[LINK] NBN low income scheme

[Richard Chirgwin]

> "When that study was broken down, 62 per cent of the 2.6 million had
> incomes of less than $25,000 while 53 per cent were aged 55 years or more
> and a majority of the respondents lived in non-capital city areas,"
> Corbin said.
Yep.

I've analysed this, and published about it, but the simple answer is too 
seductive and nobody gives a damn about the subtleties.

The subtlety is this: the also a strong correlation between where you 
live and how much you earn means that people earning low incomes are 
also the ones most likely to live furthest from a Telstra exchange. It's 
a double-hit: not only is broadband a luxury, you can't get it anyway, 
because at 5km from the exchange, what's the point?

So a policy response has to disentangle the two issues. The NBN is part 
of the solution, because it kills exchange distance as a blocker. I 
think, however, it's feasible to at least wait until the current census 
data is available before we decide that subsidies are required.

RC

On 25/10/11 6:52 PM, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> Discounts needed for low income earners to access NBN: ACCAN
>
> Advocacy group argues that not every Australian will be able to afford
> fibre broadband access
>
> Hamish Barwick (Computerworld)25 October, 2011 15:20
> <http://www.cio.com.au/article/405235/discounts_needed_low_income_earners_
> access_nbn_accan>
>
>
> The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has
> proposed a broadband low income measures scheme, including discount
> wholesale prices, to enable Australians earning $26,000 a year or less to
> access to the National Broadband Network (NBN).
>
> Speaking before a parliamentary joint committee on the NBN in Sydney,
> ACCAN chief executive, Teresa Corbin, said that under the scheme, ACCAN
> would like to see NBN Co providing discount wholesale prices for retail
> service providers such as Infoexchange, which could than provide cheap
> internet services for low income consumers.
>
> "That would mean people with a healthcare card should be able to access
> these services if they chose to," she said. "This is becoming important
> because we have entered an age where internet access is important in
> daily life."
>
> Another proposal is setting up more public internet kiosks across
> Australia in addition to current services provided by libraries and high
> schools.
>
> "At present, a lot of these public access programs are state based but
> there needs to be a national approach taken to this by the government and
> NBN Co," she said.
>
> "Another proposal would be to turn every public telephone box into a Wi-
> Fi access spot which they currently do in Hong Kong as a free service."
>
> The genesis of ACCAN's broadband low income measures proposal was
> research into the digital divide conducted by the Australian
> Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) earlier this year.
>
> It found that 2.6 million Australians did not have access to the internet
> via mobile or a fixed line service and that this was unlikely to change
> even after the NBN was rolled out due to broadband costs.
>
> "When that study was broken down, 62 per cent of the 2.6 million had
> incomes of less than $25,000 while 53 per cent were aged 55 years or more
> and a majority of the respondents lived in non-capital city areas,"
> Corbin said.
>
> The ACMA study also found that one third of the respondents still used
> the internet via a library or a school while 42 per cent indicated that
> they used internet services outside the home because cost was a factor
> and home connections were too expensive. "We are very concerned there
> will still be a digital divide going forward because in some areas the
> only service might be an expensive satellite or wireless service," she
> said.
>
> "Whilst we think that overall the NBN will be significant leveller we are
> concerned that people who can't access the internet now, won't be able to
> even when the NBN rolls out."
>
> --
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