Australian Local Government Association

See also: Innovative use of broadband by local government report. (ZIPped PDF file 270 kb)

Local Government has a significant role in the development of sustainable broadband services, particularly in regional areas where the business case may be insufficient to attract commercial suppliers. As the primary public service provider and infrastructure manager to local communities, local government is in a key position to facilitate the growth of broadband through:

• the delivery of online services to local communities
• the development of policies and programs that encourage the provision of affordable broadband services at the local level.

The broadband vision for local government directly supports the national vision, recognising the need for all levels of government to work collaboratively on this important task and to leverage the unique role of local governments in the widespread uptake and deployment of broadband services. The broadband vision for local government is:

To be a leader in the facilitation, utilisation and delivery of broadband services at the local level

To this end, the specific objectives of this broadband action plan for local government are to:

1. define the role of local government in the development and delivery of broadband services
2. facilitate the access and uptake of broadband services by local government, particularly in regional areas
3. promote the uptake and utilisation of broadband services by the community
4. to provide a coordinated planning framework that will align the activities of local governments, commercial telecommunications carriers, government agencies and other stakeholders in the roll-out of broadband services across Australia.

The role of local government

The advent of online services has provided government organisations with a cost effective delivery channel to its customers, and local governments have identified the potential benefits of going online in order to:

1. extend and enhance the service delivery capabilities of local government to the community
2. realise efficiency and productivity gains with the aim of reducing the cost of service delivery
3. provide a greater level of communication and interaction between local government and the local community
4. provide a community leadership and economic development role (particularly in regional areas)
5. provide the ability to work more effectively across levels of government in delivering coordinated 'whole of government' services at the local level.

Access and uptake of broadband services by local government

Currently, all councils are connected to the Internet with 74% on broadband and 26% on dial-up. Of those not on broadband, 41% indicated that the reason they remained on dial-up or basic ISDN services for their Internet connection was due to the very limited availability of affordable broadband in regional areas.

Local government (as with many other organisations) is reaching the capacity of its existing telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in regional and remote areas. Internet access speeds, service reliability and high communications costs are now significant barriers to both local government providing online services and to their communities in accessing these services. Affordable broadband connectivity is essential if local governments are to achieve their online service objectives.

The Australian Government, through the National Broadband Strategy, is proactively addressing these issues. At the national level, demand aggregation, supplier incentives and digital content generation have been targeted through the implementation of several policy programs and initiatives. Initiatives within each state and territory are supplementing these programs. Local government must continue to work in collaboration with this approach to encourage the development of broadband infrastructure, applications and services on a coordinated basis.

Taking account of the drivers of, and impediments to, the development and take-up of broadband and the dynamic nature of commercial telecommunications market, a strategic framework for local government broadband is proposed that consists of the following five components:

1. Promoting the value of online content and services to both local government and the community
2. Aggregating demand to facilitate the availability of affordable broadband access
3. Promoting collaboration between government agencies, communities and commercial services providers
4. Establishing policy and strategy guidelines for the coordinated development of broadband infrastructure
5. Raising the skills and awareness of broadband users.

Promoting the uptake and utilisation of broadband by the community

Local governments have an important and growing role in the uptake of broadband services by regional Australian communities. Specifically, in terms of

• facilitating the development of broadband infrastructure and services
• supporting the user case for community uptake through the delivery of eGovernment services
• establishing local policies and by-laws that shape the use of local physical infrastructure assets
• as regional drivers of economic and community development.

Coordinating a planning framework

Local government associations are working hard in each state and territory to develop a coordinated planning framework; some associations already having developed action plans. These plans will help align the activities of local governments, commercial telecommunications carriers, government agencies and other stakeholders in the roll-out of broadband services in each state and territory.

Principles

To guide the implementation of the action, local government will apply the following principles:

Working together and sharing responsibilities

It is vital that local government work together with local community opinion leaders and organisations in order to achieve sustained outcomes. ALGA and the state and territory local government associations have an important role in promoting and enabling collaboration, particularly at the regional level.

It is important to build upon the initiatives and programs of local government authorities that complement the objectives of the action plan.

Building on local government strengths

The development of strategic capacity building initiatives will support local government in promoting the access and uptake of broadband by both local councils and the community. In this instance, the importance of conducting planning at the local level and assessing capacity building opportunities that assist local councils to meet the needs of the community will be emphasised.

Action items

The design of action items listed in this plan is to progress the role of local government in facilitating, utilising and delivering of broadband services across Australia within a structured, coordinated development framework.

1. Promoting the value of online content and services to both local government and the community
   • The Australian Local Government Association, in concert with the state and territory associations, should actively promote the development and use of broadband applications and services across local government as a means of improving service delivery to the community and achieving productivity gains across the sector.
   • The Australian Local Government Association and state and territory associations should actively support public libraries in the development and delivery of electronic library services to promote lifelong learning, re-skilling, economic development and social growth in the community.
   • The Australian Local Government Association and the state and territory associations should provide a structured online services development framework as a guide for local government investment and utilisation of broadband applications and infrastructure.
   • The Australian Local Government Association and the state and territory associations should use broadband applications to deliver services to members and councils, thus demonstrating the practical application and benefits of the technology.
2. Aggregating demand to facilitate the availability of affordable broadband access
   • The Australian Local Government Association and state and territory associations should develop strategies and provide information to local government on broadband demand aggregation and funding opportunities, thereby assisting in the development of proposals to infrastructure developers and government agencies for the provision of broadband services in its region.
   • State and territory local government associations should develop strategies to aggregate local government demand for broadband applications and services, supporting more favourable broadband pricing and product licensing regions across the sector.
   • State and territory associations should develop specific strategies to facilitate broadband connectivity for individual local governments that, due to physical location or population density, are unlikely to attract commercial services providers to the area.
   • State and territory associations should develop a model business structure and contractual guidelines for use by local governments entering into public/private partnerships and other collaborative arrangements with commercial infrastructure providers for the delivery of broadband in their area.
3. Promoting collaboration between government agencies, communities and commercial services providers
   • The Australian Local Government Association through its membership of the National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group should actively participate in the implementation of the overall Government Action Plan.
   • The Australian Local Government Association should collaborate with the Australian Library and Information Association to develop strategies for improving communities' access to broadband.
4. Establishing policy and strategy guidelines for the coordinated development of broadband infrastructure
   • State and territory associations, in conjunction with their respective state and territory governments should develop relevant planning regulations and operational guidelines to provide consistency to infrastructure providers.
5. Raising the skills and awareness of broadband users
   • The Australian Local Government Association and state and territory associations should encourage and support local governments in their role in informing and educating the community on the information economy and in enhancing the skills of Internet users.

For information regarding local government and information technology, please contact: