SCIENCE

A new study shows that very few households in remote Indigenous communities are online, with potential consequences for education, health and employment.

Focused on three communities of central Australia, a region with very low rates of internet take-up, a team of media policy researchers explored the barriers that keep the residents from logging on, as well as the potential drivers for using broadband.

“This project touches on a core political dilemma facing remote Australia, which is how to deliver basic services to Indigenous residents in remote areas,” says Associate Professor Ellie Rennie from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCi) at Swinburne University of Technology. “Once implemented, the National Broadband Network has the potential to help the Commonwealth government reach their target of ‘closing the gap’, but a lot of these residents don’t even own a computer.

“Over 40 per cent of residents that took part in the study had never used a computer. Of those that had used a computer at some time in the past, only a third had used the internet, and three quarters of internet users were under the age of 30.”

Prof. Rennie’s research partners, which included researchers from the Centre for Appropriate Technology and the Central Land Council, found that out of 48 participants, only six people owned computers and only one had access to the internet at home, compared to eight out of ten metropolitan residents who log on regularly.

The study shows that the communities are interested in using the internet to improve young people’s education, access online social services such as health agencies, getting information, contacting relatives and friends, creating local content, for entertainment purposes and more.

“However, their main barrier to accessing the internet is money, which can mean affordability, competing priorities or issues with billing,” she says. “Other reasons include limited computer skills, fear for the lack of support, training and maintenance of the computers, concerns of young people wasting time playing computer games, limited English literacy and concerns over the security and space for the machine.

“We also found that the existing programs that provide broadband to individual households are not necessarily suitable for scenarios where the community wishes to subscribe to an internet service provider as a whole, and remote communities are not aware of the availability of satellite broadband, or of an existing subsidy to cover the installation costs.”

In the report, the research team recommends the setting up of a broadband assistance program to serve remote Indigenous communities, assisting with related needs such as power points, wireless transmitters and ongoing maintenance help.

Prof. Rennie also encourages the Australian Government to extend their ICT training for remote Indigenous communities to smaller residential areas.

“Although the issue of broadband take-up in remote Indigenous communities is miniscule in terms of the national market, it is an important and evolving element in relation to social policy, the provision of basic communication needs, and the cultural prerogative of Indigenous people to live on their traditional lands.”

The Home Internet Project is a collaboration between CCI, the Centre of Appropriate Technologies and the Central Land Council. The baseline study was funded by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and the infrastructure is funded out of the Aboriginals Benefit Account. The project has also received successful funding from the Australian Research Council over the next three years.