IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

A truly amazing transformation has taken place in the first decade of the 21st Century – the power of communicating with the world has been put into the hands (literally) of the great majority of people on this planet.

Statistics from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) show that in 2000, there were about 500 million subscriptions to mobile phones worldwide. Now, at the start of 2011, there are some 5.5 billion, and the number is rising fast in developing countries in particular. Almost one billion mobile subscribers use 3G mobile services, and altogether there are more than two billion users of the internet by fixed and mobile means.

The official was delivering the topic “Information policies and information”, under the panel “ICT as a vector of economic and social development”, as part of the ongoing forum on information and communication forum.

According to Aristides Safeca, the white paper comprises a set of practical pillars of what the legislative reform is about, hence the need for the creation of conditions giving all Angolans access to broadband services alike almost everywhere in Africa.

According to Yañez, BGH has already finished 10 projects, deploying infrastructure for digital communities in the Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, La Rioja, Chaco and Tierra del Fuego provinces.

Most of these projects were specific connectivity deployments for small towns and some universities campuses.

In its Mactan Cebu Declaration, ICT ministers from member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said they are working towards the implementation of the proposed ASEAN Broadband Corridor and the establishment of an ASEAN Internet Exchange Network by 2015 to facilitate sharing of resources among Internet providers to improve access speed and lower costs.

Korea topped the Gartner study with 93 percent penetration in 2007, with this figure expected to hit 97 percent in 2012.

Of all the world's developing countries, Afghanistan may be the poster child for an economy struggling to emerge from the abyss of chaos. Following centuries of foreign occupation, the legacy includes rampant poverty, obliterated infrastructure and perhaps the greatest concentration of land mines on earth.

So when it comes to rebuilding countries like Afghanistan, one could be forgiven for questioning whether broadband should be a priority. Absent such basic infrastructures as water, sanitation and roads, should luxuries like broadband wait? If not, what role should broadband play? Can it somehow jump-start economies that have stalled or, like Afghanistan's, hit rock bottom?

He said, "These exciting initiatives will help demonstrate how important high-speed broadband is to the future of healthcare and highlight why it should be rolled out to all Australians".

Australia ranks last for affordable broadband internet among developed nations, and experts say it’s yet more evidence that the taxpayer-funded National Broadband Network (NBN) is failing to deliver for consumers and the economy.

Rankings compiled by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library and released this week revealed that Australia places 36th – last – when it comes to broadband affordability in OECD nations.

AARNet has unveiled plans to connect hundreds of homes for the first time over the National Broadband Network as part of several research trials it has lined up across the country.

The connections will mark the first time the research internet service provider has directly served broadband to residents that are not staff or students of a university.

Its private network has typically been used to connect universities, research institutions and more recently TAFE colleges and some high schools with high-speed broadband.

Aged and palliative care are two of the key focus areas for a $20.6 million pilot program announced by the federal government in April. The national broadband network enabled Telehealth Pilots Program will provide funding for innovative schemes over the next two years.

The government hopes that the ability to harness technology to support high quality palliative care in home or aged care settings could deliver massive economic benefits, while responding to patient preferences regarding their ability to die in their own homes.

According to Dr Terry Cutler, chairman of the ARC Centre for Excellence in Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) and principal of Cutler & Company, a nationwide e-health platform could help overcome looming staff shortages and rising costs in the healthcare sector.

“National health budgets are escalating out of control and we are spending $100 billion a year on healthcare,” says Dr Cutler. “Health experts predict that we will face major skills shortage in the sector - but employing more staff is not the answer, as there is little correlation between the number of doctors and health outcomes.

The ceo of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), Ian Birks told iTWire; “There’s not an awful lot in this budget for our industry.” However he acknowledged that there could be some programmes in other sectors which would have a residual flow on effect for ICT companies given the foundation role that information systems play in all modern businesses.

He nevertheless believed the 2011-12 Budget delivered a “solid platform” particularly in terms of continued support for the National Broadband Network and e-health initiatives.

Telehealth is a technological application between medical professionals and patients that allows easier communications between all parties, which has been an important development to address the problems in remote areas of Australia where patients are not necessarily in the vicinity of a medical specialist.

The Australian Medical Association today highlighted a lack of data transfer protocols as one of the chief barriers to effective, electronic healthcare provision.

Addressing a Parliamentary Inquiry on the role and potential of a National Broadband Network, AMA vice president Steven Hambleton said non-network barriers were holding back electronic information transfer.

Liberal MP and former Optus executive Paul Fletcher has delivered a stinging attack on the ambitious technology projects of the Labor Government, arguing Australia has not learned lessons from numerous failed IT projects in the private and public sector.

Fletcher savaged the National Broadband Network (NBN), the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) project, and the ‘one PC per student’ Digital Education Revolution in a speech to a conference of technology journalists on the Gold Coast Sunday.

It will meet amid concerns that overstretched communications networks will shortly no longer be able to meet its needs and the national broadband network (NBN) may not deliver the fast, reliable broadband system the Service needs.

“Due to the remote areas in which we operate, the Flying Doctor has always been innovative and embraced new technology,” said Mrs Joan Treweeke, President RFDS SE Section.

Increased government leadership is needed to successfully implement e-health initiatives across the entire healthcare sector, as opposed to individual providers, a House of Representatives committee has found.

In its report into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network (NBN), the infrastructure and communications committee found that while the NBN will play a significant role in improving the implementation of e-health systems, challenges remain in gaining wider change.

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said $20.3 million had been provided to support the projects.

“These exciting initiatives will help demonstrate how important high-speed broadband is to the future of healthcare and highlight why it should be rolled out to all Australians,” Senator Conroy said.

A high speed national broadband network could create new business models for hospitals, enabling them to expand services provision beyond their local area, potentially reaching patients both nationally and internationally, according to telco analyst, Paul Budde.

In a recent blog post, Budde noted how high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Network (NBN) could lead to the creation of 'e-hospitals'.

These are some of the innovations experts expect to see in Australian homes by 2021, although there are already fears that, altogether, they'll require more speed than offered by current National Broadband Network plans.