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REGIONAL BROADBAND STRATEGIC PLAN

BROADBAND PROVISION IN RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS OF SOUTH-EASTERN NSW

September 2009

Report commissioned by Regional Development Australia Inc (formerly Capital Region Development Board Inc)

as part of the Regional Connections Project

David Anthony Telecommunications Planning and Development

Project funded by

Broadband Provision in South-Eastern NSW 2009

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 2 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 4

General Community Comments: ................................................................................................. 4 Major Findings ............................................................................................................................. 5 Major Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 5 Funding Opportunities and Recommendations ............................................................................ 6 Further Action .............................................................................................................................. 7

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 Community Consultation ............................................................................................................ 11

Structure of Consultations .......................................................................................................... 11 Community Consultation Summaries ........................................................................................ 11 Major findings from consultations by community ..................................................................... 13 Findings of community consultation by common issue/theme .................................................. 21 Possible Policy Responses to Findings ...................................................................................... 27

Recent Studies and Reports into Broadband Provision for Rural and Remote Communities ........................................................................................................................................................ 31

Beyond the Bush telegraph ........................................................................................................ 31 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC) ............................... 32 Broadband Development Network............................................................................................. 33

Emergency Services in the Region and Broadband Infrastructure ........................................ 35 Telecommunications (Broadband) Policy relating to Emergency Services in rural and remote communities ............................................................................................................................... 35 Digital Regions Funding Initiative Expression of Interest......................................................... 38

Mobile Broadband (NEXT G) Services in the Region .............................................................. 40 Coverage of Telstra’s Next G Network ...................................................................................... 40

Potential Federal and State Government Funding Programs ................................................. 43 The Community Broadband Development Fund (NSW Government) ..................................... 43 National Broadband Network (NBN) Initiative ......................................................................... 44 Digital Regions Initiative ........................................................................................................... 44 Natural Disaster Mitigation Program ......................................................................................... 45

Broadband Infrastructure Development for South East NSW ................................................ 47 Barriers to Infrastructure provision ............................................................................................ 47 Broadband Infrastructure Implementation Metrics .................................................................... 49 Backhaul..................................................................................................................................... 55 Community Telecommunication Transmission Towers ............................................................. 57

Local Government and Telecommunications Provision in the Region ................................... 63 Possible Partners for Future Broadband Related Projects in the Region .............................. 66

Broadcast Australia .................................................................................................................... 66 CSIRO ........................................................................................................................................ 66 Emergency Management Authority (EMA)/Monaro Emergency Control Forum ..................... 67 Telstra ......................................................................................................................................... 67 TransACT ................................................................................................................................... 68

Suggested Areas of Further Research Concerning Rural and Remote Telecommunications Provision in the Region ................................................................................................................ 69

Possible Research Topics ........................................................................................................... 69


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Glossary ........................................................................................................................................ 71 References ..................................................................................................................................... 72 Appendix: 1 ................................................................................................................................... 74 Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................................... 78 Appendix 3 .................................................................................................................................... 81


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Executive Summary

General Community Comments:

There was a surprising overall consistency in the issues raised during the community consultation meetings held in the region. The main concerns raised by communities included:

• The cost of Broadband services. There was a general awareness and concern that these rural and remote residents were paying far more than regional towns and metropolitan areas for a lesser quantity and quality of Broadband provision;

• Lack of ADSL cable broadband services outside of the larger towns and villages; For those with ADSL there were numerous cases where at certain times during the day service contention rates were slowing down their ADSL service to speeds slower than their previous dial – up services;

• Cost and quality of broadband services particularly satellite services; • Lack of mobile telephony and broadband coverage; • The lack of inter-carrier roaming for mobiles was a major issue- with some residents having

two SIM cards and some even with two phones so as to maximize their ability to receive mobile coverage in rural and remote areas of the region;

• There was a general realisation that lack of broadband was an impediment to economic and social development of the local community and surrounding area;

• There were numerous complaints about Government On-line services. Web pages seem to be designed for cable services rather than the slower access speeds found in rural and remote areas. As a result residents faced the double disadvantage of Government services being rationalized and difficult access to their on-line replacements thus - accentuating disadvantage rather than alleviating it.

• There was a common recognition of the need for low-bit rate web pages for government service delivery especially basic information services such as weather;

• Research and education was cited as the major use of the Internet followed by business; • Lack of access to computer related training; • Decreased safety because of poor telecommunication services especially relating to traffic

e.g. commuters driving home hitting kangaroos and wombats etc, Preparedness for bushfires both in terms of volunteer callouts, community warning and information provision for both the community and brigade members on the fire ground.

• The complexity of telecommunication access plans and billing rates was a major barrier both to the adoption and increased use of Broadband services. This was especially the view expressed by older first adopters.

• Residents expressed the view that government solutions should focus on the total telecommunications needs of residents including mobile phone coverage, digital television and radio services rather than just a narrow focus on Broadband Internet provision.


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Major Findings

• The roll out of Broadband services has generally been adequate in most of the urban areas

however there is a considerable lack of affordable broadband in the rural and remote areas of the region. The primary focus of the programs should be clearly on rural and remote areas excluding areas already serviced by ADSL or similar broadband technologies.

• Mobile coverage has improved slightly across the region. The Telstra Next G network upgrade has offered another significant though expensive broadband option. Some new towers have been built.

• Internet service in the rural and remote areas of the region is has improved slightly in the last four years but still remains limited with most of this demographic using satellite services, some wireless and larger than expected number still using slow dial up services.

Major Recommendations

• Infrastructure solutions should focus on providing solutions to the totality of rural and

remote communication needs. Though this project primarily focuses on Broadband solutions any proposed initiatives should also look at provision of other services especially mobile telephony, telecommunications for emergency service and digital television/radio provision. Environmental telemetry for land management may also be an emerging service that could also be catered for by uniform infrastructure provision. Not only would this approach yield economic synergies but also it would provide an enormous social benefit of providing a solution to the total telecommunication needs of residents of the region. With the increasing convergence of telecommunications services e.g. mobile broadband the traditional service focus of government policy that distinguishes between access to Internet, digital television/radio and mobile telephony should be abandoned for a broader focus.

• A basic policy goal for the majority of rural and remote areas of the region should be to aim for universal wireless broadband coverage for those areas unable to economically receive cable/fibre services under the proposed National Broadband Network Initiative (the 2-10%) This would be of great benefit both for the economic development of the region as well as enhancing the safety and social wellbeing of regional residents.

• Provision of widespread wireless coverage would free up valuable satellite bandwidth for those residents unable to economically receive higher quality/utility services also satellites as well as providing for increased network redundancy during emergencies.

• The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are currently planning the process of reallocating some spectrum in the 3.6 GHz frequency band which is suitable for local wireless broadband. A decision about how the bands should be allocated at some stage in 2009. A portion of the band should be made available for non-profit or community uses in rural and remote areas without specific licensing under a “class” or “private park” license.

• In large parts of the region mobile phone services are available from only one company. This is an effective monopoly this adds considerably to the danger of road travel and makes it difficult for visitors to conduct business. The Government should investigate implementing common overseas requirements for carriers to allow roaming on their


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networks. • The lack of access to backhaul infrastructure mapping is a major impediment to costing

solutions to individual communities. Despite repeated requests the project team was not given this data. For example the location of the optic fibre connecting rural and remote exchanges, and trunk backhaul routes. This lack of information is a serious impediment to initiatives designed to improve services in the region.

Funding Opportunities and Recommendations

• Regional Development Australia (RDA) (Capital Region and South Coast) should become the lead agency in advocating for improved telecommunications in the region.

• The first available funding opportunity to improve telecommunications in rural and remote areas of the region is the Federal Governments Digital Regions Initiative.

• The consultant for this report has prepared a Draft Expression of Interest for the submission of a funding application under the emergency services strand of the Initiative.

• This proposed funding application aims to improve broadband access to rural and remote fire sheds by constructing a number of transmission towers in areas that have no or marginal broadband coverage.

• Stage one will be a scoping study to identify individual tower locations, costings and justifications and to secure support from stakeholders.

• Stage two will be for construction of individual towers and supply of associated equipment. • Towers are the most appropriate infrastructure to facilitate broadband connectivity in these

areas. They are easily upgraded and offer the opportunity for economic synergies through the co-location of emergency service applications (including volunteer callout and community warning) with wireless broadband, digital television/radio, and mobile telephony. Availability of suitable power and backhaul at optimal transmission locations would be a significant consideration limiting the number of towers proposed.

• The initiative would also involve the provision of computer, data projector, printer, Internet access equipment and high gain antennas. Satellite systems are proposed for those sheds unable to achieve wireless connectivity.

• The need for improved broadband connectivity in the region results from an increased bushfire risk due to climate change. Providing of bandwidth to fire sheds is also important because of increased training and information requirements for firefighters . Fire sheds are often the only community infrastructure in many localities and are used as rallying points and a source of information during emergencies.. They can also become incident control centres. Brigades have access local council Section 94 funds to possibly match Federal funding.

• Initially identified specific locations for the establishment of transmission towers are in the following localities:

• Bookham/Burrinjuck, • Bigga, • Dalgety, • Delegate, • Numeralla, • Nerriga, • Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla,


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• Old Adaminiby/Anglers Reach/Lake Eucumbene, • Reids Flat, • Rugby, • Yaven Creek.

Further Action

• All Fire Brigades in the region will be asked to provide information concerning their telecommunication needs. Through this process other localities requiring transmission towers will be identified;

• Community groups from the above identified tower locations will be asked to prepare and supply letters of support for the funding application;

• Comments and suggestions concerning matters contained in this report will be incorporated into the final version;

• Communities and regional stakeholders should lobby their State and Federal Government representatives regarding the report’s recommendations as well as request their in writing support for any funding applications

If you have any questions about this submission please contact: David Anthony, Communications Planning and Development, Mob: 0419 293 901 Or Mareeca Steer, Capital Region Development Board


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Introduction This Report commissioned by the Capital Region Development Board (CRDB) as part of their Regional Connections - Capital Region Broadband Project. The Capital Region Development Board (CRDB) covers the south east of New South Wales and contains the ACT and the following fourteen surrounding local government areas: Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Harden, Palerang, Queanbeyan, Snowy River, Tumut, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley and Young.

Figure 1: The Capital Region of South-East NSW


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The Capital Region Development Board (CRDB) is an independent, not-for-profit incorporated association, established and funded jointly by the ACT and NSW Governments to facilitate and foster community and economic development in the Australian Capital Region (ACR). Socially, economically and geographically, the region is as diverse as it is large. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates the Capital Regions' population base at June 2005 to be some 539,0001. Of that, some 325,000 live in the ACT, with a further 120,000 people living in the main rural and regional centres throughout the region. This leaves some 94,000 people who live in small or remote rural centres and on rural properties. The traditional reliance of these rural and remote areas on agricultural production, tree changer and commuter driven residential development is coming under increasing threat from the ongoing drought, climate change and increasing energy prices. In times of uncertainty the central message for regional development is to focus on building economic and environmental resilience through diversification. Access to modern telecommunications services is a key enabler in this process. The economic base of rural and remote communities in the region has changed dramatically as a result of the ongoing drought, climate change, decreasing rates of return from traditional agricultural activities as well as an increase in population in some areas from tree changer and commuter driven rural residential development. New residents to the region have in some areas driven a diversification of the local economies through the establishment of a plethora of home-based businesses whose primary markets are larger urban areas and the establishment of niche agricultural pursuits including grapes, alpacas, horticulture and specialist animal husbandry. Traditional agriculture is no longer a major employer of labour as most operations are now family based and increasingly reliant on off-farm income. Most of the home-based businesses that have established in the area rely on markets outside of their immediate community primarily in urban areas such as Sydney and Canberra. At the moment these businesses rely primarily on antiquated slow dial-up services or more expensive satellite services. The establishment of a fixed wireless high-speed broadband service would enable the emergent home-businesses and niche agricultural operations to more effectively communicate with customers in their primary markets. This would expand their economic activities and allow them to grow their businesses to a point where they would begin to generate additional employment opportunities in the immediate area. Comparable businesses in similar situations that have adequate broadband services rely heavily on high bandwidth interactive web based communications for transactions with customers. Not only does the lack of these services restrict economic activity it also precludes the adoption of innovative business practices that would enhance the efficiency and viability of not only individual businesses but the also the community as a whole. There is widespread business and industry support to participate in the community engagement and development of a local wireless broadband network. A number of service providers operating in the area who have established services in the area have investigated the provision of services for the community have expressed an interest in service but have declined because of the lack commercial 1 ABS 1307.8 – Australian Capital Territory in Focus 2006


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viability related primarily to the low rate of return on such an investment. The Capital Region Development Boards Clever Networks Submission 2006 outlines in detail the benefits of broadband service provision for community development. There is an outline for developing and expanding the existing social capital stacks of the community through broadband enabled enhancement of community capacity and skills. Likewise the needs of youth in the community have also been addressed through the provision of increased suitable social activities for socially remote youth as well as an expansion of online educational service delivery in the region (Schools, Technical and Further Education, Tertiary). The above mentioned report also articulated the positive impact improved telecommunications would have for the operation of Volunteer Rural Fire Brigades in the region. Strategies and recommendations regarding volunteer emergency services have been included in this current report.


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Community Consultation This project builds on work undertaken in 2005/6, when the CRDB undertook a Demand Aggregation Project to find out what services people in the region wanted and what was then available.

Structure of Consultations

At each community consultations the following issues were discussed. Each person attending the meeting was given the opportunity to discuss their own broadband situation in detail. Each person explained the available broadband services in each of their localities. Issues discussed included:

• Problems encountered regarding broadband provision including: ADSL, Pair Gain, Satellites, Mobile Coverage billing and cost;

• Locations of any existing transmission towers in the area e.g. RFS CB Radio towers etc these details were mapped by participants on topographic maps. The fundamentals of wireless line of sight signal propagation was explained and possible tower locations that would reach the most number of people in the area discussed.

• The Australian Broadband Guarantee/ Metro comparable services The following possible funding Programs were discussed in terms of their capacity and potential to improve local broadband service provision

• NSW Building the Country- Community Broadband Development Program • Federal Digital Regions Program (Quick Start) • National Broadband Network • Emergency services RFS/SES (Mobile phone coverage issues for RFS call-outs and

community warning systems) this would also result in increased Next G coverage. • How communities could support the preparation of possible future funding applications

including the preparation of letters of support for applications. Meeting attendees were also asked a number of social and economic questions about each of their respective communities so as to build a rough community profile. These included specific questions concerning the nature of local economic drivers of growth/decline, tourism, farming, seasonal work, road safety, commuting behaviors and destinations, education and health service provision and access.

Community Consultation Summaries

2005/6 Survey of the Region In 2005/6 the CRDB conducted an unsolicited, letter-box-drop survey of some 12,000 residences and businesses through the region, supported by an extensive media campaign of community service announcements, and paid advertising, media releases and media interviews. Some 700 responses were received, or a return rate of nearly 6%. This is an excellent response, since a return rate of around 2% would normally be expected for a survey conducted by this method. Some highlights from the 2005/6 survey results were:

• Those with access to the Internet spend 15.8 hours per week on the internet/email;


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• 70% of respondents live more than 4kms from an exchange; • Average number of employees is 8.7; • The large bulk of businesses in the region are micro-to-small. 44% of respondents work

from home; • 82% of computers are linked to the Internet; • Internet features that attracted the highest level of interest included fast Internet and

email access, low cost phone calls, personal use, work use, Internet separate to phone, and on-line banking; and

• On average, residents owned 1.6 computers each. This current project re-contacted those that responded to the 2005/6 survey to ascertain their current needs, issues and service availability. Based on the responses received a number of communities were identified as “hot spot” localities which reported serious issues with current service provision. These were the locations that were chosen for the purpose of undertaking community consultation meetings. In the main these localities are typically outside the larger towns and cities of the region that are already enjoying the benefits of access to high quality telecommunication services. Information gathered at consultations was used to augment the information gathered from previous survey responses of particular localities. Consultations undertaken during the Demand Aggregation Broker Project 2005/2006 were undertaken at the following locations: Adaminiby, Anglers Reach/Old Adaminiby, Bigga, Bodalla, Braidwood, Burra, Bombala, Central Tilba, Cobargo, Cooma, Delegate, Dalgety, Eden, Gocup, Harden, Hoskinstown, Numeralla, Mongarlowe, Tumut, Wee Jasper and Yass. Current project 2008/9 Consultations undertaken as part of the current project 2008/9 were conducted in the following locations and the dates of community meetings:

• Adelong/Yaven Creek/Grahamstown 8/4/09 • Bodalla/ Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla/Potato Point 24/03/09 • Bombala • Bookham/Jugiong 26/5/09 • Booroowa/Rye Park/Taylors Flat 29/04/09 • Braidwood/ Nerriga/Araluen/Majors Creek/Mongarlowe 13/05/09 • Bungonia/Windellema 6/05/09 • Cobargo/Dignams Creek/Quaama/Yowrie/Tilba 25/03/09 • Crookwell/Roslyn/Grabine/Laggan/Bigga/Binda 5/05/09 • Dalgety 18/03/2009 • Delegate/Bombala/Ando/Cathcart 17/03/2009 • Numeralla/Peak View/Jerangle/Countegany 11/03/09 • Rugby/Reids Flat/Frogmore 28/04/09 • Tathra 15/04/09

General Comments There was a surprising overall consistency in the issues raised during the various community meetings held around the region. The main themes being:

• Lack of ADSL services;


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• Cost and quality of broadband services particularly satellite services; • Lack of mobile telephony and broadband coverage; • Realisation that lack of broadband was an impediment to economic and social development; • Research and education was cited as the major use of the Internet followed by business; • Lack of access to computer related training; • Increased rural residential subdivision in the region; • High telecommunications expectations of “tree changers” from metropolitan areas • Safety concerns because of poor telecommunication services.

