Affordability and 21st century telecommunications services
Main Article Content
Keywords
Telecommunications, affordability, low-income
Abstract
One of the central goals of ACCAN’s 2013 Affordability Roundtable was to kick-start a broader discussion around the affordability of telecommunications products and services, encouraging new and innovative social programs and industry-wide models which can be employed to alleviate the affordability divide. Research indicates that low-income consumers pay a significantly higher proportion of their income for telecommunications access than the majority of Australians, and that this affordability divide between low and higher income Australians is creating barriers to connectivity for many low-income consumers This paper is intended as a continuation of that broader discussion and builds upon the ideas first developed in the article Improving Affordability of Communications: Research and Policy Directions published in the AJTDE in 2013. This article encourages the conversation through an interrogation of the current affordability initiatives, both domestic and international, and proposes new initiatives and safety net programs that can assist low-income Australians to be digitally connected.
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References
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Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2014. ‘Personal Internet Use’, 8146.0 – Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2012-13, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0Chapter32012-13
Australian Communications and Media Authority. 2014. Communications report 2013-14, http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/Library/Corporate-library/Corporate-publications/communications-report
Australian Communications and Media Authority. 2015. ‘USO Obligations’, Carriers and service providers, last updated 27 February 2015, accessed 10 April 2015, http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Telco/Carriers-and-service-providers/Obligations/universal-service-obligation-obligations-i-acma
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 2015. ACCC Telecommunications Report 2013-14, https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/906_ACCC%20Telecommunications%20reports%202013%E2%80%9314_Minister%20approval.pdf
Australian Government. 2013. Department of Communications. Broadband Availability and Quality Report, http://www.communications.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/212535/Broadband_Availability_and_Quality_Report.pdf
Australian Government. 2015. Carrier Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration 1997, at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2015C00031
Bibao-Osorio, B; Dutta, S; Lanvin, B (eds). 2014. The World Economic Forum, The Global Information Technology Report 2014: Rewards and Risks of Big Data, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalInformationTechnology_Report_2014.pdf
BT. 2015. ‘BT Basics’, Phones & Services, accessed 15 April 2015, http://www.bt.com/includingyou/bt-basic-broadband.html
Eardley, T; Bruce, J; Goggin, G. 2009. Telecommunications and Community Wellbeing: A review of the literature on access and affordability for low-income and disadvantaged groups, SPRC Report 09/09, (pp. 1 - 50), Social Policy Research Centre: University of NSW.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 2015. Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers, last updated 31 March 2014, accessed 10 April 2015, http://www.fcc.gov/lifeline.
Goggin, G. (2014) ‘New ideas for digital affordability: Is a paradigm shift possible?’ Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Vol. 2, No. 2, Jun 2014: [4.1]-[4.16]
Gross, G. 2015. FCC proposal would extend Lifeline voice subsidy to broadband, last updated 29 May 2015, accessed 30 June 2015, http://www.techworld.com.au/article/576092/fcc-proposal-would-extend-lifeline-voice-subsidy-broadband/
Humphry, J. 2014. Homeless and Connected: Mobile phones and the Internet in the lives of homeless Australians, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Sydney.
Lewin, D; Milne, C. 2010. 'Are telecommunications services universally affordable across the EU? An independent assessment for Vodafone', http://www.vodafone.com/content/dam/vodafone/about/public_policy/affordability_plum.pdf
Liberal Party of Australia. 2013. ‘The Coalition’s Plan for E-Government and the Digital Economy’, http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/assets/Coalitions_Policy_for_E-Government_and_the_Digital_Economy_%282%29.pdf
Milne, C. 2006. 'Improving affordability of telecommunications: cross-fertilisation between the developed and the developing world', Telecommunications Policy Research Conference 2006, George Mason University, Virginia, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2104397
Morsillo, Robert. 2012. ‘Broadband affordability in Australia: looking beyond availability’. Telecommunications Journal of Australia 62 (5): 80.1-80.16. Available from http://tja.org.au.
Ofcom. 2014. 'Results of research into consumer views on the importance of communications services and their affordability', http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/affordability/affordability_report.pdf
Turnbull, M. 2014 ‘Affordability the Biggest Barrier to Broadband Access’ http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/affordability-the-biggest-barrier-to-broadband-access
Saunders, P; Bradbury, B; Wong, M. 2014. Poverty in Australia 2014, Australian Council of Social Services, Sydney, http://www.acoss.org.au/images/uploads/ACOSS_Poverty_in_Australia_2014.pdf
South Australian Council of Social Services. 2013. Cost of Living Update, No. 14, June Quarter 2013.
Telstra. 2015. ‘Access for Everyone’, Community & Environment, accessed 10 April 2015, http://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/community-environment/community-programs/access-for-everyone/
Telstra. 2013. 2013 LIMAC Report to the Minister, http://www.telstra.com.au/uberprod/groups/webcontent/@corporate/@aboutus/documents/document/uberstaging_280982.pdf.
Telstra. 2014. ‘Bigger Picture 2014 – Community impact’, Accessed at http://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/community-environment/reports/
TracFone Wireless Inc. 2015. ‘FAQ Mine Page’, Safelink Wireless, accessed 8 April 2015, https://www.safelinkwireless.com/safelink/program_info/faq/faqoverview.
Wise, S. 2013. Trying to connect: Telecommunications access and affordability among people experiencing financial hardship, Anglicare Victoria & Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Accessed at http://accan.org.au/Telecommunications%20access%20and%20affordability%20among%20people%20experiencing%20financial%20hardship.pdf
Article Sidebar
Published
Jul 1, 2015
Article Details
How to Cite
Pavlidis, K., & Hawkins, W. (2015). Affordability and 21st century telecommunications services. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 3(2), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v3n2.10
Issue
Section
Telecommunications
Copyright Telecommunications Association Inc.
Author Biographies
Katerina Pavlidis
Katerina Pavlidis joined the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network in October 2012 after completing her honours thesis in sociology. As the grants and research officer, Katerina administers ACCAN’s annual grants scheme ensuring that the projects achieve the highest quality and the greatest impact for Australian telecommunications consumers. Katerina also works on privacy policy issues.Wayne Hawkins
Wayne Hawkins joined ACCAN in 2010 as Disability Policy Advisor, and has led ACCAN’s work on telecommunications access for consumers with disability, telecommunications affordability and emergency services. Prior to joining ACCAN Wayne was National Policy officer with Blind Citizens Australia. Wayne is a doctoral candidate at Sydney University researching Australian telecommunications and disability policies.
