TJA has invited a number of experts to contribute papers on early experiences with high-speed broadband, as the major theme for TJA's February 2013 edition. This guest editorial provides the motivation for the theme, and an overview of the eight papers selected on this theme.
Increasing access to Information and Communication Technologies, and a growing awareness of the role that the Internet plays in enabling participation in the democratic process has highlighted the importance of ensuring that all government and parliamentary websites are accessible to all Australians. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which the Australian Government is a signatory, recognises the role that web accessibility plays in a democratic society through Article 9 focusing on accessibility and Article 29, which protects the right of people with disability to participate in political and public life. However, the review of major Australian political party websites reported in this paper reveals a mismatch between Australia?s commitment to accessibility and the reality. This paper reports the findings of the review and presents a case study on the redesign of the Dignity for Disability website as a roadmap for web developers on practical strategies for redesigning websites to meet international web accessibility guidelines.
2013 marks the tenth anniversary of the United Nations? World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Although neither a forum focussed exclusively on ?Internet governance? nor the first discussion of the topic, WSIS marked the start of a global, decade-long debate on how the Internet is, and should be, managed. A decade later, the Internet has grown exponentially, bringing about massive cultural, social and economic change. And yet, many of the political and policy issues around its governance largely remain the same and are regularly debated in a wide range of fora. This article draws upon historical experiences in the Internet governance debate to explain and assess current discussions and to cast a wary eye into the future.
The re-farming of spectrum (i.e. its reassignment to services with a higher value), triggered by free-to-air television digitisation and the switch-off of analogue TV, represents a significant microeconomic reform. Digitisation has already transformed the television industry, and analogue TV switch-off will yield a ?digital dividend? for wireless broadband as well as further benefits to television itself. With soaring growth projections for mobile data traffic creating pressure for further spectrum allocations for wireless broadband, lessons learned from the digital dividend process are liable to influence government approaches to spectrum re-farming in future. This article considers the development, over two decades, of an original policy ?blueprint? for TV digitisation in Australia as a case-study in spectrum re-farming. While it is too early to judge its full effects, some preliminary lessons are drawn from the various approaches that have been considered and adopted or discarded along the way.
‘.cat’, the generic top level domain (gTLD) designed to fulfil the needs of the worldwide Catalan speaking community on the Internet, has been praised as a success in the Internet domain name sector after seven years of operation. So much so that some long established TLDs have started to develop a similar community approach and use language as a market segmentation tool to engage new registrants. It has been also an inspiration for new geographical and community based gTLD applications. This paper discusses what led to .cat’s success, including its governance arrangements, and how some new gTLDs that will soon be delegated by ICANN could benefit from its business strategy.
Based on the subject matter canvassed in this issue of the TJA, three initiatives are proposed to stimulate early and wide take-up of the NBN and accelerate its economic and social dividend.
Online education is growing rapidly due to faster Internet connections, a higher uptake of broadband Internet and greater IT literacy. However, effective online education can only be achieved through a considered approach that connects learners through collaboration, interaction, participation, personalisation and productivity. Swinburne Online is a recent player in the field of online education and is borne through a partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and SEEK Limited. Swinburne Online provides a model of online education that adheres to state of the art research. It uses Gilly Salmon's five stage model of online learning combined with a supportive environment for learners. The venture to date has seen a rapid development of online courses but has not been without challenges.
This editorial provides a brief history of initiatives taken within the Australian telecommunications industry since 1980 to assist people with major disabilities to remain 'connected' via modern telecommunications. It provides background to the annual Telstra-TJA Christopher Newell Prize competition, running since 2010, and concludes by announcing the winners of the 2013 Telstra-TJA Christopher Newell Prize competition.
The Australian Labor Government's National Broadband Network plan to fund the rollout of a fibre-to-the-premises network that will serve 93 percent of premises represents a level of government intervention towards achieving a goal of ubiquitous high-speed broadband that almost no other national government has been prepared to make. Its supporters, here and abroad, point to its national benefits and its international leadership. Its detractors, particularly the Australian Parliamentary Opposition, cite the uniqueness of the undertaking and its creation of a monopoly in fixed access infrastructure as evidence of its foolhardiness. This article examines the views of a selection of national governments on the desirability of ubiquitous high speed broadband and any plans or policies in place to achieve this. It concludes that most governments share the same goal of eventual ubiquitous high-speed broadband access for their citizens, and notes that 82 percent of investment in FTTX in 2012-17 in the world?s developed countries is estimated to be in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH). But their current policies reflect their starting points as much as their preferred time frames ? and their ideologically preferred means of achieving their national goals.