The comments listed below are location specific comments, suggestions and observations. Often members of nearby communities attended meetings which are indicated in the listing of multiple localities with the actual location of the meeting being listed first. It must be remembered that whether a community meeting was held or not in a particular locality is not an indication of the quality of broadband provision in that area. In many areas with poor service meetings were not held for the following reasons:

• There were sometimes not enough respondents able to attend a community meeting in a particular location to justify holding one;

• Community meeting fatigue • Information about a particular locations problems were well known and documented

Major findings from consultations by community

The findings of community consultations have been collated individual communities, common issues/themes as well as entered into a detailed spreadsheet. The spreadsheet, because it contains personal data has not been included in this report, however it will be used to assist in the preparation of future funding applications and for possible future longitudinal comparative purposes

Adelong/Yaven Creek/Grahamstown 8/4/09 • Request for training for older residents -identified as major barrier to broadband take up • Many residents commute to Tumut (20km) and Wagga Wagga (80km) • Pair Gain restricts access to ADSL for some residents of village (e.g. 600m from exchange

can’t get ADSL service); • Poor radio reception 2WG from Wagga no ABC radio: The main transmission tower in

Adelong is located to the east of the town at Tower Hill; • One resident 600m from Adelong exchange unable to get ADSL because of pair gain issues. • Mobile coverage problems in Yaven Creek, Grahamstown ant Mt Horab areas.

Bodalla/ Nerrigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla/Potato Point/Begalia 24/03/09 • Telecommunications have improved in the Bodalla /Potato point area since 2006 with the

construction of a Telstra Next G tower across from Potato Point at Tuross Heads; • Bodalla Estate problems with ADSL provision because of pair gain and many land lines in

area had noise problems; • One farmer using dial-up reported that he had to re-connect four times to download cattle

sale data; • A lot of concern about and interest was expressed about the lack of telecommunications in


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the Eurobodalla/Cadgee/Nerrigundah localities (no mobile/ no broadband other than satellite); this is a high bush fire risk area with active brigades; these communities are in a dangerous situation if faced with a fire emergency as they have poor vehicular access.

• The construction of a wireless tower on the ridge to the west of Nerigundah would solve the majority of the telecommunication problems for these communities. Microwave backhaul may be feasible to either Peak Alone in the South or Larrys Mountain to the North;

• Residents Nerrigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla have actively inquired about the progress of this report and any initiatives concerning them it may contain and have requested a final copy to assist them pursue the matter;

• Poor mobile reception (frequent drop outs) on highway in Begalia area between Bodalla and Tuross Heads turn off.

Fig 2: Nerrigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla locality – Bodalla District

Bombala/Crewah/Ando Karen Cash Bombala Council Economic Development Officer/Sally-Anne Thompson Bombala CTC Manager

• Creewah – increased small-lot rural subdivision , difficult topography; • Ando no mobile phone on Highway coverage Safety concerns; • Bibbenluke - Line of site unidentified tower to south-west, B&B operator has to travel to

Bombala to access Broadband for business; • A local University student is unable to stay at home with mum to do course by

correspondence.


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• Cathcart mobile phone reception marginal varies from day to day • Bombala ADSL very variable some days whole town faces a slower than dial-up access

speeds (10kps then stops) no discernible pattern to performance variations • Issues about pricing of services for seniors – basic service fees plus confusion concerning

the complexity of down load limits and charges • Impacts on government service delivery. Web sites getting bigger faster than evolution of

access speeds - need for low-bit rate web pages for government service delivery especially basic information services such as weather

Boorowa/ Rye Park 29/04/09 • Rye Park is an area of particular concern. This locality is an area of particular risk with

regard to bush fires. Communication with the brigades in this area would be greatly enhanced by the introduction of reliable mobile phone coverage.

• The road from Reids Flat via Rugby and Rye Park is a significant commuter route to Yass. It is currently partially sealed and has high Kangaroo numbers - lack of mobile phone coverage along this road is a significant safety concern for residents

Bookham/Jugiong/Blowering Dam 26/5/09 • In Bookham there are 13 houses within 1km of the exchange however there are no ADSL

services. Satellite is only Broadband option; • Located on highway (Optus coverage no or very poor Telstra mobile reception); • No radio reception in village; • Residents have noticed increasing interference with television reception; • One resident outside Jugiong uses Next G but restricts usage because of high cost; • Possible tower location between Bookham and Lake Burrinjuck (Talmo) would provide

additional coverage of Highway the very popular Burrinjuck Waters State Park which has very high tourist numbers, Bookham and the Murrumbidgee valley downstream from Burinjuck where Kyaking Championships are staged. Burrinjuck is a very popular Fishing destination and mobile Broadband coverage would increase safety of recreational boating etc, Wee Jasper may also receive coverage from this location.

• This area is an extremely high fire danger area.

Braidwood/Araluen/Nerriga/Mongarlowe/Majors Creek 13/05/09 • The Araluen, Nerriga, and Mongarlowe communities have each submitted an application to

NSW Building the Country-Community Broadband Development Program. None of these application were successful in the first round;

• A new Telstra Next G tower has been built near the Mongarlowe River on the Kings Highway near the top of the Clyde Mountain. This will improve mobile coverage in what was previously a dangerous coverage blackspot on the Highway. It is yet to be seen how much benefit this tower will provide in terms of coverage for the village of Mongarlowe and surrounds.

• Most residents of the town of Braidwood used ADSL services. Some rural residential areas and surrounding areas outside the range of ADSL access the Internet through Broadband Wireless. These users complained of the high cost for wireless $59.95/month compared to


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cheaper higher quality ADSL services within the town; • Contention rates slow ADSL speeds down markedly at different periods of the day some

residents complained service seemed slower than dial up services; • One resident complained because her area has wireless service coverage she was

disqualified from the Australian Broadband Guarantee; In her case the available wireless service was far more expensive $59.95/month than a satellite service which would have cost her half as much. Instead she has remained on a $29.95/month dial up service. All these costs seemed very high (even compared to the usually higher regional access costs) for the services she was receiving:

• Residents reported faster service response times to Telstra ADSL services compared to other providers reselling the same service;

• There is zero to marginal mobile coverage in the Nerriga area. This area borders large areas of the Moreton National Park and is a Bushfire hot spot in the Region.

• The new Main Road 62 connecting Canberra to Nowra via Nerriga (Oallen Ford)and Tarago is now being constructed passes through some very remote areas and has little mobile coverage in the Nerriga area (some incidental coverage from Tarago and Braidwood):

• There has been increasing amounts of rural residential subdivision in the area; • Araluen is a horticultural centre of the district with large seasonal workforce it has ADSL

but no mobile services. It has an existing television transmission tower to the South of the village that would be suitable for the provision of additional services.

Bungonia/Windellema 6/05/09 • 95% of working population (anecdotal) commute to Goulburn and Southern Highlands

(some to Canberra, Kiama, Sydney, Queanbeyan) Safety traveling at night big concern with patchy mobile coverage on major routes into village;

• growth in rural subdivision and subsequent residential growth, Bed and breakfasts etc; • Like the majority of smaller settlements(other than those on major Highways) in the region

Telstra is the only mobile broadband service provider • A number of users in area of Next G data service not impressed with either quality or cost; • One resident doing an external second degree at one stage was paying $124/month for

satellite had to wait three years before they could change provider because of restrictions on the Australian Broadband Guarantee installation subsidy;

• Difficult topography for mobile coverage though one resident (13km Sth-West of Telstra tower) complained that he could get the previous CDMA mobile but not Next G.

Cobargo/Dignams Creek/Quaama/Yowrie 25/03/09 • Many residents of these communities commute to Bega, Bermagui and Narooma; • Poor condition of Princess Highway in this area; • Very high fire danger area, area particularly affected by climate change/drought; • Aging population “Tree Changers” are mostly retirees from metropolitan areas; • Increased rural residential subdivision in the area; • High School students travel to Bega and Narooma; • Because of topography black spots exist in obtaining transmission from Peak Alone • Dignams Creek area particularly awkward to provide coverage;


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• Satellite user at Quaama had problems with solar power usage, • Mt Peak Alone is the main transmission point for the district also Bega Valley Council tower

on Mumbulla Mountain; • Possible need for wireless transmission infrastructure in Yowrie area.

Crookwell/Roslyn/Grabine/Laggan/Bigga/Binda 5/05/09 • Upper Lachlan Council (Allan Lawrence, Director of Works ) Interest in Council building

own towers to provide digital TV and other services.(specific district locations for towers include Gunning and Taralga);

• Gunning had particular reception problems; • District had a high incidence of reception problems related to geological and topographical

factors; • Some out of town residents still using dial-up problems with drop-outs and automatic

software downloads (Vista); • High Lightning strike area (Ironstone geology); • Residents displayed sophisticated Internet use compared to other areas a fact that may be

related to the existence of the Crookwell Community Technology Centre.

Dalgety 18/03/2009 • Council: Snowy River Shire Council has submitted application to NSW Building the

Country- Community Broadband Development Program; • Local wireless provider AIRLAN (Jindabyne) Armen Gregorian 0414262614 was

encouraged to expand their existing network from Jindabyne (Jindabyne Hill 1235m) and Cooma (Mt Gladstone 1077m) by building another tower at a location on the Cobbin - Beloka Road (Top of the Range Property, Beloka Ridge, 1172m approximately 14 km west of Dalgety). Because of funding difficulties with the Federal government at the time AIRLAN shelved these plans and continued to concentrate on providing wireless Internet access to the ski fields, Cooma and Jindabyne. The Beloka Road location is widely seen by local residents as being the most suitable location for a local wireless service because of its coverage of both Dalgety and the Snowy River valley.

• Contacts: Julie Pearson Dalgety Chamber of Commerce [email protected]

Delegate 17/03/2009 • Bombala Council contact: David Rawlings General Manager Primary Community contact

Ian Sellars Landmark • Willmots Forests have Next G contract with Telstra to cover workers engaged in local

Forestry operations. • Some residents have access to Next G services in town but the high cost makes use

prohibitive • Mobile phone tower located at Mt Delegate (site of major Telstra transmission

infrastructure) • Coverage of the area as a whole is poor because service seems to only focus on the town

itself service would need to be upgraded from a focused to omni-directional service.


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Fig 3: Delegate and surrounding areas

Numeralla/Peak View/Jerangle/Countegany 11/03/09 • Annual Folk Festival is getting larger; • Dangerous late night commute from Cooma much without mobile coverage; • Would like some opportunities for community training on computer usage; • A number of sophisticated on-line users in area using ADSL in town and premium satellite

services out of town to support on-line business needs; • Reports that Telstra would not test lines for ADSL service unless potential customer signed

up for a Telstra ADSL service; 1. Two possible tower sites were selected in the area:

▪ Bald Hill(970m) Cooma-Numeralla Rd, line of site(LOS) microwave backhaul to Cooma (Mt Gladstone 29.72 km, power nearby; Good Coverage of Numeralla

▪ Mt Umeralla on Kybean East Fire Trail (1237m) LOS to Mt Gladstone 36.23km. Advantage (LOS) Mt Peak alone – Cobargo also Mt Roberts affording network redundancy. This site would also provide excellent coverage of Numeralla as well as Peak View, Countegany and parts of Wadbilliga National Park and Steeple Flat. These large areas have no coverage at the moment. The disadvantage of this site is the lack of mains power to support Next G service though a WiFi system is possible but would not be as much benefit to the community,


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Fig 4: Numerella District

Rugby/Reids Flat/Taylors Flat/Frogmore 28/04/09 • The areas of particular concern are Wyangala, Graham, Reids Flat, Frogmore, Taylors Flat,

Rugby and Rye Park. These localities are areas of particular risk with regard to bush fires. • Reids Flat extremely difficult topography for transmission, many residents commute to

Cowra for work and shopping; • Possible construction of fibre link between Frogmore, Mt Darling, Reids Flat and Bigga –

This link would provide additional network redundancy and facilitate wireless /Next G service on Mt Darling (829m) to the north-west of Reids Flat that could provide broad coverage of Reids Flat, Wyangla Dam and the Grabine State Recreation Area, Parts of the Bigga are and Taylors Flat;

• The RFS currently has a radio communications site in the Graham/Reids Flat area on Mt Darling. This site would be ideal for a mobile phone tower and would cover many of the areas described above. This site is currently a solar powered site but an opportunity may be possible in the near future to supply mains power to the site as part of a Transgrid powered telemetry site for their wind farm developments in the area.

• Rugby Village has an old exchange no advanced devices such as caller identification available, no mobile phone coverage, and blackspot for digital television. There is an old Department of Civil Aviation tower located two kilometers to the west of Rugby at “Beacons Hill”. There are also other locations on Mt Donald via “Silverwood” north of the


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village and Barnett Hill to the south west of Taylors Flat that may be suitable wireless transmission sites.

• Most residents of the area use satellite with some dial-up. • The Booroowa to Crookwell road which runs through Rugby has been recently sealed with

residents reporting a noticeable increase in traffic; • Frogmore- no mobile reception

Fig 4: Bigga and surrounding district

Tathra/Merimbula/Pambula 15/04/09 • Some problems with mobile reception reported in tourist areas to the North West towards

Bega River Bridge. Large caravan Park and holiday rental, and local businesses including B&B s affected;


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Findings of community consultation by common issue/theme

ADSL (Cable Broadband) See Appendix X for a listing of ADSL enabled exchanges in the region and their space capacity

• ADSL and ADSL 2+ are the primary Broadband access technologies in the region and (ADSL 2+) will remain so until Fibre to the Home (FTTH) is rolled out as part of the Federal Governments NBN initiative.

• There are a number of DSL enabled exchanges in the region that are at or near capacity; • Most exchanges that were economically feasible to enable (including government subsidies

etc) have been enabled; • Pair gain is a problem in certain areas (Bodalla, Cobargo); • ADSL is the cheapest form of broadband available with robust competition through resellers

keeping prices for rural and regional customers relatively on par with metropolitan services;

Community meetings and the building of technology related social capital • A useful by- product of the community consultation process undertaken as part of this

project was the building of telecommunications related social capital within each community. As people explained their situations and problems during meetings other members of the community who were unaware of their situation offered their support. Arrangements were made for people with higher computer technology skill levels to help other less skilled users in their community with the problems they encountered with adopting the new technology.

Figure 5: CTC at Delegate

Community Technology Centres (CTCs) • Those smaller towns with active Community Technology Centres in the Region (Bermagui,

Bombala, Braidwood, Crookwell, Delegate, Eden) seem to display a greater degree of online sophistication and digital literacy compared to other similar communities;

• Some locations where there is a strong need for training e.g. Adelong would benefit from the


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establishment of a Community Technology Centre perhaps as part of the local Public Library as is the case in nearby Tumut.

Commuter Economy • Most communities are heavily reliant on commuting for economic income - this is a

consistent phenomenon across the region; • Traditional agriculture is no longer a major employer of labour as most operations are now

family based and increasingly reliant on off-farm income. • Adequate broadband provisions afford flexible work opportunities by allowing telework.

This is particularly important for the region as many commuters are employed doing computerised office work in the public service in the ACT.

• Telework may also be driven by strategic organisational responses to seasonal outbreaks of contagious disease such as influenza and increased transportation costs.

• Higher bandwidths will facilitate higher interactivity to the home such as telepresence which will help to overcome some of the social disadvantages of teleworking;

Contention rates (shared bandwidth) and quoted bandwidth • Contention rates ie bandwidth sharing is a major cause of slow speeds on ADSL cable

services in some towns (e.g. Braidwood, Crookwell). There were reports that during peak usage times speeds can be reduced to only half the speed of Dial up services. What is required is that those exchanges where contention rates cause speed slow downs the capacity of the ADSL enabled exchanges needs to be increased so as to maximise individual delivery of bandwidth

• Perhaps thought needs to be given to guaranteeing minimum bandwidth delivery and that the nominated speed should be what customers are paying for when they chose a service package, not the theoretical maximum.

Cost • The high cost of telecommunication services was a consistent message at all community

meetings; • Rural and remote users pay more than metropolitan users for comparable services. This

situation is made worse by the fact that Australia as a whole has the most expensive telecommunication services in the world;

• Higher cost of Broadband services in rural and remote areas is a significant barrier to adoption. This is particularly the case for satellite mobile and Next G data services. This is consistent with recent research that found that in general, broadband services are considerably more expensive for satellite services and wireless services across 3G networks than over fixed-line or other fixed wireless services. Source: Ewing, S., Thomas, J., and Schliessl, J., (2008) CCi Digital Futures Report: The Internet in Australia, Infrastructure Australia 2008 A Report to the Council of Australian Governments p.20.

