Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications,
Information Technology
and the Arts

 

10 years on. 10 years strong. The Internet in Australia.

Speech for the 2005 Internet Industry Association Annual Dinner

Sydney
10 February 2005

 

Thank you Tom, [Kennedy, Chairman, Internet Industry Association].

Senator Conroy, Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, Lyn Maddock, the Acting Chair of the ABA, the Federal Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman.

I am delighted to be here tonight to help the Internet Industry Association celebrate its 10 th anniversary as well as to celebrate 10 years of the Internet in Australia.

The Internet has changed the way we live, work and play.

It has even had an impact on the English language.

People don't search for things anymore, they Google.

Cookies , Blackberries and SPAM are no longer just food.

Why keep a journal when you can Blog and tell the world about the day you've just had. More importantly you'd better hope that firewall stops the hackers from cybersqatting or you can just forget about surfing the web in Cyberspace!

Historical overview

But more profound than the impact on the English language have been the undeniable opportunities generated by the Internet.

In the 1990s the Australian Government established the National Office for the Information Economy to help capture these opportunities.

We did this to encourage the development of a sophisticated information economy and to focus our energies on the take-up of e-business and e-government.

In 1997 the Prime Minister took the lead and announced that all appropriate Government services would be online by 2001.

Since then government agencies, like industry, have discovered the dynamism, reach and capacity of the Internet.

As the new online world developed and grew, issues emerged that demonstrated a need for regulation.

For example, we now have safeguards in place in areas such as online content and online gambling.

History also shows that while the private sector was keen to exploit the possibilities of the Internet, early on it was largely the top end of town and less likely to be small business.

But I am pleased to say that the Internet is now an irreplaceable tool for the clear majority of businesses and nine out of 10 small and medium-sized businesses are now connected.

The Internet today

But I am well aware that the Internet is still a work in progress.

Vint Cerf , one of the founders of the Internet, predicts that in time there may be as many as 100 devices per person connected to the Internet as it becomes part of the fabric of our homes, appliances, cars and work.

While the Internet fridge is yet to set the world on fire I have no doubt that other connected devices will!

Broadband market

This explosion in connectivity will be driven by access to, and take-up of, broadband.

Figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) show that the number of broadband subscribers increased by 114 per cent to 1.3 million in the 12 months to September 2004.

Together Government and industry have worked to promote the progression from narrowband to higher bandwidth Internet.

For its part the Government has concentrated on the adoption and effective use of broadband-enabled technologies within the priority sectors of healthcare, education, research and small-to-medium enterprises.

My vision for the future, which are intrinsically linked to the conditions for the sale of the remainder of Telstra, is to see rural, regional and remote Australia share in the benefits and opportunities provided by broadband and the Internet.

I have been travelling around regional Australia and getting information first hand about what people want. This frank feedback is proving invaluable.

The National Broadband Strategy

What I have been pleased to see is that the Government's National Broadband Strategy is providing opportunities for emerging broadband technologies to benefit Australian consumers and the business community.

Today I've released the Government's National Broadband Strategy Action Plan that outlines more than $300 million of Federal initiatives to encourage the rollout of broadband infrastructure.

This funding is to encourage the effective delivery of important government services while creating new market opportunities and building the Australian economy.

My colleague, the Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott, yesterday announced an additional $14.5 million to connect 5,000 Pharmacies to broadband.

This will continue to build the underlying infrastructure to drive a more efficient and effective health care system.

I believe strongly that strategic investments in Australia's broadband infrastructure, such as this, will see the economic and social benefits of broadband distributed more widely to all Australians.

I want to work cooperatively with the States, who are developing their own Action Plans under this national framework - to ensure the roll out of next generation infrastructure is well coordinated and benefits the maximum number of people.

I also want to see a vast improvement in the equity of access to broadband services across regional Australia.

I want the National Broadband Strategy to support competition and minimise distortion on the developing broadband market.

The Government's Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme-known as HiBIS-was established to ensure that all Australians have access to broadband services at prices comparable to those in metropolitan areas.

The $108 million Scheme works by providing incentive payments on a per-service basis to HiBIS registered Internet service providers for each broadband connection supplied to eligible customers.

In less than 12 months since the Scheme was announced in April 2004, prices of broadband in regional areas are showing a downward trend.

Indeed the ISPs are offering packages of far greater value to customers than what is required under HiBIS.

HiBIS has encouraged diversity in the broadband market, with registered providers choosing to employ a wide range of technologies too.

The 27 registered HiBIS providers vary in size.

Several 'start-up' companies are in the market, as well as several established players. They are also providing services over the majority of technologies - ADSL, Cable, Wireless and Satellite.

I am also happy to announce that there are now more than 5700 HiBIS customers already connected to HiBIS services and the numbers are steadily growing.

This is one program that is living up to the hype. It is successfully connecting country Australians and is introducing real competition into regional areas.

Most importantly, it is making a real difference to the way people live and do business in rural and regional areas.

Advanced Networks program

The $60 million Advanced Networks program is also delivering real benefits to local communities in the vital area of healthcare.

Supported by the Advanced Networks program and operating in the Blue Mountains is the Virtual Critical Care Unit.

This pilot program uses broadband to link the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital in Katoomba and the Nepean Hospital in Penrith.

The critical care unit is an Australian-designed innovation that allows a specialist at the Nepean Hospital to control multiple high quality cameras and communicate with emergency staff in Katoomba in real time.

The trauma and critical care patients in Katoomba are getting the best available care and peace of mind because of such advances in technology. This is just one example that demonstrates the real life community-based benefits of broadband.

