[LINK] NBN Providing Wireless for Regional Areas

Paul Brooks pbrooks-link at layer10.com.au
Thu Mar 7 09:29:12 AEDT 2013


On 7/03/2013 8:34 AM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>
> While the study concentrated on take-up of the NBN, Long suggests there 
> should be more research on why 20% of households have no Internet access 
> at all, which is a good question. However, it was not clear to me from 
> the study report if households where residents had one or more  smart 
> phones or tablet computers with broadband wireless built in where 
> counted as connected. If not, then the number of connected households 
> would be greatly under-reported. The popularity of wireless devices 
> might make the concept of "household" connection largely irrelevant, 
> much as mobile phones has lessened the need for a home fixed telephone 
> lines. Previously the number of telephone lines per 1,000 population was 
> used as a measure of the communications access of a country, but this is 
> now largely irrelevant.

It is clear to me that the study did report and include households where the residents
accessed the Internet through wireless broadband as connected.

P13 of the report includes in the main discussion of findings "57% had a fixed-line
broadband connection (DSL/ADSL, cable), *18% had a mobile or wireless broadband
connection*, and 20% had an NBN connection (see Figure 1).


P14 of the report clear includes the connection type of 'mobile phone' and 'wireless',
Figure 5 clearly breaks out 'wireless' as a category by household income, and at the
top of page 18 is the explanation "Comparing specific household Internet connection
types, wireless broadband households were much more likely to be motivated by issues
related to mobility in shared house situations, and in a transition or moving period. "

To Geoff's mountain-from-a-molehill issue:
The report further noted on the 20% with no Internet access at all - "This proportion
is similar to the latest ABS figures from the 2011 census on household Internet access
(2012)" and "Anecdotally from our research fieldwork, respondents who did not have
home Internet were predominantly older and non-English speakers."

The report also included references to other studies on reasons for non-usage, by ACMA
and others.

 When commenting on a report, it helps to have actually read it first.




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