Increasing access to Information and Communication Technologies, and a growing awareness of the role that the Internet plays in enabling participation in the democratic process has highlighted the importance of ensuring that all government and parliamentary websites are accessible to all Australians. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which the Australian Government is a signatory, recognises the role that web accessibility plays in a democratic society through Article 9 focusing on accessibility and Article 29, which protects the right of people with disability to participate in political and public life. However, the review of major Australian political party websites reported in this paper reveals a mismatch between Australia’s commitment to accessibility and the reality. This paper reports the findings of the review and presents a case study on the redesign of the Dignity for Disability website as a roadmap for web developers on practical strategies for redesigning websites to meet international web accessibility guidelines. accessibility guidelines. The paper provides a roadmap for web developers on practical strategies for redesigning websites to ensure they are accessible to a diverse user population. The background section of this paper provides a review of the relevant literature relating to the Australian Government’s responsibilities as a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The review also describes the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG
The increasing availability of mobile technologies incorporating universal design features has provided a more affordable assistive technology solution for many people with disabilities. However, several authors caution that there are possible negative by-products associated with this trend, highlighting the need for further research into the benefits and challenges of using mainstream devices as assistive technologies. This paper reports the interim findings of a project involving the trial of iPads with two participant co-researchers who have physical disabilities and ten residents of a high support institution for people with disabilities. The project methodology involved: 1) evaluation of participants? use of the devices; 2) pre- and post-intervention testing using goal attainment scaling; 3) training and ongoing support in use of the device; and 4) analysis of user satisfaction with the iPad using a modified version of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology instrument. The study contributes to the growing evidence-base exploring the potential of mainstream mobile devices as assistive technologies and highlights areas for further research and development.
In June 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) embarked upon an ambitious program of expansion at the top-level of the DNS. The policy underpinning expansion is notable for its adoption of new mechanisms that target the unauthorised use in new gTLDs of names the subject of legal – in particular trademark – rights. These mechanisms are the product of several years of policy development and implementation; they are proof of the functioning of ICANN’s unique multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance. Yet even as new top-level domains near the launch phase, questions remain as to the scope and mechanics of rights protection offered by agreed-upon mechanisms. A ‘strawman solution’ emerged at the end of 2012 to address these questions. This article examines the ‘strawman solution’, the rights protection mechanisms it seeks to clarify, and the ICANN organisational structure and operational processes into which it does not perfectly fit.
This paper reports initial findings from two of the latest research projects commissioned by Innovation and Business Skills Australia. Studies into digital literacy and adoption of information technology and broadband services at three of the earliest NBN release sites, Armidale (NSW), Brunswick (Vic) and Scottsdale (Tas), show that the readiness of small businesses and regions to compete in the Digital Economy is affected by their ability to acquire specific ICT skills. Whilst the study results are not unexpected, and although priority skill sets are identified, the backdrop to these studies is likely to be of most interest. It is argued that while national effort to address affordable access is being advanced, efforts to raise the skills necessary to effectively utilise the opportunities on offer are not always keeping pace with demand. This has important implications for the National Digital Economy Strategy, as effective competition in the Digital Economy is primarily a function of two factors: affordable access to ICT, and, critically, the skills to effectively use the technology and services.
The New Zealand Government Ultrafast Broadband Initiative has been in progress now for a little over two years. Are its intended goals being achieved? As at December 2012, the rollout is essentially on schedule, even though there have been some challenges. In particular, the Government specified that most priority customers within the candidate areas should be addressed by the end of 2015 and this appears to be on track. Take-up of services by these customers is also progressing well. The paper provides a brief review of three of the ways the UFB is being used to enhance the outcomes for business, education and healthcare. Residential coverage is also progressing, but the take-up is low at this point of time as suitable services are only just emerging from the Retail Service Provider community. Overall it is assessed that the 10 year programme of work is delivering on expectations at this point in time, but there is still a long way to go and there are likely to be many challenges and perhaps a few surprises ahead.
High-speed broadband networks are an essential element in today’s society, and access should be available on an equitable basis, worldwide. The infrastructure should have the same fundamental importance as the infrastructure associated with transport, power and water supply. This paper explores how that goal can be achieved, and describes the work being done by the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development. The Commission is working towards making broadband cost-effective and affordable to all, and towards increasing Internet user penetration in developing, as well as developed, countries. It is currently leading a trans-sectoral project aimed at the worldwide eradication of malaria, which will use digital technology such as smartphones to enable cohesive, trans-sector communications.
Subtitles are text versions of the speech content of television and other audiovisual media. The paper discusses the results of a survey of deaf people in Poland and the UK on their experiences of, attitudes to and requirements for subtitles, including for the representation of emotions and contextual features. The results demonstrated the importance of subtitles, and that they considerably improved comprehension for the great majority of respondents. The overwhelming majority preferred verbatim subtitles, but attitudes to other suggested features were very varied, indicating the need for subtitle personalisation. This has not been considered previously and would now be feasible due to advances in technology.