• One of the major reasons for the relatively low use of broadband in rural and remote areas of the region has been caused by a lack of cost-effective services in rural and regional areas. This has been attributed to a lack of investment in infrastructure by telecommunications companies and a lack of retail competition resulting in the cost of broadband being relatively higher than it is in metropolitan areas. (NSW Department of State and Regional Development submission to the NSW Parliament Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities (2009):

• A recent report from the OECD found that Australian Telecommunications carriers charge


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the most for mobile broadband usage in the developed world. The new Communications Outlook for 2009 Report examined telecommunications prices across 20 advanced economies for low mobile broadband usage, between 20MB and 1000MB per month, medium usage, between 2GB and 6GB and high usage, 6GB to 20GB. The average mobile broadband price across the 20 offers in the group was $US44 (purchasing power parity adjusted) per month. Ireland had the least expensive subscriptions at the higher data caps than other countries in the OECD at $US20 PPP per month. The price in the most expensive surveyed market, Australia, had an average price of $US62 for this data range and is more than three times the price of similar connections in Ireland.

The OECD Communications Outlook for 2009 Report2 also found that: • Australia is among the most expensive for communication services in general; • The average cost for a fixed-line phone and broadband service for a small office in

Australia is about $9,600, with only the Slovak and Czech Republics, Britain and Mexico more expensive.

• Australia was the second-most expensive country for low-usage mobile broadband, with an average subscription price of $32 per month, above the $US30 average. The least expensive offerings were $US13 in Sweden, and the most expensive in Spain at $US33.For medium usage, the average price is $39, with Australia and Norway the most expensive with prices over $51 per month.

• Australians are also suffering the highest increases for cable broadband, the OECD reported. The price of the surveyed cable offer in Australia rose the most over the three years at roughly 14%, although speeds and data caps increased at the same time. Fixed-line broadband services ranked fourth after Poland, Austria and Mexico, with an average price of $46 per month for relatively low speeds of between 256k-2MB per second.

• The report also found Australians are paying the most for all communications services, with 2007 figures indicating average communications revenue per inhabitant to be just under $US1,927, coming up third behind Switzerland and Iceland.

Dial-up services • Still widely used • Main driver price and restriction of use to low content emails – problems encountered with

software downloads(Vista), complex high content web sites, drop outs and need to redial to reconnect (costly), people inadvertently sending large files (photos, attachments etc)

Expectations of Tree/Sea Changers • Most tree/sea changers originate from metropolitan areas and have expectations of a similar

level of telecommunications service provision. Many use the Internet to run businesses or complex personal finances. Their ability to do so is limited by the quality of telecommunication service provision in rural areas.

Fault fixing/Help Lines • Charged for service when not working • Help lines often have no idea of problems • There were many reports of people ringing to see if they had access to cable broadband

2 Source: Stafford, P., 2 August 2009 The great Australian mobile broadband rip-off, Telecommunications Today.


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being told that they can and then finding out after considerable time and sometimes expense that they can't access the service. Telstra’s' mapping in this regard is totally inadequate.

• Meeting participants had virtually no awareness of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's (TIO) or the recent TIO connect.resolve campaign;

In November 2008, The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, launched a campaign to arrest the growing rate of consumer complaints in telecommunications. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) reported a near 50 per cent increase in consumer complaints for 2007-08. Of particular concern was a substantial surge in complaints about poor customer service and complaint handling. The campaign seeks to raise the profile of consumer complaints in the telecommunications sector. It will examine trends, provide monthly analysis to larger service providers and publish the outcomes. "Consumers have the right to expect telecommunications providers to deliver the services they promise and deal with complaints in an efficient and courteous manner," Senator Conroy said."Telecommunications companies need to lift their game and I anticipate that this campaign will help encourage industry to take greater responsibility for its complaints performance." Further information about the TIO connect.resolve campaign is available from www.tio.com.au

Home based Businesses Traditional agriculture is no longer a major employer of labour as most operations are now family based and increasingly reliant on off-farm income. This fact the expansion of small scale tourism (Bed and Breakfasts, Farm Stay etc,) and the influx of the tree/see change demographic has seen an increase in home-based businesses in the region Most of the home-based businesses that have established in the area rely on markets outside of their immediate community primarily in urban areas such as Sydney and Canberra. At the moment these businesses rely on antiquated slow dial-up services or more expensive satellite services. The establishment of a fixed wireless high-speed broadband service would enable the emergent home-businesses and niche agricultural operations to more effectively communicate with customers in their primary markets. This would expand their economic activities and allow them to grow their businesses to a point where they would begin to generate additional employment opportunities in the immediate area. Comparable businesses in similar situations that have adequate broadband services rely heavily on high bandwidth interactive web based communications for transactions with customers. Not only does the lack of these services restrict economic activity it also precludes the adoption of innovative business practices that would enhance the efficiency and viability of not only individual businesses but the also the community as a whole.

Insurance claims associated with lightening strikes barrier to adoption • In high lightning prone areas (Crookwell/Bungonia), insurance can be a problem with many

insurance companies refusing to re-insure after multiple claims

Inter-Carrier Roaming • In large parts of the region mobile phone services are available from only one company

(Telstra). This is an effective monopoly and, as the Australian Local Government Association noted, this adds to the danger of road travel for subscribers to other networks who are unable to access telecommunications in certain geographical areas. This also makes


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it difficult for visitors to conduct business3.Unlike when travelling overseas there is no requirement for carriers to allow roaming on their networks. This issue is compounded in the region by the fact that Vodaphone had won a contract to provide coverage on major Highways while Telstra provides the most extensive coverage in the region. This is a particular issue in Bookham, Bodalla and Bungonia.

Isolation and safety • The de-labouring of primary industry means farmers and their families are often working

alone doing dangerous jobs. There were serious safety concerns expressed at meetings as well as concerns about Occupational Health Safety issues regarding the employment of labour on farms.

Problems with downloading automatic upgrades • Vista software and Security related content are particularly problematic, especially for those

users still on dial-up services.

Safety and mobile communications • Safety is one of the main drivers (mobile telephony/ Next G data services) in the region. As

stated before many residents of rural remote areas commute to larger centres for work. This out of area income is in important element of the overall regional economy.

• Driving home at night particularly dangerous because of high numbers of kangaroos and wombats in the region. Many residents drive long distances on dirt roads. Tar roads are usually poorly sealed and poorly maintained. Dirt roads deteriorate quickly in wet weather and are subject to reduced grading (maintenance regimes) because of local council funding constraints.

• Emergency response times (accidents, community fire emergency warnings and RFS call-outs). In many locations Emergency calls (000) are unable to be made because of the lack of mobile phone coverage.

Satellite Internet services • Satellite services are the broadband access technology of last resort in the region, as they

provide universal access. • Mixed reactions to quality of service. • Problems include; the unsuitability of voice over internet protocol (VIOP) internet based

telephony services such as Skype; high cost of satellite internet services and issues with snow in Crookwell area.

Training • Lack of access to basic computer and internet training identified as a major barrier to

broadband take up by older residents of the region particularly over 40s • In those communities that have access to Community Technology Centres or Adult

Education many residents had obtained basic training and assistance. However these users were now at the stage where they required access to more intermediate level training that often was not available.

3 Source: Australian Local Government Association 2008 State of the Regions Report 2008-09, p.70


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Types of broadband connection used in the region Given that most participants were from rural and remote locations the predominant type of broadband connection was; satellite, followed by dial-up and then mobile broadband (Next G). Residents from villages and towns used ADSL if available (i.e. exchange enabled and no pair gain issues). Mobile broadband was mostly used in these locations if nothing else was available or a business was paying for the service. These findings are generally consistent with other research findings. The Telecommunications Today, Report 3: Farming sector attitudes to take-up and use undertaken by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2008 found that:

Of farm respondents with an Internet connection, just under half (47 per cent) had a broadband connection. This compares with nearly three-quarters of overall household respondents indicating they had a broadband connection. As indicated in Figure 6, the type of broadband connection differed significantly between the farm sector and overall households, with farm respondents significantly more likely to have satellite connection and overall household respondents more likely to have an ADSL connection. Of farm respondents with a non-broadband connection, over 80 per cent indicated they would prefer broadband.

Figure 6: Farming Household Internet Access by Technology 4

Web Page density and Government Service Delivery • Double disadvantage for rural communities Government services are being rationalised-

accentuating disadvantage rather than alleviating problem • Need for low-bit rate web pages for government service delivery especially basic

information services such as weather.

Youth

4 The Telecommunications Today, Report 3: Farming sector attitudes to take-up and use undertaken by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2008

Per cent of farming households (%)

Don't know6%

Wireless6%

Cable16%

ADSL22%

Satellite49%

Per cent of total households (%)

ADSL67%

Don't know8%

Wireless7%

Cable17%

Satellite2%


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• Many of the children in rural and remote areas travel over an hour on school buses to get to secondary schools in larger towns

• Primary schools are usually located closer • Many teenagers commented on their social isolation, those that could play networked

computer games or used social networking sites (Myspace/Facebook) said that Internet activity had helped overcome this problem to some degree;

• Use of memory sticks because of lack of access to school networks.

Possible Policy Responses to Findings

Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) negation by availability of Next G mobile broadband services

• This subsidy should not be negated because of access to Next G services, as it forces users to adopt a more expensive service when cheaper satellite access may be all they require. The increased cost of Next G data services exposes users to unfair price impost.

High Gain Mobile Phone antennae • Consumers should be eligible for subsidy (if able to receive texts). Fixed high gain antenna

will allow for Internet access speeds up to 1MB. Subsidy equivalent to satellite dish and installation (cap at $300 antenna and installation on TV antenna mast per household if necessary).

• Further explore and possibly fund innovations being undertaken by Windellema RFS using Next G and high gain antennas for emergency communications between Fire Control, RFS sheds and vehicles operating on the fire ground, especially the ability to transmit real time images back to Fire Control.


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Figure 7: Example of high gain mobile phone antennae

Pricing Controls • Pricing should be in the range of $30-$50/month (plus CPI) range for premium service

(metro equality/comparable) • Next G/satellite should provide access in rural areas at real metro equivalent price • Standardised and legislated minimum cost for bandwidth with competition available on time

and bundling below this figure. This would be subject to annual review and be technology and location neutral.

Publicise ACMA Satellite Television and Radio Program • Many residents of the region were unaware that the Australian Communications and Media

Authority run a program of providing subsidised installation for free to air satellite television services. For a one off payment of approximately $500 residents can get a wide variety of television stations with no ongoing cost. A guide to the self-help retransmission arrangements is available from the Australian Communication and Media Authority. A copy of the guide is available from the Authority's website (www.acma.gov.au) or by calling ACMA on 1800 810 241.

Pensioners • Arrangements should be made to extend pensioner subsidies to cover Broadband access

subsidies. • Complexity of billing plans should be simplified and perhaps tailored to the time of day

usage patterns of this demographic.

Rationalisation of infrastructure • Competition policy is not an effective way to encourage telecommunications providers to

deliver services in rural and remote communities. Clearly competition has worked most effectively in larger regional centres where service providers have access to a large customer base. In the more remote parts of regional areas, populations can be sparsely spread across vast geographic areas and there is no commercial business case to justify the high cost of infrastructure against the small number of potential subscribers available in these locations. Public infrastructure and services are available in these communities largely because they are Government owned and tax payer funded. The decision to fully privatise Telstra has removed any opportunity to retain a means of carriage which would then have been accessible by any registered service provider.

• To avoid persistent market failures competition should be based on competitive service provision (local reticulation) rather than monopoly ownership of infrastructure. Local Government should be funded to establish towers (with suitable backhaul provision) and then allow multiple service providers to use infrastructure including television, radio and emergency services (see previous discussion paper for contractual arrangements CRDB 2006). Some Local Governments in the region are highly motivated to support and pursue this approach (Upper Lachlan and Palerang).

• Use of the fibre backhaul that connects remote exchanges


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• Use of fibre backhaul/satellite links that connect small rural schools (this may involve arrangements for the reallocation of IP addresses by the NSW Education Department for community use)

• Investigate solar mobile phones for low volume areas (emergency implications) • Standardise spectrum access arrangements for rural and remote areas to ensure there is a

minimum emergency capability (eg. one tower providing access to all service providers). • Migration of superseded ADSL 1&2 Multiplex Switches (MUX's) to small rural exchanges. • As the cost of providing backhaul to regional and rural Australia can be significantly

expensive, serious consideration needs to be given to unviable duplication of existing backhaul networks. The alternative may be to consider the effectiveness of current access arrangements to existing monopolist backhaul networks and introduce regulation of those networks rather than duplication. Additionally, augmenting to increase the capacity and reliability of existing backhaul networks would encourage competitive investment. These are issues which the Government may need to consider in line with the current Regulatory Reform for 21st Century Broadband discussion paper.(TransACT Submission 2009)

Reduced complexity of access and usage contracts • Internet access and usage charges should be standardised. Far too complex especially for

elderly and first adopters. Considerable barrier to adoption. Plans should have maximum monthly charges, or be reduced in number light/medium/heavy users. Current information asymmetry exploitative of consumers.

• Children who are accustomed to downloading and gaming at school, and transfer these usage behaviours to home, can cause a marked increase in monthly access plan costs. The financial shock makes parents wary about usage. Children living in metro areas returning to the country for holidays etc; used to metro level of service and cost can also increase monthly access costs (for eg. over double the monthly plan rate).

Allocation of unused wireless spectrum in Regional and remote areas • The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are currently planning the

process of reallocating some spectrum in the 3.6 GHz frequency band which is suitable for local wireless broadband. The Regional Communities Consultative Council (RCCC) was particularly interested in ensuring that when this is allocated, that these would be affordable for regional communities planning on establishing non-profit local broadband services. The RCCC’s preferred result would be for ACMA to allow access to the band without specific licensing under a “class” or “private park” licence.

• A portion of the band should be made available for non-profit or community uses in rural and remote areas. At present is a matter for ACMA which was considering the interests of all potential users, including community groups before making a decision about how the bands should be allocated at some stage in 2009.

Training • Lack of training opportunities in rural and remote areas is a major barrier to the further

diffusion of online services and associated service delivery innovations. Provision of training is essential in rural and remote areas to enable them to effectively deal with the ongoing structural adjustment of local economies away from labour intensive to more technology intensive economic activity. The most basic level of training provision should focus on first-time users (how to turn the computer on).

• Efficient and cost effective delivery of such a program could be achieved at a cost of $10/hr


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per participant for groups of 5-10 for a course of 20 hours. • More advanced skills enhancement programs could either be delivered online or through

Community Technology Centres. Costs for such a program would vary dependent on subject matter. Community-based trainers are already employed on a cost-recovery basis at some CTCs and where adult education is available.


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Recent Studies and Reports into Broadband Provision for Rural and Remote Communities

Beyond the Bush telegraph

NSW Parliament, Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities (2009): Beyond the Bush Telegraph: meeting the growing communications needs of rural and regional people Report; no.2/54) This report contains findings and fourteen recommendations concerning Broadband provision for rural and remote communities. The Committees findings included:

• That the telecommunications sector is changing rapidly as new technology develops but the services available in rural and regional communities are not keeping up with those in metropolitan areas.

• While telecommunications and broadband are available in some form throughout New South Wales, services are of poorer quality and more expensive in large parts of rural and regional New South Wales. In particular, there are large gaps in the availability of “normal” mobile phone services and broadband through ADSL connections. Alternative delivery solutions are more expensive and of lesser quality.

• Existing infrastructure in rural and regional communities does not support universal mobile phone and broadband services. There are significant social and economic benefits to improving the level of telecommunications in rural and regional areas. On the grounds of equity, the Government should help these communities receive services as close to parity with services available in cities as possible.

• The Committee noted that the Federal Government plans to make significant investment in infrastructure through the National Broadband Network. This is planned to provide high-speed broadband services to 98 per cent of the population. The Committee finds that is not going to be complete until 2013. This means that significant gaps in service provision will remain for a long time yet.

• The Committee found that the Government’s planned investment in infrastructure through the Community Broadband Development Fund will go a significant way toward filling the infrastructure gap in rural and regional communities where the National Broadband Network is not expected to reach.

• The Committee found that there are significant barriers to infrastructure provision for carriers including difficulty obtaining access to Crown land and regional spectrum. The Government has a role in reducing these barriers where possible.

• Consumers often have limited knowledge about the services available from communications providers and there are opportunities for the Federal Government to redress this information gap. In some places there is a community need for training in the use of broadband and to provide public access to broadband services.


