Submission to the independent Telecommunications Service Inquiry

31 May 2000

Mr Tim Besley AO
Chair
Telecommunications Service Inquiry
Locked Bag 2000
Kingston ACT 2604

Dear Mr Besley

Telecommunications Service Inquiry

As an organisation championing access to information for all Australians, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Telecommunications Service Inquiry.

ALIA is the professional association for the Australian library and information sector. It was established in 1937 and has some 6 500 individual and 1 500 institutional members, many of whom are located in regional, rural and remote areas. ALIA seeks to promote the free flow of information and ideas in the interest of all Australians and a thriving culture, economy and democracy and to promote and improve the services of libraries and information agencies. This submission has been prepared in consultation with ALIA members.

The library and information sector plays an important role in providing public access to networked information. Hence it has a stake in ensuring that there is equity in access to information through the provision of a quality telecommunications service for all Australians.

This submission focuses on the terms of reference as set out below.

(a) Those services required to be made available on an equitable basis to all Australians under the Government's legislated Universal Service Obligation (USO)

The library and information sector has a crucial role to play in fulfilling the USO. Libraries and information services 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 through libraries and public libraries in particular, is expanding rapidly. In the twelve months to November 1999, 800 000 people accessed the Internet through public libraries (ABS: 8147.0 Use of the Internet by Householders, Australia, Nov. 1999). To meet client information needs and client expectations library and information service personnel rely on good connectivity to telecommunications infrastructure.

Library professionals working in non-metropolitan areas are acutely aware that basic telecommunications service continues to be unsatisfactory within a number of rural, regional and remote regions. In some areas lack of access or unsustainable connections to a telecommunications service, expensive call charges, high infrastructure costs, delayed response times and lack of appropriate bandwidth availability restrict the services and facilities that can be made available by libraries to remote and isolated communities.

The announcement on 31 May 2000 by the Minister for Communication, Information Technology and the Arts and the Minister for Transport and Regional Services that the Federal Government is to fund regional telecommunications projects for rural, regional and isolated communities is a most important undertaking for provision of equitable access to electronic and digital information resources for all Australians. However equitable access to such information resources can only be achieved insofar as projects funded through the scheme address issues which currently restrict access in rural, regional and isolated communities, namely connectivity charges, response times and availability of appropriate bandwidth. Telecommunications service carriers who provide the technological infrastructure for online access have a responsibility to ensure that libraries can offer equitable access to online services for all Australians through the availability of connectivity and other support services at affordable rates.

(b) The nature and range of new and enhanced services being offered, or to be offered, by carriers and service providers

Libraries rely on the telecommunications network to provide community access to online services such as the Internet. However, a key requirement for libraries in relation to telecommunications services is equity in their ability to service the information needs of their clients, particularly clients in rural and isolated areas. Currently those clients are significantly disadvantaged because of major elements which impact on a library's ability to provide the service:

(i) Connectivity charges
The most pressing need for all rural and regional libraries is that they have access to the same Internet connection costs, speed and services available to libraries in metropolitan centres. Existing call zones present a costly barrier to communication in rural and remote areas, particularly for institutions such as public libraries that are publicly funded and not able to recoup communications costs through charges levied for services provided.

The physical ability to 'dial-up' the Internet does not provide equity of access for rural and remote users when they are required to pay time-charged STD rates for the connectivity which metropolitan users currently receive at the flat-rate cost of a local call. For example, where a metropolitan school may be online permanently, current costs in rural areas can mean that students rarely have the time to really explore and consolidate their learning using these technologies. New and enhanced telecommunication services should aim to ensure that all library communities, especially public and school libraries, using the telecommunications network to access information will be able to do so for the same connectivity fee.

The Federal Government recognises the need for affordable connectivity charges, and through the Internet Access Fund, an element of the Networking the Nation (NTN) program, has undertaken to ensure 'all Australians...have access to the Internet, at least equivalent to untimed local call access'. (Internet Access for Regional and Rural Australia, DCA, December 1999).

(ii) Availability of appropriate bandwidth and response times

Libraries 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. In isolated areas access to information resources will 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. Telecommunications services to regional, remote and isolated Australia need to carry the required bandwidth to enable access to the same services as provided in metropolitan areas.

Telecommunications service carriers provide the infrastructure which enables Australians to access online information resources. In the development of new and enhanced services telecommunications service carriers have a responsibility to ensure that all Australians have the same access through their libraries not only to equipment and facilities but also to connectivity and other technical support. In this way the disadvantages which are currently experienced by Australians living in remote and regional communities can be reduced so that all members of the Australian community will share equitable access to online information resources through libraries.

(c) Network rollout and upgrade and other investment plans by carriers which are likely to impact on services, particularly in regional, rural and remote Australia

(d) The current and likely future impact on services resulting from the delivery of the Government's Networking the Nation (NTN) program and Telstra 2 social bonus commitments

Traditionally, libraries uphold the principle of free access to information for all. Furthermore, libraries foster the cultural development of communities by providing access to information in many formats and by creating a focal point for community activities. This is very important in rural and isolated communities where opportunities to access information are limited. Libraries, especially public libraries and school libraries, may currently provide the only access point to online information equally available to all.

ALIA welcomes the increase in telecommunications infrastructure resulting from the latest round of grants through the Networking the Nation (NTN) program which seeks to increase the availability of online communications in rural, regional and remote Australia.

The NTN program has already played an important role in providing public library access to the Internet in the states. In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria public libraries now generally have access to the Internet as a result of an initial grant through the NTN program and through the State Government's funding arrangements for public libraries. Now Northern Territory public libraries are in line for connection.

The rollout of points of presence (POP) has been good. However there is now a need to complete the provision of connectivity at the same charge rates as metropolitan users. For example, five of South Australia's 136 public libraries do not have access to local call charges. Subsequently, in these libraries public access has had to be limited because of the expense of STD charges for connectivity. Equitable Internet access for all Australians, especially those in rural and remote regions, depends on the ability of all libraries to connect to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) at rates which are equivalent to current metropolitan area rates.

The Association also welcomes the announcement on 31 May 2000 by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts that Federal government funding is to be made available through the Farmwide Regional Access Network (FRAN) Internet Access for All project to deliver affordable online access to communities in rural and remote Australia.

This funding decision acknowledges that, in order to effectively reduce disparities in access to such services and facilities between Australians in regional, rural or remote areas and those in urban areas, infrastructure and connectivity costs must be made more equitable throughout the country. However, in developing enabling infrastructure it is important that the Federal Government remain mindful that equitable access to online information can only be achieved when connectivity charges are applied equally to remote, isolated users and metropolitan users.

The importance of the NTN program to libraries cannot be underestimated. The access to the Internet which has been provided through the program, has enabled many libraries to offer enhanced client services. The benefits of the NTN program to library services can only be fully realised, however, when telecommunications service carriers implement strategies that ensure equitable access to the equipment, connectivity and other support services necessary for Internet access for all Australians.

The Association thanks the Committee for considering its response to the inquiry. If you have any queries or require any further information about our response, please contact me on 0262158214.

Yours sincerely

Jennefer Nicholson
Executive director