AUSTEL inquiry into telecommunications access

November 1996

Summary

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) wishes to state that the library and information sector has a vital role in the development of effective information networks in Australia. The submission stresses that in order to meet the needs of the various communities which this sector services, libraries required good connectivity to narrowband and broadband telecommunications networks, and that the principle of having declared services must be outcome-focused rather than process-focused to ensure that the principle of equity in the access to information and other social justice issues can be upheld.

Attached is a press release by the American Library Association on the implementation of new plans for public access to online services through public libraries.

The Australian Library and Information Association represents over 8000 individual and institutional members from all areas of the library and information sector. This sector services a broad cross-section of community, business, education, and research groups across Australia and we seek to ensure the best possible outcomes for the communities which this sector services. Libraries act as access points and access providers to the wide range of information available through online services such as the Internet, electronic catalogues and digital archives. The demand for these services has expanded rapidly, and libraries have sought to keep pace with this demand within organisations and the wider community.

The library and information sector has an essential role in providing universal public access to networked information to ensure that there is equity in access to information for the wider community, and has a stake in the provision of a quality telecommunications service to all Australians. Librarians, as information professionals are able to successfully guide users through the vast array of information available. They are familiar with current technology and are well positioned to utilise new information technologies as they are developed. However, librarians and libraries are reliant on good connectivity to telecommunications infrastructure in order to meet their clients information needs.

Libraries in all sectors will require both broadband and narrowband telecommunications links. It has been noted by a number of government committees and inquiries, such as the Economics Reference Committee and the Broadband Services Expert Group, that it would be expedient to link public libraries to broadband digital links as soon as possible, and that telecommunications links to narrowband data networks should be implemented with some urgency. To this end, the Association would welcome a re-evaluation of what constitutes declared services in order to better meet the needs of the wider community. In principle, the identification of declared services must be outcome-focused rather than process-focused. Individuals living in regional, rural and remote communities should be able to have access to the same minimum standards of service capability and ease of access to information as those who live in metropolitan centres. This principle should be independent of developments in communication technology so that the most suitable technical and/or technological solutions can always be employed.

A key requirement for libraries in relation to telecommunications services is equity in their ability to services the information needs of their clients. To do this, it will be important to ensure that market and technology driven demands are balanced against social justice issues. The access to information sources will continue to have increasing importance for social interaction and for the practice of business. Narrowband telecommunications services such as facsimile, the Internet and touch dialling services are already important for library users in remote and regional Australia, where library services can provide a vital link to information sources which may be physically distant from the end user. Likewise, connectivity to broadband services will also be important as these services develop.

Improvements in the coverage of telecommunications services have a beneficial flow-on effect to all communities, though at present remote and isolated communities stand to benefit most from upgrading the current telecommunications infrastructure to extend the coverage of increasingly common non-voice uses of the existing telecommunications networks. Libraries, whether servicing remote or metropolitan areas, are able to use telecommunications networks to meet the information needs of their users. Users accessing this information are in turn be able to develop vital information-related skills. By providing universal access to these services, remote communities will have the ability to significantly reduce their current degree of isolation.

In part, technological developments will assist in addressing these issues. However, remote and isolated communities are still waiting for telephone services which the majority of the population take for granted, such as guaranteed connections and private lines. This problem must not be bypassed or ignored due to the differences in economies of scale between metropolitan centres and isolated regions. The principles of the Universal Service Obligation must be maintained, and bodies such as AUSTEL and the ACCC must ensure that current gaps in the infrastructure should not be used as an excuse for the failure to provide adequate and fairly priced services in the future. In its capacity as an advisory body, the Telecommunications Access Forum (TAF) must be responsive to the needs of the communities who depend on telecommunications services. To do this, organisations representing stakeholders should be identified and regularly consulted by the TAF on issues under consideration. Stakeholders should be defined in the broadest way.

Access must not be effectively blocked through prohibitive pricing structures for telecommunications services. For example, the physical ability to 'dial-up' the Internet does not provide true equity in access if rural and remote users are required to pay time-charged STD rates for connectivity, while users in metropolitan areas are only required to pay for the flat-rate cost of a local call. Safeguards should be in place to ensure that services to communities provided through libraries, which increasingly rely on the telecommunications network, are geographically and socially equitable, and that the principles of the Universal Service Obligation is maintained. Specifically, the proposal for Universal Service Scheme which is being discussed in the United States should be evaluated. This scheme looks specifically at supports for public access to online services, particularly through libraries and schools (see attachment).

The Association wishes to emphasise the important role which libraries play in the development of an effective information network. The concept of a Standard Telephone Service provided via the Universal Service Obligation has generated vital infrastructure throughout Australia, providing most Australians with accessible lines of communication. It has fostered the development of innovative technologies in order to provide basic access to remote and isolated communities. The future needs of these same communities cannot be met with the infrastructure currently available to them, and the Government must not abrogate its responsibility in providing infrastructure to meet the new definition of basic needs.