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Of the recommendations the following are extremely significant for the region and particularly rural and remote communities:

• The NSW Government should work with the Federal Government to ensure the National Broadband Network roll-out gives a high priority to areas currently without terrestrial broadband services;

• The Government should consider ways to reduce barriers for regional telecommunication companies to gaining access to Crown land held by various agencies (such as Dept. Industry and Investment, Dept. Environment, Climate Change and Water and the Department of Lands) to install communications devices by introducing a central contact point within an appropriate agency such as the Department of Commerce to coordinate such requests and streamline terms of access taking into account the existing development controls relevant to those agencies;

• Through appropriate intergovernmental channels, the NSW Government should encourage the Federal Government to make radio frequency spectrum suitable for wireless broadband applications affordable to non-profit and community enterprises in regional areas;

• The Department of Planning should consider the need to review planning advice to local governments to include a requirement that carriers applying for approval to install communications towers demonstrate why they are unable to share existing infrastructure;

• The Government considers ways of improving accessibility to broadband services by developing policies to enable government facilities including schools to be used after hours.

Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC)

The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC) address a number of issues in their report (Glasson Report) 1 to the Government concerning the future needs of rural and regional Australia. The Glasson Report provided significant findings and recommendations in relation to backhaul5 including:

• Opportunities to improve services in regional areas are impeded by the lack of available backhaul at appropriate prices to enable competitive retail services.

• The Government does not have information on where or how much backhaul transmission is available. The ACCC issued a Record Keeping Rule in December 2007 to obtain this information. This data is not publicly available and has not been available to the Committee.

• The Committee found backhaul inadequate in regional Australia. • The extension of backhaul in conjunction with the NBN should make further investment in

backhaul beyond the NBN viable as a commercial proposition or from additional government programs.

• The telecommunications access regime and current market structure may be contributing to backhaul inadequacy for regional Australia.

Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee Report: Framework for the Future 2008. This Report included the following finding regarding funding the provision of Broadband services 5 Source:http://www.rtirc.gov.au/


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in rural and remote areas. • “Some form of government subsidy is necessary to ensure the provision of broadband

services in many of the remote areas of Australia. The business case for providing broadband services in these areas does not support market-driven outcomes at prices and speeds similar to those available in urban areas.”6

Broadband Development Network

Making Broadband Mainstream: Delivering broadband as an essential service to the Australian community. A paper contributing to the consideration of the National Broadband Development Group Annual Work Plan prepared by the Broadband Development Network, March 2009. The Broadband Development Network (BDN) was established and funded as part of the Clever Networks program managed by the Department. The network is playing a strong role in developing and delivering strategies that enable Australians living in regional, rural and remote areas to participate in the digital economy and ensuring they are able to capitalise on broadband infrastructure investments. The BDN members are the Broadband Project Managers and Broadband Project Officers responsible for identifying and implementing projects of strategic priority for broadband development in their state or territory. This paper focuses on the priority areas of take-up and usage in regional, rural and remote Australia. NSW Representatives: Broadband Project Manager: Joe Tokarczuk, NSW State Government, Broadband Project Officer: Mareeca Steer, Capital Region Development Board Applicable recommendations and activities and strategies contained in the report include: To overcome Educational barriers –

• Utilise programs that involve the youth to teach parents/seniors as part of their course work and community service;

• Promote and establish aggregation of community needs; • Investigate WiFi utilisation of broadband infrastructure by switching to community access

outside core government business or school hours; • Investigate the feasibility of utilising government infrastructure to assist in the delivery of

broadband services to those communities identified the possible 2 per cent outside the National Broadband Network.

Recognising and enabling the potential of broadband to provide enhanced services to people in regional, rural and remote communities, including indigenous communities, and those with disabilities and special needs. Recommended key activities included:

• To enable affordable, reliable open access to broadband infrastructure over which services can be delivered by:

• providing 100 per cent broadband coverage to Australians • providing appropriate subsidies to make the use of broadband more affordable

particularly in remote communities.

6 Source: Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee Report: Framework for the Future, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2008, p. 164.


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• providing public internet access for people not able to access broadband from home or at work.

To increase confidence and skills to use online services by – • funding relevant targeted programs; • ongoing support that spans program electoral and financial cycles.

To implement online services in a top down fashion, avoiding duplication by – • maximising cooperation and collaboration between levels of government and the private

sector; • using existing infrastructure (currently being under utilised); • utilising free platforms and tools, for example, Open Source software; • publishing a list of available online services to avoid duplication.

To implement service delivery models that are sustainable and supported with appropriate regulation and policy by –

• addressing areas of concern such as privacy and security; • breaking down cultural, political, legal (legislative) barriers to sharing and collaborating –

particularly e-health. To enable Australians use high-speed broadband to improve economic, environmental and social wellbeing by supporting innovation and best practice in the development and use of broadband applications and services in the public and private sectors, including education, health and other services. Recommended key activities include:

1. National Broadband Development Group (NBDG) work plans to include and engage with the Broadband Development Network (BDN) to provide -

• best practice; • strong awareness campaign about broadband, the National Broadband Network, and the

2 per cent. 2. Develop strong collaboration and co-funding frameworks –

• between the three tiers of government, the private sector and not-for-profit organisations. 3. Establish a national directory to -

• share knowledge; • raise awareness; • identify leading edge technologies.

4. Adopt a holistic approach to rolling out applications and infrastructure to be designed and developed to minimum standards for low bandwidth areas with the ability to be upgraded for high-bandwidth use.


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Emergency Services in the Region and Broadband Infrastructure

Telecommunications (Broadband) Policy relating to Emergency Services in rural and remote communities

Provision of increased broadband connectivity to rural and remote areas of the region would be of great benefit to these communities in terms of their preparedness and response to natural disasters especially bushfires.

Communities are facing increased disaster risk The capacity of communities in the region especially in rural and remote areas to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters especially bushfires is coming under increasing pressure because of climate change. The Southern and South eastern of NSW are and will continue to be more affected by the negative effects of climate change (reduced rainfall) than other areas of the State. The risk to communities from drastically reduced rainfall is compounded by the fact that the south east contains largest tracts of native and plantation forests in the State, and that many of these communities are located within or adjoining these forests.

Fig. 5: High gain mobile phone antenna on a Windellema RFS Truck In the recent National Adaptation Research Plan for Disaster Management and Emergency Services: Consultation Draft: Community and Organisational Resilience the following issues and strategies concerning telecommunications are discussed including:

Community preparedness Climate change will affect community preparedness in three key ways.


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• Groups that have hitherto not experienced severe weather events are likely to be exposed. In

particular, more populous urban centres may have increased exposure. • Climate change is likely to pose new risks to groups that might have preparedness for some

existing risks, but not for those created by climate change. It is critical that we learn from and overcome past cases of limited community preparedness, especially in larger communities that may be ill-prepared for major events. The potential for climate change to induce impacts on under-prepared communities from unfamiliar hazards is a significant challenge facing disaster managers.

• Thirdly, community awareness of the risks posed by climate change may provide an opportunity to drive greater and more inclusive preparedness, in which there is an ability to transfer preparedness elements between events (i.e., ‘all hazards’ planning).

Early warning systems The Disaster Management Plan states that there is a need to understand the ability for existing warning system coverage to be expanded and the necessary infrastructure and technology required to permit expansion. Existing warning systems are designed to target specific populations such as emergency response personnel or those defined by the geographic area exposed to a hazard or via the communication method utilised e.g. mobile phone, radio.

Adaptive Strategies Climate change will affect the emergency services’ and disaster/emergency management sectors’ capacity to support response and recovery. Strategies for preparing for and responding to the impacts of severe weather events (especially bushfires) resulting from climate change will need to be implemented at the individual, household, community, agency and business level. Provision of additional training is an important capacity-building measure that will be required by the regions emergency services and disaster management sectors in supporting disaster response/preparedness initiatives.

Emergency Services Volunteer Training The full-time and volunteer resource is already suffering significant stress. Recent research has concluded that many volunteers are struggling to balance full-time paid work and family responsibilities with higher expectations of compliance and associated training, as well as emergency callouts. Increased frequency and severity of disasters from climate change is expected to create additional pressure, especially as the likelihood of simultaneous events will limit the capacity of each jurisdiction to draw in resources from interstate (or from around the region). Provision of computer related training and associated infrastructure to volunteer emergency service personnel in region should also be positively considered for the following reasons:

• It will improve communication channels and data flows for decision-making during emergencies,

• Increase productivity and satisfaction for volunteers, • It will provide an additional incentive for volunteers both to join and continue service, by


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providing opportunities to improve personal skill sets and: • It will act as an important vector for broadband diffusion and social capital development in

rural and remote areas. A current limitation on the provision of training for rural and remote emergency services (mostly Rural Fire Brigades) is the lack of the following broadband related infrastructure:

• A computer; • A digital projector; • A printer; • Adequate cost-free Broadband connectivity.

While the first three are relatively easy to provide their usefulness is dependent on Broadband connectivity. In relation to provision of training, Broadband connectivity would allow:

• cost efficient delivery of up to date training from a centralised source; • the provision of training infrastructure at local fire sheds would allow local delivery thus

reducing the travel and time burden on volunteers, therefore reducing a major disincentive to the attendance of training courses;

• provision of information services such as weather • Development of innovative applications e.g. Windellema RFS has an automatic 25Km

radius lightning tracker.

Increased mobile broadband connectivity As mentioned above the Windellema RFS is undertaking innovative research into the deployment of high gain Next G antennas on their mobile units (fire trucks). This will give them the capacity to undertake more complex communication (including transfer of images, e.g. infrared hot spot maps, Google Earth images (directions to assist navigation to fire ground), fire movement data etc.) between the fire ground the RFS Shed and Fire Control. Because mobile coverage is not ubiquitous there will be still some areas unable to receive signal however it still provides RFS personnel with more options. Such an innovation would greatly enhance both firefighter effectiveness and safety. Obviously such an innovation though greatly enhanced by the use of high gain antennas is still ultimately limited by mobile network coverage.

Call-out response times As also mentioned above mobile phones are critical for alerting RFS members for call-outs. Response times to call outs are critical as minutes can often mean the difference between whether control and containment of an outbreak can be achieved or not. At present not all RFS volunteers have access to CB radios or pagers and are they are also often working away from land line access with no mobile coverage.

General community early warning systems As also mentioned above increased mobile network coverage would facilitate a more effective emergency phone alert system. In response to the 2009 Victorian bushfires, the Council of Australian Governments agreed to develop a national telephone emergency system. The national system will send emergency voice and text alerts to landlines and mobile phones based on an owners billing address. This initiative will be meaningless to many of the bushfire vulnerable communities of the region because of the lack of mobile phone coverage. Interestingly, Western Australia is ignoring the national system in favour of its own system that will enable people to also


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choose up to three phones, emails or fax addresses to also receive messages. If a mobile phone is billed to a business address in one location, the owner could opt to register either their home or alternative address and so receive the warning if they came under threat. This facility is important for the region due to the high proportion of coastal and bush weekenders with absentee landowners. At this stage neither system has the capability to send warnings to mobile phones of anyone visiting or passing through a danger area that do not have their billing address there. This is of concern because of the high tourist numbers in the region especially in the summer months.

Digital Regions Funding Initiative Expression of Interest

The project if approved will aim to provide mobile broadband connectivity to those areas that currently have none so as to improve the capacity of rural and remote communities to respond to and manage the increasing risks associated with emergencies especially bushfires. This initiative aims to improve broadband access to rural and remote fire sheds (see appendix 3 for a list of sheds and current mobile broadband status) by constructing a number of transmission towers in areas that have no or marginal broadband coverage. Stage one will be a scoping study to identify individual tower locations, costings and justifications and to secure support from stakeholders. Stage two will be for construction of individual towers and supply of associated equipment. Initial locations that have been identified for the establishment of transmission towers are in the following localities:

• Bookham/Burrinjuck • Dalgety • Delegate • Nerriga • Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla • Numeralla • Old Adaminiby/Anglers Reach/Lake Eucumbene • Rugby • Reids Flat • Yaven Creek

Construction of these towers would be the most appropriate infrastructure to facilitate broadband connectivity in these areas. They are easily upgraded and offer the opportunity for economic synergies through the co-location of emergency service applications (including volunteer callout and community warning) with wireless broadband, digital television/radio, and mobile telephony. Availability of suitable power and backhaul at optimal transmission locations would be a significant consideration limiting the number of towers proposed. The initiative would also involve the provision of computer, data projector, printer, Internet access equipment and high gain antennas. Satellite systems are proposed for those sheds unable to achieve wireless connectivity. The need for improved broadband connectivity in the region results from an increased bushfire risk due to climate change. Providing of bandwidth to fire sheds is also important because of increased


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training and information requirements for firefighters. Fire sheds are often the only community infrastructure in many localities and are used as rallying points and a source of information during emergencies. They can also become incident control centres. Brigades have access local council Section 94 funds to possibly match Federal funding. Additional initiatives related to telecommunications provision to emergency services in the region could include:

• Investigation of the establishment of a network of solar powered wireless broadband services to provide connectivity with a high level of redundancy and resilience during emergencies;

• An approach should be made to the Monaro Emergency Control Forum regarding emergency connectivity at the community level e.g. RFS Fire Sheds, training and ancillary infrastructure requirements;

• High gain mobile phone (Next G) antennas should be made available to RFS Brigades that request them;

• An approach should be made to Telstra re-exploring mutually beneficial ways of integrating the establishment in new localities of Next G services with the needs of emergency services;

• Local Councils may need to be approached regarding the availability of Section 94 funds for emergency telecommunications services


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Mobile Broadband (NEXT G) Services in the Region (Mobile telephony has been included in this analysis because of the associated NEXT G mobile Broadband services) “With the advent of 3G and more specifically Telstra’s Next G network (as Telstra’s coverage within regional areas is far broader than other 3G providers), a wireless broadband connection where mobile coverage is available is now achievable – although at a cost far greater than an equivalent ADSL service. As mobile phone coverage improves and increases, other than the expense, this would seem to be both a logical and pragmatic solution that will deliver both improved communication and access to online services to a far greater proportion of our population than would currently be available through the cable network. As with HiBIS which has subsidised the cost of providing broadband ADSL (and satellite) into regional, rural and remote communities, the RRDB sees no reason why similar subsidies could not be provided for wireless broadband services in locations where a terrestrial broadband service is not currently available.” Quoted from: Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Telecommunications (including Broadband) and other Technological Services in Rural and Regional New South Wales from the Riverina Regional Development Board. Mobile phone carriers are not interested in rural and remote areas, is evidenced by the lack of uptake of the Mobile Connect program offered by BCDE in 2008. Of $8million on offer to extend terrestrial mobile phone coverage to priority location without coverage, no carriers applied for funding under the program, “despite extensive discussions with a number of mobile phone companies, and the availability of subsidies of up to 100 per cent of the capital costs. This indicates that mobile phone carriers are at (or very close to) the limits of their commercial interest in further mobile phone coverage. This is particularly the case for locations with no accessible backhaul.” (Extract from DCBDE website 12/5/09)

Coverage of Telstra’s Next G Network

Major coverage blackspots (not complete see Appendix 3 RFS Brigade shed listings) • Main Road 62 connecting Canberra and Nowra via Nerriga (Oallen Ford) and Tarago: • Alternate snow/tourist route Braidwood/Numeralla/Nimitabel via Countegany • Durras • Nelligen area Kings Highway (Sugarloaf Hill/Bolaro Mountain) • Reids Flat/Bigga • Rye Park

New Telstra towers built but not yet operational • Brown Mountain -this tower will fill in last gap to provide continuous coverage on

highway from Canberra to Tathra; • Tathra- small tower to provide coverage of low laying area between village and the river-


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The area contains large caravan park and holiday accommodation businesses; • Monga-located on the Kings Highway between Braidwood and the top of the Clyde

Mountain – address not only a coverage blackspot but also a dangerous section of the highway;

• Surf Beach – Addresses some of the black spots in beach side areas Batemans Bay caused by the local topography

There are many areas with marginal reception in the region. The use of high gain antennas and car mounted antennas may improve reception in some cases Note: There are no Next G Broadband services in the yellow areas of the region

Figure 6: Next G Braodband coverage for South East NSW. Source: Telstra Telstra.com

Concerns about lack of NextG Coverage “Producers on the far south coast and Monaro will ask the New South Wales Farmers Association annual conference in Sydney tomorrow to lobby the Government to ensure that there is 100 per cent coverage throughout Australia. Sue Haslingden from the Bombala-Delegate branch and Zone 11 association delegate says although signal strength has improved with the new 3G technology, it is far from acceptable. "Basically we would like to see that there are no black holes for mobile reception," she said. "Today many farmers are working solo on their farms in remote areas and if there's an emergency or some need to contact somebody more often than not they can't. “There is technology in place and we are just pushing to hope that they further that extension”.7 This sentiment is consistent with the following recommendations concerning Next G made in the NSW Farmers’ Association Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy: Broadband Solutions for Remote Areas – June 2008. I have listed these recommendations because they sum up most of the problems concerning Next G provision in the region. These recommendations are as follows:

Make Next G Broadband a ‘Metro Comparable’ Service

7 ABC News Online 27/7/09, “Farmer groups in the area renewing calls for improved mobile phone reception in the

New South Wales south-east.”


