A Pervasive Internet

1
A Pervasive Internet?

• Enabling the 21st century home
• and community
• Chris Dalton
• Project Director
• Broadband Xchange
• Service Provider Industry Association
• 3 December 2002

2
Promised Land or Electronic Nightmare?

• All modes of communications we humans have
  devised are coming together now into a single
  electronic system, driven by computers. Although
  this new communications system will bring us many
  benefits, it will also put us in danger of losing
  our individual liberty. J.Wicklein 1979

3
23 years later, we are still waiting. Why?

• Complexity?
• High prices?
• Inadequate technology?
• Lack of killer applications?

• Lack of consumer understanding?
• Consumer apathy?
• Consumer fears?
• Insufficient service choice?

4
Broadband paradox

• We all believe in the broadband vision
• TVs, PCs and mobile phones didnt need industry
  conferences to stimulate their uptake
• Yet broadband struggles to come of age
• A managed implementation strategy that addresses
  the unique complexities of broadband is essential

5
Complexity 1Business decisions

• Business risk
• Reliance on third parties
• Longer term return on investment
• Dynamic, converging industry
• Business evolution
• ICT services evolution

6
Complexity 2Business evolution

• Dial-up connectivity
• Broadband connectivity
• Back office systems
• New products
• New markets
• New ways of doing business

7
Complexity 3ICT services evolution

• Email
• Research
• Website
• Teleworking
• Videoconferencing
• Supply chain management
• E-commerce

8
Complexity 4Broadband drivers

• Price
• Government action
• Generational change
• Service development
• Consumer awareness
• Infrastructure investment

9
Complexity 5Policy levers

• New legislation
• Additional funding
• Government services
• Industry collaboration
• Research and development
• National Broadband Strategy
• Government and industry roles

10
Government intervention

• MOTIVATION
• Choice of service provider
• Minimum service requirements
• Range of services
• Quality of services
• Price controls
• Economic and social development
• Funding
• Coordination

11
Commercial investment

• MOTIVATION
• Increasing demand
• Cost reductions
• Convergence
• Higher revenues
• Future markets

12
Supply sidestrategy options

• Open (regulated?) access to infrastructure
• Prescribe Telstra performance
• Customer Service Guarantee
• Licence conditions
• Price caps
• Cash incentives
• Networking the Nation
• Contestable tenders
• Extended Zones
• USO contestability pilots

13
Demand side strategy options

• Consumer control
• Residential
• Community
• Public sector
• Demand aggregation
• Across public sector
• Across policy initiatives
• Threshold customer level
• Anchor tenant
• Flow on SME benefits
• Awareness raising

14
Estens insights

• Access to broadband is vital for economic and
  social development
• Inadequacy of USO scheme for stimulating
  broadband developments
• Pricing is major impediment
• Need for an incentives scheme
• Need for a strategy
• Government funding

15
Policy stocktake

• Supply side
• Infrastructure access
• Prescription
• Cash incentives
• Contestable tenders

• Demand side
• Consumer control
• Demand aggregation
• Anchor tenant
• Awareness

Black Current initiatives Red
Estens recommendations Green No proposals
16
Awareness strategies

• Collaboration
• Residential uptake
• Industry verticals
• SME engine room for growth
• Practical how to assistance
• Media
• BROADBAND XCHANGE

17
BBX objectives

• To stimulate the broadband market to reach its
  full potential
• through
• Providing the definitive, industry endorsed,
  user-accepted broadband assistance package
• Provision of marketing aids to service providers
• Demonstration of broadband value proposition
• Industry-wide promotional activities

18
BBX overview

• User friendly, plain English, demand-side
  initiative
• SME focus
• Simple value propositions
• broadband vs dial-up
• standard business tool
• real benefits for business
• Action, not call to action
• Industry collaboration

19
BBX achievements

• Toolkit
• a how to guide
• applications and case studies
• www.broadbandxchange.org
• Broadband for SMEs brochure
• in association with NOIE
• Industry collaboration and media coverage
• In planning
• Broadband business advisers
• in association with ICAA
• Residential broadband usage brochure
• Seminar program and survey

20
BBX collaboration 1
21
BBX collaboration 2
22
Conclusions

• We should aim to make broadband as pervasive,
  affordable and easy to use as the telephone
• The complexity of broadband requires a national
  broadband strategy
• Government/industry collaborative demand side
  strategies are essential
• A national broadband agency is needed