IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

Senior University representatives have presented a submission to Federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, to get the National Broadband Network (NBN) rolled out early to the NSW North Coast.

The federal Government has endorsed a telemedicine trial by Victorian health authorities, using videoconferencing technology that has already been used successfully in NSW.

The 12-month trial, which began last December but was unveiled by Communications Minister Senator Conroy at Victoria's Alfred Hospital last night, will allow Melbourne medical specialists to use videoconferencing systems to assess patients in regional trauma and critical care units up to 600 km away.

The $4.7 billion fibre to the node “broadband for all” idea is one of the main planks of the ALP’s election platform and the leader of the ALP talks about it every day, in every way, in every shopping mall.

"If we took that approach to our roads, we would just turn every road into a 20-line highway," he told a government law and media conference.

Doctors already involved in Australia's embryonic telemedicine sector, which allows patients to consult specialists hundreds or thousands of kilometres away, say the Government's plans to build a $43 billion national fibre-optic network is a good first step to encourage further roll-out of such hi-tech services.

Australia is already a strong services economy with proven strengths in the financial sector, education, tourism and health.

The new national broadband network will play an important role in enabling and extending each of these sectors, allowing us to develop innovative systems we can take to the world.

The projects include $2.48 million toward a South Australian Digital Telehealth Network project aimed improving the state’s distance consultation services – including 24/7 triage and liaison services – and $1.8 million for a NSW Ambulance clinical outreach program for new medical record, administration and e-learning systems at 190 ambulance stations.

The projects are part of the Digital Regions Initiative and will be linked to the rollout of the National Broadband Network.

The trials will focus on telehealth services for older Australians with chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease.

Services available through the project include monitoring of wellbeing indicators such as blood pressure and glucose levels, home video consultations and healthy living coaching.

This election put broadband on the national agenda; there aren’t many other countries in the world where this important element of national infrastructure has been so widely debated.

The federal government will pour $270.7 million into regional broadband incentives, two weeks after it attempted to use the funds for its National Broadband Network (NBN).

The funds for the Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) will be tipped in over the next four years to provide Internet access solutions including satellite and wireless to regional Australia.

Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy will have his hands full getting the NBN across the line That was the promised $4.7 billion public investment to ensure that Australia got a national high-speed broadband network. This certainly sounded good, bolstering Labor's claim to have a grip on the future in contrast to a government stuck in the past.

They are urging the government to ensure they don't, as fears grow that the Gillard government's post-election pledge of a uniform nationwide price faces a major challenge.

As the government yesterday insisted the National Broadband Network would facilitate its e-health initiatives, the National Rural Health Alliance said it was crucial that the model used for postage stamps -- where a single price was used nationwide -- was applied to the NBN.

It is my absolute pleasure to be here today for the launch of a project that demonstrates the digital revolution taking place in healthcare.

Congratulations to Precedence Health Care, Barwon Health and all of the partners in this very impressive project.

"The Rudd government has announced that AU$270.7 million will be made available to fund the Australian Broadband Guarantee program until June 2012," said Conroy in a statement. "It is important that all Australians have equitable access to broadband, both while the network is being rolled out, and in those most remote areas that the new [fibre-to-the-node] network may not cover," he said.

Existing services will be expanded and new videoconferencing facilities built to boost access to doctors and nurses in the bush -- and also ease pressure in cities through innovations such as home care for the elderly, remote monitoring of chronic conditions and routine tele-health check-ups.

And the Gillard government isn't waiting for the National Broadband Network to push the initiative, despite committing a further $4 million for telehealth trials at "first release" sites in NSW this month.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) has received further endorsement with Australian government CIO, Ann Steward, saying the project will open up “huge opportunities” for service delivery.

Before being appointed federal CIO, Steward had worked on e-government projects in the UK and described her experience with a similar broadband network as “fantastic”.

“What a great thing the NBN will be,” Steward said. “From my life in the UK and having worked with colleagues with an NBN-equivalent over there, it is fantastic.”

Australian Governments of all levels have jointly released a framework to accelerate the development and use of broadband in Australia to ensure the country remains domestically and internationally competitive.

The Framework for the collaborative development and use of broadband in Australia was released by representatives at the 16th meeting of the Online and Communications Council (OCC) in Melbourne.

Cooperation between the various levels of Government and industry bodies will be required to drive forth digital economic reform, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has said.

Speaking at the closing of the Realising our Broadband Future forum in Sydney, Conroy outlined the Government's plans for ideas and content generated in the two-day physical and virtual gabfest.

This isn't a new notion. Economist Joshua Gans raised it over a year ago at a Senate Select Committee hearing in Melbourne. He suggested the government provides free access to a basic internet service that included public services.

The next step should be the appointment of a powerful CIO/CTO who should be involved in identifying what Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) will be required to deliver these trans-sector services via the NBN. A detailed trans-sectoral e-strategies report should also be developed under his/her leadership. KPIs should be set for each sector and this hopefully will lead to innovative and competitive action from the departments in developing their own policies on how best to deliver their services via the NBN.