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The Association views Telstra’s Next G network as a hugely significant resource in providing broadband internet to regional communications users not reached by the NBN. Telstra claims that the Next G network already provides high speed broadband internet to 99% of the population, a far larger coverage area than the NBN has been targeted to reach by 2013. The Association understands that Next G already provides download speeds of up to 20mbs, already significantly faster than the 12mbs minimum for the NBN, with Telstra looking to increase this to 40mbs by the end of next year. However, the primary limitation to Next G broadband providing a ‘metro comparable’ internet service is price. Next G broadband is not ‘metro comparable’ in terms of price, the Association has two suggestions aimed at increasing value of the Next G network in providing ‘metro comparable’ internet to rural and remote Australians, these include:

Open Up the Next G Network to Wholesale Telstra is unlikely to provide a ‘metro comparable’ pricing scheme for its Next G broadband plans whilst there is no competition from other telecommunications providers to the Next G network. Telstra’s argument for not making the Next G network available to competitors at wholesale rates (as CDMA was) is that Telstra alone invested in the infrastructure and therefore they are under no obligation to open it up for use by its telecommunications competitors. Whilst this argument may be fair in part, it fails to acknowledge that the Next G network is built on the towers that were used by the CDMA network, towers that were erected following large public investment. There may be regulatory and legal issues associated with opening the Next G network up to use by other telecommunications providers, or alternative complications however the Association see this as a possible way to improve the availability of ‘metro comparable’ Internet throughout regional Australia.

Make Next G Available as a Service under the ABG Currently Telstra Next G internet is not considered as a possible Internet Service Provider (ISP) for subsidy under the ABG. The NSW Farmers’ Association believes that all available options should be considered when looking to provide communities with high speed broadband , and as Next G internet ‘ticks all the right boxes’ in supplying broadband, the Association believes that it should be considered as a possible option. As an added bonus, public investment in Next G towers where determined appropriate would also increase the availability of critical mobile phone service in regional areas where it is lacking. 8

8 Source: NSW Farmers’ Association, Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy: Broadband Solutions for Remote Areas – June 2008.


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Potential Federal and State Government Funding Programs

The Community Broadband Development Fund (NSW Government)

This fund is providing $11.6 million over 5 years to help small and remote towns set up community-based high speed broadband network facilities. The fund will be delivered by the Department of State and Regional Development. The program is designed to support communities that need to diversify their economic base and manage their resources more efficiently. The program provides funding for core last mile community based broadband infrastructure for business and industry. It also allows communities access to educational, health and social benefits that technology service provision can provide. The fund is for communities with less than 5,000 residents that do not have a fixed high speed wireless broadband service that supports local business and industry expansion, diversification or sustainability requirements. Funding to each community will be determined by each community's infrastructure and technical requirements based on topography, geographic location, existing infrastructure and resources to support the network. The total funding to each community is expected to be between $45,000 and of $100,000. The Program involves a three-step process. Expressions of interested are invited in the first instance. Successful applications will then receive assistance to determine local requirements and develop a design and deployment plan. The third step involves completing an infrastructure build and deployment agreement application form. Projects should be discussed with your local DSRD office prior to submitting an expression of interest. Table 1: Communities that submitted expressions of interest for this program from the region Local Government Area Region Community/Locality Upper Lachlan South Eastern Bigga Bombala South Eastern Delegate Bombala South Eastern Bibbenluke Bombala South Eastern Cathcart/Creewah Bombala South Eastern Ando Snowy River South Eastern Dalgety Snowy River Shire South Eastern Adaminaby; Old Adaminaby;

Anglers Reach; Yaouk Valley; Lake Eucumbene

Palerang South Eastern Araluen Palerang South Eastern Mongarlowe Palerang South Eastern Nerriga Yass Valley South Eastern Binalong/Bookham


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Yass Valley South Eastern Wee Jasper

Regional response Of the above applications from communities in the region, the applications Dalgety and Delegate have been shortlisted for further investigation. Capital Region Project staff has supplied the Department of Lands consultants who undertaking further investigation of applications with details of the relevant community consultations held with residents of the shortlisted communities as well as relevant information already gathered concerning the establishment of wireless broadband infrastructure in these particular localities.

National Broadband Network (NBN) Initiative

The Federal Government has made a commitment to provide broadband bandwidth of at least 12 megabits per second to all Australian premises regardless of location. This 100 per cent coverage of Australian homes, schools and workplaces will be achieved by constructing a high-speed Fibre-to-the-Premises broadband network connecting 90 per cent of homes and businesses. For the rural and remote areas of the region this means that as well as regional centres every town with a population of over about 1,000 will be connected by fibre to the home. Small communities with less than 1,000 people may also be able to be connected by fibre to the home if they are well positioned in relation to backbone fibre links and other facilities. For the 10 per cent of homes and businesses not able to access the fibre network will be served by existing and future deployment of wireless and satellite broadband services. Though the Government claims that these services have the capacity to be enhanced with upgrade paths offering services over and above the 12 megabits per second benchmark the reality is this bandwidth will be considerably less than the 100Mbs possible with fibre to the home broadband delivery.

Digital Regions Initiative

The four year $60 million Digital Regions Initiative comprises $46 million announced as part of the Australian Government’s initial response to the Regional Telecommunications Review and additional funding of $14 million as part of the Government’s Rural and Regional Broadband Network Initiative announced in the May 2009 Budget. The Digital Regions Initiative will co-fund digital enablement applications to improve services in the key sectors of health, education and emergency services in regional, rural and remote communities across Australia in partnership with state, territory and local governments. The Digital Regions Initiative will support projects which will deliver innovative and sustainable services such as those that will:

• boost innovation in healthcare by enabling services such as remote consultation, diagnosis and treatment in areas where there are specialist skills shortages


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• extend digital education services to enable more regional, rural and remote communities to access improved educational opportunities

• increase the use of digital technologies to improve emergency and disaster response both within and across state and territory borders.

In terms of its application to rural and remote areas of South East NSW, the provision of broadband services and ancillary infrastructure to community based emergency service organisations (such as the Rural Fire Service RFS and State Emergency Service SES) would be a pragmatic use of this funding source. Local RFS sheds are located in every discernible rural locality. Indeed the RFS shed is often the major focus of social capital and identity for many rural and remote localities. The increased need for broadband connectivity for rural fire sheds is the result of a number of factors including:

• Recent reports that have shown that the South East is facing a an increasing risk of bushfires due to climate change(DECC 2008),

• The RFS is increasing the training requirements and opportunities for local volunteer bush fire fighters,

• Fire sheds are often the only community infrastructure in many localities, • Fire sheds are often rallying locations in bushfire emergencies, • Local brigades may be able to access Section 94 funding from local councils to match

Federal funding as required under this initiative, • Fire shed are often the used for fire management bases and a source of community

information concerning the progress of fires in a locality.

Suggested all purpose generic solution

• Provision of computer, data projector, printer and Internet access equipment to each fire shed in region.

• Satellite systems with solar back up would be immune from electricity outages resulting from pole down situations that often occur during severe fires.

• Possibilities may exist in particular locations to achieve considerable synergies through the construction of a community controlled transmission tower and co-location of emergency service applications, wireless broadband (Next G, Wi-Fi), digital television/radio, and mobile telephony.

Natural Disaster Mitigation Program

The Commonwealth will provide $16.0 million in 2009-10 for the Natural Disaster Mitigation program. The Natural Disaster Mitigation program is a national program which aims to create safer, sustainable communities better able to withstand the effects of floods, storms, bushfires and other rapid onset natural disasters. Projects that qualify for funding include risk management studies, early warning systems, community awareness and readiness measures, property buy-back schemes and structural works to protect against damage.


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Table 2: Estimated payments to the States for the Natural Disaster Mitigation program (2009 Federal Budget) $million NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT Total 2008-09 5.9 1.3 5.4 2.0 2.2 0.8 0.6 0.5 18.6 2009-10 5.1 1.1 4.7 1.7 1.9 0.7 0.5 0.5 16.0 2010-11 - - - - - - - - - 2011-12 - - - - - - - - - 2012-13 - - - - - - - - -

• It may be possible to access some additional funding through this funding program for installation of broadband services and related infrastructure in remote RFS and SES sheds.

• Provision of training for volunteers should be considered not only as a recruitment tool, but also as a strong retention tool. Research has shown that training and related activities were by far the most frequently stated activities enjoyed by volunteers.

Non-Profit volunteer sector including emergency services Provision of ICT related training to the non-profit sector in the region should also be investigated for the following reasons: it will improve communication channels and data flows for decision-making during emergencies, increase productivity and satisfaction for volunteers, reward volunteers through improvement of personal skill sets and finally act as an important vector for broadband diffusion and social capital development in rural and remote areas.


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Broadband Infrastructure Development for South East NSW Strategy: Identify cost effective broadband infrastructure solutions to enable the establishment of sustainable service provision in chronically under serviced localities of the region. Suggested Initiatives

• Migration of CMUX ADSL 1 and 2 switches to remote rural exchanges • Establishment of community owned towers; • Subsidy for fixed high gain antennas for Next G mobile Broadband, estimated cost per

household ($200-300). This would be approximately equivalent to covering satellite installation cost;

• Simplification of Internet access plans (e.g., regulate 3 standard types) Provides could compete on time of access and contention rates;

• Make issue of contention rates transparent- pay for downloads according to speed delivered (band into service categories);

• Build on existing investment especially fibre connections to small rural exchanges and schools

• Mandate co-location on any towers that can service rural and remote communities (for either backhaul or transmission purposes) within the bounds of radio interference, wind loading and suitable maintenance arrangements.

Barriers to Infrastructure provision

Access to mains power A number of suitable sites (optimal potential coverage available but power remains a significant problem bath in terms of cost and logistics).

• Mt Numeralla • Two sites located in forest near Nelligen (this is the last major gap in coverage between

Canberra and Batemans Bay on the Kings Highway).

Access to regional spectrum • The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC) found that

spectrum allocated for telecommunications services in regional areas is being underutilised. This is because carriers may own a licence for particular frequency bands in both metropolitan and regional areas but choose to provide services in metropolitan areas only. Spectrum licences are essentially private property and, under current Federal policy, other companies are excluded from establishing services in bands covered by licences. As a consequence, regional communities may miss out on services unless carriers consider it makes commercial sense to establish them.

• The RTIRC recommended that the Federal Government conduct future allocations of spectrum licences to ensure that services are delivered in regional areas either by making


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such licences conditional on a “use it or lose it” provision or by establishing an access regime for radiocommunications spectrum similar to that which exists for other telecommunications infrastructure.

• The Federal Government’s response to the RTIRC’s report was unequivocal in rejecting this recommendation stating:

• The feasibility and potential implications of incorporating “use it or lose it” provisions in spectrum licences has already been considered in its broader application, and by further considering this issue specifically for regional applications the Government risks inconsistency in the approach for spectrum management at a national level. Similarly, the recommendation that a spectrum access regime be provided for in legislation is not accepted given the significant complexity this will impose on spectrum management, for questionable net benefit in terms of efficient use of spectrum9.

• The Committee accepted this rejection of the general principle of regional allocation of spectrum but considered that there may be opportunities to assist the improvement of regional broadband services in forthcoming spectrum allocations. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are currently planning the process of reallocating some spectrum in the 3.6 GHz frequency band which is suitable for local wireless broadband. The Regional Communities Consultative Council (RCCC) was particularly interested in ensuring that when this is allocated, that these would be affordable for regional communities planning on establishing non-profit local broadband services. The RCCC’s preferred result would be for ACMA to allow access to the band without specific licensing under a “class” or “private park” licence.

• At its meeting on 4 December 2008, the Committee resolved to write to the Federal Minister to ask that a portion of the band was made available for non-profit or community uses. In reply, the Minister advised that this was a matter for ACMA which was considering the interests of all potential users, including community groups before making a decision about how the bands should be allocated at some stage in 2009.

Figure 7: Solar powered radio facility on Mt Budawang, Mongarlowe

Access to suitable telecommunications transmission sites • A small wireless Internet Service provider in the region, YLESS4U, in its submission to the

9 Source: DBCDE Regional Telecommunications Review Statement of Government Response, p.17


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NSW Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities, advised that a major barrier to expanding services in the region was trying to negotiate access to Crown land for the purpose of installing infrastructure at reasonable costs. The committee noted that the policies about access and the price charged varied between agencies and that this created uncertainty about the feasibility and costs when planning projects.

• The Committee notes that a diverse range of agencies across the State own sites that might be suitable for installing communications towers including the Department of Lands, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Forests New South Wales. It is a complicated task for a small communications company to negotiate with many different agencies with different policies about access. It considers that it would be beneficial if there could be a single point of contact for companies to arrange for use of State land and to consider cases of relief of fees on a case by case basis.

• The committee recommended that the NSW Government should consider ways to reduce barriers for regional telecommunication companies to gaining access to Crown land held by various agencies (such as NSW Forests, National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Lands) to install communications devices by introducing a central contact point within an appropriate agency such as the Department of Commerce to coordinate such requests and streamline terms of access taking into account the existing development controls relevant to those agencies.

Broadband Infrastructure Implementation Metrics

Selecting the Appropriate the Technological Solution for a Location and Estimating the Cost One of the major barriers to provision of broadband infrastructure to rural and remote areas of the region has been the inability of communities to obtain relevant information from telecommunication carriers so as to work out exactly what infrastructure is required and how much it will cost. As a result any attempts to obtain external funding through grant applications have been severely constrained This information asymmetry has meant that carriers have kept control of any infrastructure enhancement initiatives which have subsequently been undertaken in a way that is consistent with their corporate strategies which is sometimes at odds with achieving cost-effective solutions for communities. To prepare a viable application that addresses a community's telecommunication needs the following information should be at approximately estimated.

• What are the different types of broadband infrastructure? • What are their advantages and disadvantages? • What type of infrastructure is best suited for each locality? • How much does broadband infrastructure cost?

The following information has been obtained from the CSIRO Submission 09/348, Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy Response to the Backhaul Blackspots Initiative Stakeholder Consultation Paper, May 2009.


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What are the different types of Broadband infrastructure? Table 3: Different types of Broadband infrastructure Technology Advantages Disadvantages Optical Fibre • High data rates

o 1Gbit/s, 10Gbit/s per wavelength now (2009) o 100Gbit/s per wavelength common by 2014 • Upgradeable data rates (future proof) • Large link range

• High cost of fibre-laying • High cost of terminal equipment • Slow to deploy

Microwave Point to point Radio

• Fast deployment • Lower cost of terminal equipment

• Lower data rates: <400Mbit/s per link • Data rate limited by channel bandwidths • Need multiple parallel links for higher data rates • High tower costs

mmWave PtP Radio (eBand 70-80GHz)

• Higher data rates (1, 2.5, 10Gbit/s) • Fast deployment • Lower cost of terminal equipment

• Lower ranges: 3-10km • Ranges reduced by rain or snow

Satellite • Cheap ground station equipment • No other terrestrial infrastructure needed

• Lower data rates (due to limited satellite capacity)

Optical Fibre Currently (2009), optical fibre links with data rates of up to 400Gbit/s (with 40 DWDM wavelengths each supplying 10Gbit/s) and link distances of 100km are commonly available. The data rate per wavelength will increase by a factor of 10 to 100Gbit/s within 5 years (2014).

Microwave & mmWave Point to Point Radio Single microwave links can achieve a data rate of 200-300Mbits/s. The link data rates can be increased to nearly 4Gbit/s by using multiple parallel channels. It should be noted however, that the use of multiple bands is expensive using existing technologies and may also need regulatory approvals. For short distances up to 7km single hop distance, mmWave technologies can be used to achieve tens of gigabits/s data rate

What type of infrastructure is the best suited for rural and remote communities?

Backhaul Capacity Requirements The Telecommunications (National Broadband Network—Designated Information) Determination 2008 (No. 1) 6 uses the following service location categories:


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Table 4: Service location categories Service location category Demographic size

Urban Township/community grouping of 10,000 people or more

Major Rural Township/community grouping of more than 2,500 people but less than 10,000 people

Minor Rural Township/community grouping of 201 people or more but not more than 2,500 people within a standard zone

Remote Township/community grouping of 200 or less people or township/community grouping located outside a standard zone

The following Table sets out some typical backhaul scenarios for towns of small to large sizes. Assuming 100% market penetration, the average and peak backhaul data rate requirements are estimated for a variety of parameters. In particular, new 100Mbit/s peak data rate/user target for towns with populations of 100, 1,000 and 10,000 are included. Based on 2% average usage per subscriber, it is seen that towns of 1,000 populations could require backhaul data rates of 20Gbit/s if no data shaping is allowed during peak usage periods. This drops to 2Gbit/s if data shaping to the average data rate is allowed. For towns with 10,000 populations, the average data rate required of backhaul is 20Gbits/s and the peak data rate goes up to 200Gbit/s. For rural localities and small towns with population of 100, it is seen that the required average data rate for backhaul is 200Mbit/s and the required peak data rate for backhaul is 1 or 2 gigabit/s depending on the peak to average date traffic ratio. This indicates that microwave/wireless solutions are feasible for backhauls for rural localities and small towns. Table 5: Typical backhaul scenarios for localities towns of different populations10. Case Population Peak Data rate

Per Subscriber (Mbit/s)

Average Backhaul Data rate (Mbit/s)

Peak to Average Data Traffic Ratio

Peak Backhaul Data rate (Mbit/s)

1 100 100 200 5 1000 2 100 100 200 10 2000 3 1000 100 2000 5 10000 4 1000 100 2000 10 10000 Note: Average usage per subscriber: 2%.