Voice Over Internet Protocol

Voice Over Internet Protocol is another key development for the Internet sector.

I want to ensure that industry has the scope to innovate in this area and that Australia in particular captures the full benefit of VOIP and other IP-based services.

My department is currently looking at VOIP policy and regulation and I welcome the Internet Industry Association's work through the VOIP Taskforce in conjunction with this important work.

I encourage you to remain engaged in this key area.

SPAM

And then there is SPAM.

Yes I know it's a scourge.

The Australian Government continues to work closely with the Internet Industry Association on this issue.

Feedback from the IIA during the drafting of the SPAM Act contributed to the development of what has been called the best anti-SPAM legislation in the world.

The Government is active internationally on this issue through our participation in a range of multilateral and bilateral groups.

We know that the IIA is also working with its counterparts around the world too.

We will need to continue to work together on this issue and maintain this effort to contain and tackle this international problem.

I also congratulate the IIA for taking the lead in developing an anti-spam code of practice for Internet Service Providers and Email Service Providers.

This work is highly valued and does not go unrecognised.

Future directions and Convergence

So where are we going with the Internet?

There are many things I find exciting about this portfolio and I have a real enthusiasm for the work that needs to be done.

The issues facing my portfolio can no longer be divided into segments neatly labelled 'telecommunications', 'broadcasting' or for that matter 'Internet'.

We have been hearing quite a bit of speculation about the emergence of the voice, video and data 'triple play' and the oft-repeated mantra of 'one pipe, many services'.

But already the same pipe, be it copper, fibre or a wireless or satellite signal is delivering many types of content and digital communications.

When these developments finally become mass market they are going to fundamentally change service industry structures and consumer expectations.

These changes inevitably raise questions for policy makers and regulators.

As policy makers we are continually searching for a balance between removing barriers to innovation, while addressing bottlenecks and regulating to protect consumers.

We want to encourage innovation and competition, not stifle it.

While the industry is probably still a little uncertain about which models and structures are ultimately going to be successful, we as a Government need to be absolutely certain we have a regulatory framework that is flexible enough to respond when all the pieces start to fall into place.

As a start, the Government has moved to establish a merged regulator, ACMA, from the middle of this year, to better reflect the convergence of carriage and content.

These issues will be foremost in my mind as I have a look at the adequacy of the current regulatory framework to accommodate new and emerging technologies.

But one thing I do know for sure is that consumers are becoming more sophisticated, more demanding and more ready to move between services and platforms to get the content and functionality they want.

As consumers become more knowledgeable about the Internet we are also seeing productivity benefits flow to the economy in the form of growth in workforce skills, the emergence of new skills and importantly new ways of working.

Teleworking is one example, which will be much more prevalent in the future.

I will soon be establishing a teleworking taskforce to advise Government on options and impediments to the development of teleworking opportunities for business and employees.

Teleworking is a curious anomaly. Many have been heralding its potential for a number of years, the majority agree it is a good thing, the benefits in terms of balancing work and family life are undeniable and there are even statistics to show that employees that telework are more productive.

Yet despite the weight of evidence workplaces remain highly sceptical of the benefits of allowing their employees to work from home.

Still, the ABS found in 2002 that 8 per cent of NSW's workforce identified themselves as teleworkers and this has been growing.

Increasing broadband availability, capacity and connection will underpin this trend and this is an issue I will give some prominence to over the next year.

As it matures, the Internet will continue to drive some fundamental changes in the way our society functions. The Government will also continue to monitor these developments closely to ensure that appropriate safeguards and consumer protection measures are introduced when and where they are needed, whilst taking every care not to stifle innovation and growth of the Internet.

There will be more wonderful accidents and inventions as people continue to test the boundaries of this incredible medium.

 e-Security

There is one issue concerning the Internet that will remain.

If we are going to continue to build on the success of the Internet we have to make it as secure as possible and trust in the technology to deliver.

Since becoming the Minister, I have initiated a review of existing Australian laws to determine their application to the malicious use of spyware.

I look forward to liaising with industry on issues related to spyware once we have completed our assessment of the review.

I'm sure you were all as shocked as I was by the events of the recent Tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean.

The Internet really came into its own during this disaster.

The Internet became a vital tool and crossed every boundary imaginable to find the missing and identify victims.

The Internet was inundated with online donations to charities following the Tsunami and clearly played a very immediate and positive role.

But just as the Tsunami brought out the best in humanity it, unfortunately, also brought out the very worst.

International online scams sought donations for charitable institutions-preying on the kindness and generosity of people during a time of enormous grief.

These loathsome acts serve as a timely reminder that there is an ongoing need for the Government and industry to work together on e-security matters.

Another issue in the media of late demonstrates the need for the effective sharing of information between jurisdictions, identity management and authentication.

Conclusion

The past 10 years of Internet development in Australia is characterised by the Government and the business community working together to foster innovation and change.

I value the dynamism of the private sector and have very much appreciated the key role the Internet Industry Association and individual companies have played.

The IIA itself does a great deal of work that goes unheralded and Peter Coroneos has been a constant driving force behind a number of joint industry-Government initiatives.

I just wanted to publicly acknowledge the work that Peter and the IIA board does - self regulation and co-regulatory regimes wouldn't work without a strong industry association and I would encourage the industry to continue to support the IIA.

I want to match and exceed the enthusiasm you have brought to the seemingly endless possibilities of the Internet.

We are very much in this together.

We are at the beginning of this journey and there is still much to discover.

So be as bold as you dare and I look forward to what the next 10 years brings us.

Thank you.