
communities.

e-Business

e-Business is the automation of business processes over digital or
online networks. These can streamline internal business processes,
processes between companies, or processes between businesses and
customers. e-Business opportunities are enhanced by the ability of
business to use the latest collaborative online technology to engage
with consumers in Australia and globally. The National Broadband
Network presents Australian businesses with a once in a lifetime
opportunity to grasp a long-term advantage over their global
competition.


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What are the possibilities?

What are the new applications, services and business models that will
be made possible by high speed broadband? Why are these important to
Australia's productivity and social well-being? How will they change
people's lives?

Reality Check

What are the current examples of broadband enabled service delivery?
Apart from availability of faster broadband, is anything holding back
the further development of these?

Next Steps

What needs to be done to ensure we take full advantage of the
opportunities of high speed broadband? How will we know if we are on
track?







-- 
George Bray, Canberra, Australia.
Former Ambassador, Internet Industry Association