10 Source: Adapted from CSIRO Submission 09/348, Digital Blackspots Initiative2009


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How much does Broadband Infrastructure cost?

Capital Expenditure Typical capital expenditure requirements from industry sources for various backhaul components are listed below. These list only costs associated with farmland and the required data rate effects on fibre optic backhaul costings. Also, for radio links, the topology (land flatness, presence of hills/mountains/existing towers) affects the required height of radio towers which consequently affects costings. These costings have been used to generate the comparison of capital expenditure costings for various selected examples of the backhaul technologies shown below. Table 6: Costing of examples of backhaul technologies11 Description CapexCost *Unit Optical Terminal Equipment - DWDM, 1 Wavelength, 10Gbit/s 150 $k Optical Terminal Equipment - DWDM, 10 Wavelengths, 100Gbit/s 510 $k Optical Terminal Equipment - DWDM, 40 Wavelengths, 400Gbit/s, 400km

1710 $k

Optical Repeater - DWDM, up to 40 wavelengths,100km 40 $k Optical Repeater Hut (including Power Supplies, etc) 200 $k **Optical fibre-laying - Farmland 38 $k Radio Terminal Equipment - Microwave Link, 40km, 256QAM, 0.949Gbit/s, 6GHz

120 $k

Radio Terminal Equipment - Microwave Link, 40km, 256QAM, 1.898Gbit/s, 6GHz

240 $k

Radio Terminal Equipment -Microwave Link, 40km, 256QAM, 2.560Gbit/s, 6.7GHz

240 $k

Radio Terminal Equipment - Microwave Link, 40km, 256QAM, 3.840Gbit/s, 11GHz

360 $k

Radio Terminal Equipment - mmWave Link, 2.5km, OOK, 1.250Gbit/s, 80GHz

70 $k

Radio Tower - 9m 3 $k Radio Tower - 12m 4 $k Radio Tower - 20m 44 $k Radio Tower - 50m 300 $k Satellite Groundstation, LEO, 620Mbit/s 350 $k Notes: *$k=$1,000 **Optical fibre laying will vary with landscape

11 Source: CSIRO Submission 09/348, Digital Blackspots Initiative2009


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Summary • Optical fibre backhauls are more costly than microwave backhauls but provide much higher

data rates. The land type has a significant effect on optical fibre backhaul costing. • For microwave links, the cost per hop increases with data rate due to the requirement for

additional radios when extra parallel channels are used to achieve the data rate. • Wave links may be suitable for short haul (~7km max subject to the frequency selected),

however, these links are seen to be inappropriate for long-haul backhaul due to the large number of link hops required to achieve significant backhaul distances.

• Satellite backhaul is less expensive than microwave backhaul in many cases but its data rate is limited to 620Mbit/s.

Operational Expenditure The operating expenditure for the various backhaul technologies have not been considered in detail here. The main operating expenditure contributors include the following:

• Electricity (this is a critical determinant as many of the most optimal transmission sites would need considerable expenditure to supply electricity, in some cases (very low populations) solar powered wireless installations with generator & battery back-up systems. may be suitable )

• Maintenance • Tower rental • Land rights leasing (fibre trenches, towers) • Performance monitoring / adjusting • Monthly/yearly service fees (satellite usage).

From CSIRO’s analysis, optical fibre is the premium backhaul technology with its high data rates and upgradeability. It is the technology of choice if digging and deployment time is not an issue. Microwave & mmWave point to point radio backhauls offer lower capital expenditure costs than optical fibre, but offer lower data rates for long-haul backhauls. mmWave radios are appropriate only for very short-haul backhauls. Microwave radios should be used where low cost is a requirement and high data rates > 3.8Gbit/s are not required. Satellite should only be chosen when only relatively low backhaul data rates <620Mbit/s are required. For multiple backhauls, the entire satellite capacity would be used up very quickly. Satellite operating costs (service fees) may be prohibitive.

OECD Comparison between networks A recent overseas study undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) more detailed analysis of access technologies and came to roughly similar conclusions to that of the CSIRO analysis above. Wireless networks have some good characteristics with respect to cost for the last mile, mobility and flexibility. They are however not capable of sending large amounts of data over larger distances and to provide service too many users simultaneously. These limitations are for the most part inherent to wireless technologies. It is therefore expected that wireless networks will be mostly used in and around the end users premises to bridge the last metre from the device to the physical network or for users who do not want or need access to high bandwidth. They will also be in use for mobile applications. As a first mile technology it cannot compete with hybrid networks on either bandwidth or cost. However, wireless may be the only viable choice in certain geographical


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situations where population is extremely dispersed and remote and where spectrum scarcity and sharing does not pose problems. Hybrid networks are a combination of existing technology and new technology allowing a lower capital expenditure compared to full fibre networks. Powerline communications will most likely remain a niche technology, because of the interference problems and the fact that the current technology is not competitive compared with DSL and cable networks. ADSL technology is limited in its downstream and upstream capabilities and will not be able to deliver bandwidth needs for the coming 15 years. With VDSL2 bandwidth is increased by moving the fibre close to the end-users. It allows end-users to sustain multiple high bandwidth streams. Cable networks are capable of even higher up and download speeds than VDSL. Cable is a broadcast network for shared use of both upstream and downstream bandwidth. Its capabilities in sustaining multiple on-demand streams are therefore limited by the amount of users and the bandwidth usage that they have (contention rates). Both cable and VDSL seem to be able to sustain services that the average user uses in the coming years. Fibre to the home networks provide the most bandwidth and the highest sustainable rates per end-user. Development of the technology is still ongoing. FTTH at present is the network that is most future proof, because it can handle the most new bandwidth-intensive applications. The choice between end-to end and PON will be based on various preferences and both technologies might be used to reach a large amount of users and different kinds of users. Regulators will have to remain aware that the network topology chosen may have an impact upon the regulatory options. The different solutions also have different regulatory implications in that existing regulatory tools, in particular local loop unbundling, may not be effective under certain network configurations. This means that incumbents may regain market power in local loops by investing in a specific configuration.

Conclusions There is an ongoing debate on what solution is best to connect end-users to high bandwidth networks. The main demand that future users will have towards broadband networks will be seamless operation and user experience from one medium to the other, low cost and non-limiting towards future uses. For the rural localities and small towns of the region with population of 100, it is seen that the required average data rate for backhaul is 200Mbit/s and the required peak data rate for backhaul is 1 or 2 gigabit/s depending on the peak to average date traffic ratio. This indicates that microwave/wireless solutions are feasible for backhauls for rural localities and small towns. Radio backhaul data rates are limited mainly by spectrum availability in the “long-haul” frequency bands. This situation could be improved by the allocation by ACMA of, say, 500MHz or 1GHz of spectrum for long-haul radio links.


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Backhaul

Provision of adequate backhaul is a critical determinant for any telecommunications initiative in the Region. For example the additional transmission towers recommended to be constructed in this report all require appropriate backhaul. There are also a number of backhaul blackspots that require new or additional capacity.

Backhaul Black Spots • Mt Selwyn to Adaminiby (digging in the National Park and cost problems) • Cabramurra problems backhaul to Mt Selwyn; • Possible microwave link from Cooma via Mt Numeralla to Peak Alone (Cobargo); • Fibre Link from Reids Flat to Bigga • Fibre extension from exchanges to Fire Sheds and to Community Centres/Halls (possible

concerns were mentioned regarding the quality and performance of existing fibre provision some schools and rural exchanges in the region);

Community transmission towers and backhaul The following candidates for proposed community transmission towers in the region would all require further investigation regarding provision of power and adequate backhaul. The most likely backhaul solution being microwave as recommended above. Proposed towers requiring backhaul include:

• Bookham/Burrinjuck, • Dalgety, • Delegate, Numeralla, • Nerriga, • Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla, • Old Adaminiby/Anglers Reach/Lake Eucumbene, • Reids Flat, • Rugby, • Yaven Creek.

Network redundancy and path diversity • Providing alternative routes to existing backhaul infrastructure is a great benefit in the

instance of servicing other locations such as radio high sites which will continue to deliver emergency radio, digital television and will ensure the infrastructure (bandwidth) is available for future wireless digital services. In addition, whilst alternative backhaul offers competitive services to the local supplier it also offers redundancy and path diversity to the local community resulting in more reliable services overall. The suggested Numeralla/Peak Alone and Reids Flat/Bigga backhaul links are regional examples.


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Backhaul and the need for integrated planning • Towers will all need suitable backhaul arrangements. If no fibre is available to connect the

tower suitable wireless backhaul will have to be used. Planning wireless backhaul routes will be a major consideration in the location of multiple towers across each local government areas and the region as a whole.

• The most obvious starting point would be to ascertain whether a proposed tower could cost effectively access Telstra’s fibre network which runs to many rural and remote exchanges. This connection could be made with fibre if the distance is short enough to be economically feasible or by microwave.

• When choosing a backhaul technology, the main factors to consider include the following: Required peak data rate Backhaul distance Power requirements (Grid, solar with possible generator & battery back-up

systems). Capital expenditure Operating expenditure Reliability Upgradeability Redundancy and path diversity

Provision of additional of backhaul links Identifying possible routes for the provision of backhaul links to priority locations can be a complex task and would most likely require further detailed design and planning analysis. There are many factors which need to be considered including, without limitation:

• Investigating opportunities to utilise capacity on existing fibre optic and terrestrial networks(long-haul microwave) as access points for new links and tails;

• The availability and access to existing infrastructure assets for the provision of both fibreoptic and microwave backhaul (eg. ducts, poles, transmission lines for fibre optic deployment and communications towers for microwave backhaul);

• Assessing terrain for routes of most practical and economic deployment where provision of new fibre optic backhaul (civil works) is to be provided; and;

• Assessing routes where provision of new fibre optic backhaul (civil works) is to be provided that ensures the lowest impact on the environment and indigenous land use issues.

Constructing backhaul links can sometimes require hundreds of different land access agreements and be subject to a number of different environmental processes. The legalities can be quite complex and should not be rushed, without due consideration. The Australian Government may need to look at overriding various states environmental and indigenous ownership laws, which could take some time to implement. The better alternative would be to identify proposed routes for priority locations as quickly as possible and enter into consultation to make the required arrangements with the states, territories, local governments and associated organisations to expedite approval processes12.

12 Source: TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd, Submission on Backhaul Blackspots Initiative Stakeholder Consultation Paper, May 2009


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Information concerning existing backhaul in the region Market Clarity’s recent publication, Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas 2009 2, comes in the form of a presentation-style report. The report contains 341 maps of backhaul fibre, microwave, DSLAMs and Fixed Wireless Broadband infrastructure from Market Clarity’s extensive Telecoms Infrastructure Database covering national, state and capital city inner and outer metro areas. The Australian Telecom Infrastructure Atlas 2009 is delivered in Adobe PDF-format. Each map within the Atlas is provided in Medium Resolution format (approximately 1280 x 800 pixels), with telecom infrastructure overlaid on population density or street maps.

Figure 8: Example maps prepared by Market Clarity on Australian Telecom Infrastructure.

Community Telecommunication Transmission Towers

A major recommendation of this report is the construction of a number of community controlled telecommunications transmission towers. The initial candidates for these towers are:

• Bookham/Burrinjuck, • Dalgety, • Delegate, Numeralla, • Nerriga, • Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla, • Old Adaminiby/Anglers Reach/Lake Eucumbene, • Reids Flat, • Rugby, • Yaven Creek.


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Further sites will be identified as part of a scoping study for a future Digital Regions Funding Application. At this stage the Capital Region Development Board has only submitted an Expression of Interest in submitting a developed Funding Application to this program.

Figure 9: Regional radio facility on Mt Delegate

Background and Rationale The community owned towers concept was first outlined in the Capital Region Development Board Submission on Clever Networks in 2007. The idea has received impetus of late as a result of the NSW Governments Community Broadband Development Fund which essentially caters for the implementation of this concept. Community owned towers i.e. towers owned and operated independently of particular telecommunications companies (most likely managed by local government) would overcome a number of major barriers to telecommunications provision to rural and remote areas of the region. These are:

• The cost of towers is a major capital cost for providers and in most areas this cost far outweighs the potential rate of return the provider would receive from the relatively low customer base in rural and remote areas;

• An independently owned tower could control which service provider and on what terms those that were chosen could use the infrastructure in a way that was more aligned to the community’s needs rather than the commercial imperatives of the provider.

• Access/leases for sites and towers are a major cost and therefore impediment to service provision – if the community controlled the tower this cost could be balanced against the benefits of service provision.

• Telecommunications towers and electricity supply are future proof telecommunications investments in rural and remote areas – they will be built and used one way or another whether for mobile broadband, telemetry or digital television/radio. It is unlikely that the fibre to the home roll-out that will result from the National Broadband Initiative will reach


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many of these locations and reliance on satellite bandwidth is sub-standard in terms of quality (latency) and fundamentally uneconomical. Transmission and associated equipment may change but the towers will remain as a platform for future service provision regardless of technological change. Initially backhaul (if unavailable) can be provided by microwave and if necessary towers could in the future be connected with optical fibre.

Management Model for Community Owned Telecommunications Towers

Acquisition of Land • As mentioned elsewhere in this report the acquisition or lease of suitable sites for

telecommunications towers is a significant barrier to their construction, Community owned towers may find it cheaper as the person selling the land will not only be part of the community being serviced at a lower cost but also they will be in a sense undertaking a commercial arrangement with their local community rather than a large telecommunications company. Knowing rural communities, this will more than likely, though not unequivocally, lead to lower site acquisition costs.

• The basic management model for community towers is aimed at relieving the administrative and works burden on local councils, keeping the local community at arm’s length from the day to day operation of the facility and enabling a level of competitive efficiency to operate. These management goals will be achieved by using three basic levels tools. These include:

• A competitive tender process for construction of the bare powered tower. • A competitive tender for service provision using the tower with a time based lease

that will be put out to tender again after a period of time if required. • A competitive tender for maintenance and facility management as there is likely to

multiple service provision from each tower. Each service provider will negotiate tower access with the maintenance management entity. Again the lease is time/performance based.

Councils will only have to organise the various leases. It is hoped that generic leases will be developed which can be used across the region. A section 355 committee could be set up comprising Council staff, Councilors, Rural Fire Service representatives and residents to oversee the process.

Institutional Barriers-Community Towers There is a tradition in Australia of smaller or more isolated communities funding the provision of commercial or national television broadcasting services that they would not otherwise receive. Under the self-help retransmission arrangements, community groups or local councils have purchased and maintained the equipment necessary to receive and locally retransmit a broadcasting service (radio or television) from either a nearby terrestrial transmitter or a satellite. Most rural councils in the region have had experience with managing re-transmission installations. With the transition from analogue to digital television/radio many Councils are faced with undertaking substantial new work in this area. For instance Upper Lachlan Shire Council approached project staff to discuss the possibility of building a number of towers in the region to provide digital television provision. Most councils in the region also own and operate their own data networks to facilitate


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communications within their often geographically large local government areas. Councils in the region have also had experience to varying degrees with local RFSCB radio networks. Management of community towers along the lines suggested above would not be alien a concept for councils. Note: A guide to the self-help retransmission arrangements is available from the Australian Communication and Media Authority. A copy of the guide is available from the Authority's website (www.acma.gov.au) or by calling ACMA on 1800 810 241.

Consistency with Emerging Government Policy Towards Provision of Telecommunications Infrastructure. In proposed contract terms for the Regional Blackspots initiative the government says is seeking an arrangement where it owns the “passive” network (the fibre and the ducts), while the successful tenderer for the network funds will own the “active” network (the electronics and switches). This is similar to the separation of the Singapore national broadband network. Such separation of ownership is unusual in world terms bar Singapore and a few European municipal networks. Under the Blackspots plan, the successful bidder will be having “full contractual responsibility” for delivery of the network. Payment of the $250m in quantum will be conditional upon the achievement of milestones. During the five year operations period, the bidder will not be permitted to sell any of its relevant backhaul assets without government permission, but the government can dispose of its passive network ownership at its leisure. Additionally, the proposed contract says “You will have all risk in respect of both Your Assets and Our Assets; if any of Our Assets are lost, damaged or destroyed you must reinstate the assets, at Your expense; if any of Your Assets are lost, damaged or destroyed you must reinstate the assets at Your expense to the extent necessary to meet Your obligations under the agreement.” The proposed contract offers the bidder a minimum 5 year exclusive right to manage, operate and maintain both the passive and active network and offer to provide, and provide, certain wholesale carriage and access services to third parties on open and equivalent terms and conditions. It can be cancelled by the government at 20 days notice. As far as funding and revenue collection is concerned, the bidder will be entitled to retain all revenue from the provision of the third party services plus they will be responsible for all costs associated with the provision of operation and maintenance services for both the passive and active elements of the network.

What would be the ideal service provision regime based on the community tower • Mobile Broadband/Telephony • Cheaper wireless Internet services • Emergency services related application • Digital television/radio • Telemetry applications

Technologies change but the need for towers remains The establishment of a network of transmission towers to service rural and remote communities in


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the region should be a prime focus of any telecommunications investment. The opportunities for co-location of broadband, mobile telephony and digital television/radio transmission infrastructure on a single tower would ensure the most cost-effective provision of these services thus allowing greater transmission penetration of less populous areas. These assets should be owned and controlled by either the Local, State or Federal government in perpetuity to ensure maximum service access in perpetuity. This approach would avoid propriety and technological lock-ins which are difficult to overcome through competition in areas characterised by low population densities. This approach though an expansion of the concept would be consistent with the federal government’s planned structural separation of its planned regional backhaul network In proposed contract terms for the Regional Blackspots initiative released in July 2009 the government says that it seeks to own the “passive” network while the successful tenderer for the network funds will own the “active” network.

Additional Information Concerning Telecommunications Towers

Points to Consider When Determining Site Location and Coordinates The following points should be considered in determining site location and coordinates for a new service:

• As a starting point obtain site coordinates to the accuracy of available maps or use coordinates supplied with the request. Surveyed data or data taken using a GPS unit are preferred.

• Ensure that a common coordinate datum is used for coordinate comparison. Note that the ACA database records coordinates in 1966 Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD66).

• Search for existing sites within the vicinity of the proposed site as the proposed site may already be recorded in the ACA database (this avoids unnecessary creation of additional site records). A search radius consistent with available map coordinate plotting accuracy and the expected density of radio sites should be used.

• Commonly used initial search radii are: 50m to 100m in capital city central business districts 100m to 500m in suburbs and other cities; and 500m to 2000m in rural areas

• Using a listing of adjacent services on the site (a list of all services within a certain frequency range and distance of the proposed site) as a guide to assessing the accuracy of proposed site coordinates compared with those of database site coordinates.

• For possible sites review the site configuration field to see if the location of the new service can be covered by the description of the physical location of antennas on the existing sites.

• If by using coordinate searches, no site can be identified as being that of the proposed site, a site name search should occur before creating a new database site record. Site name searches may include building/tower names, street addresses, or geographic location/suburb.

• If any doubts exist about the accuracy of site coordinates obtained from the above, additional advice should be sought (eg contact the licensee or licence applicant). Accredited Persons may also contact the ACA Regional Office responsible for the site for advice. In cases where there are still doubts about the accuracy of the site coordinates, ACA staff


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should consider whether an audit of the sites involved is warranted.


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Local Government and Telecommunications Provision in the Region The following local government areas make up the Region: Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Harden, Palerang, Queanbeyan, Snowy River, Tumut, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley and Young. Local Government has moved beyond the traditional “roads rates and rubbish" focus. The State of the Regions report for 2005-06 states

“It can be said that, as a driver of economic development in the 21st century communications infrastructure is as important as roads and railways were in the 19th century.”

Local Governments in the South East of NSW maintain a close connection with their rural and remote communities and are responsible for delivering a whole range of services vital to the functioning of these communities. However, it is well known that Local governments face particular challenges when it comes to infrastructure, financing and sustainability. This situation has been exacerbated by constant cost shifting and statutory rate capping. Local Councils of the region have a strongly recognised the importance of broadband technologies. There is a common acknowledgement of the importance of broadband technologies for economic development. There is a general consensus among local councils of the region that:

• The diffusion of high-speed Internet to all pockets of the shire will make living, working and investing in the Shire increasingly attractive and viable.

• The Internet is the great leveler as it allows businesses in isolated areas to compete equally with those in metropolitan centres,

• High-speed broadband offers a clear opportunity for local governments to transform the way they perform ,

• Connecting council offices and depots with broadband offers the potential to better manage plant, infrastructure and workforces.

• Broadband provides new ways for the community to engage with local governments and vice versa.

• Broadband also offers new ways for the public to access public information and services such as libraries.

• Broadband provides new ways for the community to engage with local governments and vice versa.

• They see the recent National Broadband Network initiative as probably the most important development on the table for rural and regional Australia for the next 10 years,

• Local Councils see the delivery of broadband telecommunications infrastructure in South East NSW as crucial to the long–term viability, wellbeing and sustainability of the region.

A report by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has highlighted the broadband opportunities for regional Australia. The report estimates $3.2 billion and 33,000 jobs are lost to


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regional Australia every year due to inadequate broadband infrastructure13. ALGA has also produced a strategic framework for local government concerning broadband d that consists of the following five components:

• Promoting the value of online content and services to both local government and the community

• Aggregating demand to facilitate the availability of affordable broadband access • Promoting collaboration between government agencies, communities and commercial

services providers • Establishing policy and strategy guidelines for the coordinated development of broadband

infrastructure • Raising the skills and awareness of broadband users14.

Possible Network Implementation issues for councils

Planning Issues Where possible and cost-effective, fibre optic lines can and will be placed underground. In other instances, aerial cabling may be faster and more cost-effective. This raises a number issue of concern to councils such as how the roll-out of the network may interact with local planning laws and impact on local environments. The NSW Department of Planning has released an amendment to the Infrastructure State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) 2009 dealing specifically with telecommunications and a new a NSW Telecommunications Facilities Code. The amendments are designed to make it easier for the Federal Government to roll out the National Broadband Network. The changes will expand the types of telecommunications facilities that do not need a development application. The changes include:

• Certain satellite dishes will be allowed to be classed as ‘exempt development’, meaning people can buy them and get them installed without planning approval.

• Telecommunications towers needed for broadband access in rural areas would be classified as ‘complying development’ subject to factors such as height limits and proximity to residential areas.

The draft Code also outlines the criteria that each type of facility must meet to be considered as exempt or complying development. Types of facilities covered by the Code include:

• Base stations (including macrocell and microcell installations); • Facilities for subscriber connection (e.g. broadband, pay TV etc); • Above ground housing for telecommunications infrastructure; • An underground cable or duct, including boring cable; and • Temporary, ancillary and maintenance facilities.

The Code is designed to make it easier to approve broadband telecommunications facilities that meet community needs, while at the same time having minimal impact on communities. In order to be classed as exempt or complying development, telecommunications infrastructure would have to

13 Source: ALGA Report: Innovative Uses of Broadband by Local Government in Australia, Discussion Draft, 2007. 14 Source: ALGA website


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meet set criteria in terms of location, design, construction and operation. The criteria are designed to minimise visual impact, encourage co-location of facilities where possible and, of course, meet relevant health and safety standards. The installation of new towers, for example, will not be allowed as exempt development, and would only be considered complying development in industrial or rural zones. Even then, strict limits on height and proximity to residential areas would apply. If a proposed piece of broadband infrastructure did not meet the criteria for exempt or complying development, it would then go through the council development application process.


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Possible Partners for Future Broadband Related Projects in the Region

Broadcast Australia

There may be a possibility to extend the program described below from its focus on television re-transmission to provision of broadband services. In 2000, the $10 million Regional Communications Partnership Self-help Subsidy Scheme was jointly established by the Commonwealth and Broadcast Australia the private owner of the National Transmission Network (NTN). The Commonwealth's $5 million contribution was sourced from the Television Fund that was established with the proceeds from the second sale of Telstra shares. The Scheme allows self-help retransmission communities in regional and remote Australia that are able to locate their equipment on local NTN sites to pay a subsidised rate to access those sites for a period of 10 years. It is a matter for community groups or councils to determine whether this represents a more cost-effective way of providing retransmission services than, for example, locating their equipment elsewhere on a non NTN-related site such as a council water tower. Broadcast Australia is responsible for administering the Scheme; self-help groups seeking subsidised access to NTN sites should contact that company in the first instance. Direct enquiries to the Business Development Manager, Television, Broadcast Australia (Tel: 02 8425 4625)

CSIRO

CSIRO is currently developing a wireless regional access solution could deliver broadband services at 100Mbps to sparsely populated areas at significantly lower costs than WiMax or 4G. This speed claim is far higher than what current wireless technologies are capable of delivering. CSIRO is also developing a microwave backhaul product capable of transmitting up to 10Gbps over a distance of 50 kilometres. A number of analyses of various access technologies has concluded that, for small towns with a few hundred or less population, employing microwave links for backhauls can be much faster and cheaper (by the order of up to 80% in capex) than optical fibre. To this end, new and green wireless backhaul technologies are being developed at CSIRO. CSIRO is currently negotiating with stakeholders to establish a sustainable research investment model for this technology. CSIRO’s track record in the field includes the development of world-first 6Gigabit/s link at 80GHz, most spectrally efficient multiple-input and multiple output antenna technologies, and world leading satellite communications systems. It had prototyped a 6Gbps version capable of shorter range transmission, but CSIRO believed that concept was scalable. This technology is being positioned as a way of extending fibre backhaul links into towns that would otherwise miss out on the high bandwidth infrastructure. CSIRO could be approached with the view of undertaking regional trials of these emerging wireless technologies in the Region.


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Emergency Management Authority (EMA)/Monaro Emergency Control Forum

The Australian Government provides support to the States and Territories with the development of emergency preparedness and mitigation activities. In particular it will facilitate education, training, research, public awareness, information collection and dissemination activities. It will also provide specialised warning and monitoring services for meteorological and geological hazards as appropriate15. Three areas the EMA could be involved in which would relate to broadband in the region is the development of strategies to address the following issues:

• Community warning and call out for rural and remote communities with no mobile phone access;

• Providing quicker access to satellite imagery for fighting bushfires; • Providing medical assistance for injuries incurred during a bushfire incident.

Representations should be made to these bodies requesting their assistance and advocacy regarding telecommunications provision for rural and remote areas of the region especially in regards to the needs of emergency services and the development of community warning systems. As well as further explore innovations being undertaken at Windellema RFS using Next G and high gain antennas for emergency communications between Fire Control, RFS sheds and vehicles operating on the fire ground, especially the ability to transmit real time images back to Fire Control.

Telstra

Telstra is the telecommunications carrier in rural and regional Australia. Depending on the final nature of Telstra’s' role in the development of the National Broadband Network initiative there may be some possibility for the combination of the Community tower proposal outlined in this report and the extension of Telstra’s NextG mobile telephony/data network. Key elements of such a collaborative proposal would be:

• Utilisation and possible extension of Telstra’s backhaul fibre to remote exchanges; • Telstra’s investment would be limited to only transmission and switching infrastructure on

towers; • Delivery of substantial social benefit to community involved; • Enhanced corporate reputation and positive publicity for Telstra; • Additional bargaining chip in negotiations with Federal Government concerning NBN

arrangements; • Telstra would have a direct role in the establishment of a ubiquitous wireless coverage.

15http://www.ema.gov.au/www/emaweb/emaweb.nsf/Page/Abou)tEMA_PolicyInitiatives_AustralianGovernmentEmergencyManagementPolicyStatement


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TransACT16

The Capital Territory’s broadband infrastructure and service provider TranACT is seeking opportunities to participate in the National Broadband Network build in and around the Canberra area. But the company has no plan to slow its own roll-out of fibre investments ahead of the NBN roll-out. TransACT already owns and operates an open access network servicing Canberra and Queanbeyan and as the NBN proceeds, will seek a construction role in the territory and its surrounding area while likely tipping its infrastructure assets into the national network. TransACT's investment in its 100Mbps fibre to the premises (FTTP) had been ongoing for two years, through its vendor partners Alcatel-Lucent and Corning. The company did not plan to bid for any of the network construction work currently being tendered through the Backhaul Blackspots program, and did not intend extending itself into a backhaul provider. However, in the Canberra and Queanbeyan areas, where Transact services are available in about 90,000 premises, the company wants to play a big role, first in the provision of infrastructure, and then as a service provider. In their Backhaul Blackspots Initiative: Stakeholder Submission TransACT has outlined some basic plans for regional provision of Backhaul and Broadband service bundling. Its strategy focuses on proving ADSL services in the towns of the region with little discussion of service provision outside these towns.

16 Source Riley, J., “TransACT will seek opportunities to play a significant role in assisting the Federal Government achieve its goals of enabling the visionary digital economy strategy,”iTWire, Aug 12, 2009.


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Suggested Areas of Further Research Concerning Rural and Remote Telecommunications Provision in the Region Such research would initially require some funding oversight and organisation by an identified regional entity such as Regional Development Australia, initial tasks would be to: Identify and target funding sources for research and development by:

◦ utilising existing systemic research structures such as the Australian Research Council; ◦ establishing a specific R & D fund with contributions from

▪ all levels of government, ▪ companies involved in the region, industry bodies.

Possible Research Topics

Power Supply and Usage of Telecommunications Equipment and Infrastructure in Rural and Remote Areas

• Provision of power for telecommunications infrastructure is extremely expensive and is a major inhibitor to broadband and other telecommunication service provision in the region. The optimal transmission sites are often to be found on mountain tops at a considerable distance from the existing electricity grid e.g. Mt Numeralla Mt Budawang etc.

• Mains electricity is extremely vulnerable to Bushfires which often result in outages lasting for days. Generator backup is costly, noisy and problematic.

• Solar powered telecommunications infrastructure with battery storage would be far cheaper and easier to deploy in remote locations.

• Wi Fi wireless broadband infrastructure can operate efficiently off solar power • Satellite based systems need to be always on to track the satellite and use considerable

power. • Research required to make satellite systems more power efficient. • Solar-powered telemetry applications for agriculture, forestry and natural resource

management. Agriculture, forestry and natural resource management will increasingly become more reliant on real-time telemetry and remote sensing from often remote locations eg for remote monitoring of moisture content, remote observation of crops and animals, water monitoring, weather.

Broadband Usage in the Region In their 2009 Making Broadband Mainstream: Delivering Broadband as an Essential Service to the Australian Community Report, the Broadband Development Network recommended that the following key research activities be undertaken. These research activities are equally applicable at the regional level and lend themselves to a focus on telecommunications provision to rural and remote communities. These research activities (with various additions) include:

• Research to identify the economic and social benefits of high-speed broadband and research to encourage further improvement in the provision of such services.

• Research and develop a supply and demand matrix for rural and remote telecommunications


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by application technology, demographic, location with identification of drivers and barriers to diffusion.

Such a research initiative would involve: • Undertake research that focuses on the transformational nature of broadband applications on

society and business practices. • The commissioned research and development should draw on nationally identified priorities

and assess how broadband addresses these priorities. • Undertake research and development to identify triggers for the uptake of broadband that

lead to successful business models. Improved business models using broadband would demonstrate value to the taxpayer from their investment in broadband research.

• Undertake research to determine the economic value that the provision of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) by developers provides in greenfield and brownfield estates.

• Develop and implement awareness and promotional activities on the need for research and development and the positive outcomes of that research and development.

• Establish an authoritative group to oversee the performance of the framework document to –monitor; measure; report on the processes; and to provide a catalyst ‘to make it happen’.

Emergency Services

• Further explore innovations being undertaken at Windellema RFS using Next G and high gain antennas for emergency communications between Fire Control, RFS sheds and vehicles operating on the fire ground, especially the ability to transmit real time images back to Fire Control.

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Glossary ACMA: Australian Communications and Media Authority

ABG: Australian Broadband Guarantee

ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, ie. Cable Broadband

Backhaul: Is the signal traffic between regional access points to centralised ‘point of presence’, such as single mobile phone towers link to the telephone companies network.

BDN: Broadband Development Network

BB: Broadband

CRDB: Capital Region Development Board

CSIRO: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

CTC: Community Technology Centre

DSL: Digital Subscriber Line – providing digital data transmission over wires of the local telephone network.

DWDM: Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing

FTTH: Fibre to the Home

Inter-Carrier Roaming: To have mobile phone access when traveling outside the geographical coverage area of the home network, such as when traveling overseas.

IP: Internet Provider

CMUX: Customer Multiplexer, A device for enabling combination of tow or more signals into a common chanel or signal for transmission, as is with broadband.

NBN: National Broadband Network

OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

Pair Gain: Method of transmitting multiple Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) signals over the twisted pairs traditionally used for single consumer use.

PON: Passive Optical Network – is a point to multi-point fibre to the home system

TIO: Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

VDSL2: A type of DSL known as Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line 2, around four times faster than maximum speed of ADSL2+.

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References ABC News Online 27/7/09) Farmer groups are renewing calls for improved mobile phone reception in the New South Wales south-east. ABS 1307.8 – Australian Capital Territory in Focus 2006 ALGA Report: Innovative Uses of Broadband by Local Government in Australia Discussion Draft, 2007. Capital Region Development Boards Clever Networks Submission 2006 Ewing, S., Thomas, J., and Schliessl, J., (2008) CCi Digital Futures Report: The Internet in Australia, Infrastructure Australia 2008 A Report to the Council of Australian Governments p.20 CSIRO Submission 09/348, Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy Response to the Backhaul Blackspots Initiative Stakeholder Consultation Paper, May 2009 National Adaptation Research Plan for Disaster Management and Emergency Services: Consultation Draft: Community and Organisational Resilience NSW Department of Planning Infrastructure State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) Amendment 2009. NSW Department of State and Regional Development submission to the NSW Parliament Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities (2009): NSW Farmers’ Association Submission to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy: Broadband Solutions for Remote Areas – June 2008. NSW Parliament, Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities (2009): Beyond the Bush Telegraph: meeting the growing communications needs of rural and regional people Report; no.2/54) NSW Telecommunications Facilities Code 2009 OECD Communications Outlook for 2009 Riverina Regional Development Board, Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Telecommunications in Rural and Regional NSW, 2009 Soul Australia Submission, Response to the Backhaul Blackspots Initiative Stakeholder Consultation Paper, Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy 2009. Stafford, P., 2 August 2009 The great Australian mobile broadband rip-off, Telecommunications Today.

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Telecommunications Today, Report 3: Farming sector attitudes to take-up and use Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2008 The Telecommunications (National Broadband Network—Designated Information) Determination 2008 (No. 1) 6 TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd, Submission on Backhaul Blackspots Initiative Stakeholder Consultation Paper, May 2009

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Appendix: 1 ADSL enabled exchanges and capacity in South East NSW (as of January 2009)

Site ESA Code DA Code Spare ADSL Services(ports)

Spare ADSL 2+ Services

Araluen ARAL DA Code 37 Batemans Bay BATE 629 Batemans Bay BATE DA006, DA007, DA008,

DA025, DA033 34

Batemans Bay BATE DA010, DA031, DA041 11 Batemans Bay BATE DA014, DA030 3 Batemans Bay BATE DA016, DA017 36 Batemans Bay BATE DA018, DA021, DA027,

DA047, DA047, DA048, DA050

29

Batemans Bay BATE DA018, DA027, DA050 29 Batemans Bay BATE DA019 19 Batemans Bay BATE DA027, DA045, DA049,

DA050, DA052 85

Batemans Bay BATE DA027, DA050 66 Batemans Bay BATE DA046 28 Batlow BATL 2 296 Bega BEGA No ports available 497 Bega BEGA DA002, DA008, DA025 32 Binalong BNLG 7 Bodalla BODA 233 Bodalla BODA DA001 77 Bemboka BEMB 119 Bombala BOMB 17 321 Bonalbo BNBO 63 Boorowa BOWA 75 Bowning BWNG 55 Braidwood BRWD 2 165 Braidwood BRWD DA002, DA010 38 Bermagui South BERS No ports available 297 Bermagui South BERS DA007, DA009 No ports availableBermagui South BERS DA010 65

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Bredbo BRED 46 Bungendore BGRE No ports available 104 Bungendore BGRE DA003, DA010 Bungonia BNGA 158 Candelo CAND 55 Candelo CAND DA003 57 Captains Flat CPFT 32 Cobargo COGO No ports available 314 Cooma COMA 2 201 Cooma COMA 384 Cooma COMA DA053, DA055 31 Crookwell CWLL No ports available 576 Currawang CRWG 100 Dalmeny DLMY 4 301 Delegate DELE 122 Durras DURS No ports available 288 Durras DURS DA001 9 Eden EDEN 1 398 Eden EDEN DA015, DA017 52 Eden EDEN DA020 70 Gearys Gap GGAP 32 Gearys Gap GGAP DA001, DA500 No ports available Goulburn GLBN No ports available 955 Goulburn GLBN 628 Goulburn GLBN DA015, DA032, DA096,

DA130 9

Goulburn GLBN DA016 16 Goulburn GLBN DA103, DA115 No ports availableGoulburn GLBN DA108, DA112 23 Goulburn GLBN DA123, DA125, DA126 2 Goulburn GLBN DA134 33 Gundaroo GDRO 153 Gunning GNNG 183 Hall HALL DA005, DA006 No ports available Hall HALL DA012 51 Hannam Vale HANV 24 Harden HRDN 28 102

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Hoskinstown HKTN No ports available 357 Hoskinstown HKTN DA002 No ports availableHoskinstown HKTN DA500 2 Jindabyne JINJ No ports available

No ports available

Jindabyne JINJ DA012, DA018, DA019 28 Jindabyne JINJ DA012, DA019 24 Jindabyne JINJ DA015, DA016 69 Jindabyne East JINE 310 Jindabyne East JINE DA001 56 Jindabyne East JINE DA002 30 Jugiong JUGI 68 Khancoban KHAN 118 Malua Bay MABY DA001, DA006, DA012 No ports availableMalua Bay MABY DA010 2 Manar MANR 50 Manar MANR DA001, DA502 24 Marulan MABY 305 McMahons Reef MNRF 17 Merimbula MERI No ports available 772 Michelego MCGO 99 Murrumbateman MBTN 326 Murrumbateman MBTN 35 Murrumbateman MBTN DA008, DA011 16 Narooma NRMA No ports available 140 Narooma NRMA DA004 41 Narooma NRMA DA005, DA009, DA011 7 Narooma NRMA DA005, DA016 78 Narooma NRMA DA013 66 Narooma NRMA DA014 32 Nelligen NELL 34 Nerriga NEGA 49 Numeralla NUME 59 Pambula PAMB DA006, DA012 22 131 Pambula PAMB DA007 10 546 Pambula PAMB DA008 67 No ports availablePambula PAMB DA011 No ports available

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Quaama QAMA 6 Queanbeyan QNBN 204 Queanbeyan QNBN 12 Queanbeyan QNBN DA036, DA092 No ports available 144 Queanbeyan QNBN DA039, DA062, DA097 No ports available 380 Queanbeyan QNBN DA076 88 22 Queanbeyan QNBN DA086 92 Queanbeyan QNBN DA091 No ports available 236 Queanbeyan QNBN DA093 No ports available 20 Queanbeyan QNBN DA095, DA102 No ports available 224 Raglan RGAN 50 544 Reidsdale RDSD 29 366 Reidsdale RDSD DA001, DA500, DA501 No ports available Tarago TRGO 165 Taralga Tanja TANJ 131 Tathra TATH No ports available 546 Tathra THAT DA002, DA006 No ports availableTathra THAT DA002, DA008 No ports available No ports availableTilba Tilba TILT 43 Tilba Tilba TILT DA004 35 Tilba Tilba TILT DA006 39 Tumbarumba TRBA 1 144 Tumut TUMU 2 380 Tumut TUMU DA032 22 Tumut TUMU DA033 16 Tura Beach TURA 22 236 Tura Beach TURA DA004 20 Tuross Head TUHD No ports available 224

Yass YASS 2 544

Young YONG 1 366

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Appendix 2 Digital Regions Initiative - Expressions of Interest (DRAFT) Do you agree to fields marked with * to be made publicly available on the Department's website? Yes Lead applicant contact details: (MANDATORY)Organisation * Regional Development Australia (RDA) Queanbeyan ABN * Contact person * Position Phone * () Mobile Email * Website Project title * Patching Holes in the Safety Net: providing broadband connectivity to improve the capacity of rural and remote communities to respond to and manage the increasing risks associated with emergencies especially bushfires. Does the project involve partners? * Yes If yes, please fill in project partner detail(s) Partner 1 Organisation * NSW Rural Fire Service Fire Zones and Brigades ABN Contact person Phone () Email Partner 2 Emergency Management Authority (EMA)/Monaro Emergency Control Forum Organisation * ABN Contact person Phone () Email Partner 3 Organisation *Individual Councils/Individual Brigades ABN Contact person Phone () Email Partner 4 Organisation *NSW Department of Lands ABN Contact person Phone ()

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Email Are you interested in additional partners? * Yes Lead applicant type: (MANDATORY) State government CRDB/RDA Australia Local government CRDB/RDA Australia Targeted priority sector(s) *: (MANDATORY) Emergency services Area classification *: (MANDATORY) Outer regional Remote Very remote State/Territory(s) targeted *: (MANDATORY) New South Wales Alignment to other initiatives (MANDATORY) Yes If yes, please fill in other initiatives. Clever Networks project(s) State/Territory government initiative(s) Local government initiative(s) Possible application of Bushfire related Section 94 Funding Other: Natural Disaster Mitigation Program, Project/Initiative title(s) Patching Holes in the Safety Net: providing broadband connectivity to improve the capacity of rural and remote communities to respond to and manage the increasing risks associated with emergencies especially bushfires. Initiative location(s) Rural Fire Service Brigade sheds in under serviced areas of the following local government areas: Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Harden, Palerang, Queanbeyan, Snowy River, Tumut, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley and Young. Initial locations that have been identified for the establishment of transmission towers are in the following localities:

• Bookham/Burrinjuck • Dalgety • Delegate • Nerriga • Nerigundah/Cadgee/Eurobodalla • Numeralla • Old Adaminiby/Anglers Reach/Lake Eucumbene • Rugby • Reids Flat • Yaven Creek

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Priority sector(s) Rural and remote areas of the Region see attached list of RFS Brigade locations in the region Targeted areas Please select the most appropriate grouping. Applicants can choose to provide the region, town/community(s) or local government(s) or post code(s) for the areas being targeted under their project. If an applicant wishes, they can provide responses to all three categories. Region, town or community(s) South East NSW Local government(s) Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Harden, Palerang, Queanbeyan, Snowy River, Tumut, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley and Young. Post code(s) Various Concept brief (250 word limit) *: (MANDATORY)

• This initiative aims to improve broadband access to rural and remote fire sheds by constructing a number of transmission towers in areas that have no or marginal broadband coverage. Stage one will be a scoping study to identify individual tower locations, costings and justifications and to secure support from stakeholders. Stage two will be for construction of individual towers and supply of associated equipment.

• Towers are the most appropriate infrastructure to facilitate broadband connectivity in these areas. They are easily upgraded and offer the opportunity for economic synergies through the co-location of emergency service applications (including volunteer callout and community warning) with wireless broadband, digital television/radio, and mobile telephony. Availability of suitable power and backhaul at optimal transmission locations would be a significant consideration limiting the number of towers proposed.

• The initiative would also involve the provision of computer, data projector, printer, Internet access equipment and high gain antennas. Satellite systems are proposed for those sheds unable to achieve wireless connectivity.

• The need for improved broadband connectivity in the region results from an increased bushfire risk due to climate change. Providing of bandwidth to fire sheds is also important because of increased training and information requirements for firefighters . Fire sheds are often the only community infrastructure in many localities and are used as rallying points and a source of information during emergencies. They can also become incident control centres. Brigades have access to local council Section 94 funds to possibly match Federal funding.

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Appendix 3 Capital Region Rural Fire Service Brigades by Local Government Area Abbreviations: HGA –high gain antenna Ancillary Equipment: Computer-C Printer P Projector- PR

Brigade Name Mobile Phone Coverage to Shed

Internet Connectivity

Ancillary equipment

Yass Valley

14/10 Laidlaw St, YASS NSW 2582 (02) 62263100

Back Creek Yes No No Bango Yes No No Bellmount Forest ? No No Binalong Yes No No Bookham Yes No No Bowning Yes No No Cavan No No No Fairlight Yes No No Goodhope ? No No Gundaroo Yes No No Jeir Yes No No Kangiara ? No No Manton Patchy No No Mullion No No No Murrumbateman Yes No No Springfield Yes No No Sutton Yes No No Wallaroo Yes No No Wee Jasper No No No Yass River Patchy No No Yass Support Yes No No Total: 21 Upper Lachlan

McKintosh Rd, CROOKWELL NSW 2583 (02) 48320268

Bannister No No No Bevendale No No No Biala No No No Big Hill No No No Bigga Yes in village No No Binda Yes No No Blakney Creek No No No Broadway No No No Burra Lake No No No

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Brigade Name Mobile Phone Coverage to Shed

Internet Connectivity

Ancillary equipment

Collector Yes No No Cottawalla Yes No No Crookwell Yes No No Cullerin Yes No No Dalton Yes No No Fullerton No No No Golspie No No No Grabben Gullen Yes No No Gunning/Fish River Yes No No Gurrundah No No No Jerrawa Yes No No Laggan Yes No No Merrill Unknown No No Narrawa No No No Oolong Yes No No Peelwood Unknown No No Roslyn No No No Taralga Yes No No Tuena No No No Winduella Unknown No No Total: 29 Goulburn/Mulwaree

82 – 88 Combermere St, GOULBURN NSW 2580. (02) 48222900

Bungonia Yes No No Currawang No No No Shed Gundary Yes No No Marulan Yes No No Middle Arm No No No Mulwaree Support Yes No Yes Parkesbourne Yes No No Pomeroy Patchy No No Raft Yes No No Tallong Yes No No Tarago Yes No No Tarlo No No No Taylor’s Creek Yes No No Towrang Yes No No Windellama Yes/Patchy Yes Yes Total: 15

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Bombala

Waterworks Hill, Cathcart Rd, BOMBALA NSW 2632. (02) 64583933

Ando Rural No No No Bombala Yes No No Bungarby Patchy No No Cathcart Patchy No No Craigie Yes Unknown Computer Creewah Patchy No No Corrowong No No No Delegate Yes/Marginal No No Mila Patchy No No Cooma-Monaro

11 Geebung St, COOMA NSW 2630 (02) 6455 0455

Anembo Patchy No No Bredbo Yes No No Colinton Yes No No Cooma Yes No No Jerangle No No No Michelago Yes No No Nimmitabel Yes No No Numeralla/Countegany No No No Peak View No No No Shannon's Flat/Yaouk No No No Smith's Road Yes No No Snowy River

Bolton St, BERRIDALE NSW 2563 (02) 64564555

Adaminaby Yes No No Anglers Reach No No No Berridale Yes No No Brothers Yes No No Dalgety No No No Dry Plain Patchy No No Ingebyra Patchy No No Lake George Fire Zone (Palerang Queanbeyan City Districts)

10 Ellerton Drive, QUEANBEYAN NSW 2620 (02) 6297 1840

Araluen No No No Bombay Yes No No Boro / Mt Fairy Yes No No Braidwood Yes No No Bungendore Yes No No Burra Yes No No

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Captains Flat Rural Fire Brigade

No No No

Charleyong Marginal No No Farringdon Yes No No Hoskingtown / Rossi Yes No No Krawaree Marginal No No Majors Creek Yes No No Mongarlowe No/Marginal No No Mulloon No/Marginal No No Nerriga No/Marginal No No Stoney Creek Rural Fire Brigade

Yes Yes Yes

Taylors Creek No No No Wamboin Rural Fire Brigade Yes No No Jerrabomberra Creek Yes No No Ridgeway Yes No No Bega Valley District

Maher St, BEGA NSW 2550 (02) 6494 7400

Angledale / Stony Creek Yes No No Bemboka Yes No No Bermagui Yes No No Brogo Yes/Patchy No No Cobargo Yes No No Numbugga Yes No No Quaama Yes No No Tanja Yes No No Tarraganda Yes/Patchy No No Buckajo / Springvale Yes No No Candelo Yes No No Jellat Jellat Yes No No Merimbula Yes No No Pambula Yes No No Tathra Yes No No Wolumla Yes No No Burragate No No No Eden Yes No Yes Kiah Yes/Patchy No No Nethercote Yes/Patchy No No Rocky Hall - No No No Towamba - No/Patchy No No Wonboyn Patchy No No Wyndham No No No

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Eurobodalla District

Batemans Bay Yes No Yes Durras South No No No Long Beach Yes No Yes Malua Bay Yes Yes Yes Mogo No/Patchy No Yes Nelligen No/Marginal No No Runnyford No/Marginal No No Surf Beach Yes No Yes Bingi Yes No No Broulee (formerly Candlagan)

Yes No Yes

Deua River No No No Mogendoura Yes No No Moruya Yes No No Nerrigundah No No No Tuross Head Yes No No EUROBODALLA Catering - Cat 18

No No No

Belowra No/Marginal No No Bodalla Yes No Yes Central Tilba Yes/Patchy No Yes Dalmeny-Kianga Yes Yes No Narooma Yes Yes Yes Potato Point Yes No No Tinpot No No No Riverina Highlands Zone

Lindsay Lashbrook Acting Manager

Ph. 02 6941 2222 Mob.0428 465633

Tumut LGA Tumut Yes No No Adelong Yes No No Batlow Yes No No Bombowlee Yes No No Brindabella No No No Brungle Yes No No Darlow Marginal No No Gilmore Yes No No Gocup Marginal No No Goobarragandra No No No Mt. Horeb Marginal No No Talbingo Yes No No Tumorrama No No No

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Tumut Plains Yes No No Wondalga Marginal No No Yaven Creek No No No Tumbarumba LGA

Bringenbrong Yes No No Courabyra Marginal No No Glen Mannus Yes No No Jingellic Marginal No No Lower Bago Marginal No No Maragle Marginal No No Ournie Marginal No No Rosewood Marginal No No Tooma Marginal No No Tumbarumba Yes No No Willigobung Yes No No Worsley Park Yes No No Gundagai - LGA (not in study area)

Adjungbilly Marginal No No Burra Creek Yes No No Coolac Yes No No Darbalara Yes No No Gobarralong Marginal No No Mundarlo Yes No No Muttama Yes No No Nangus Yes No No North Gundagai Yes No No South Gundagai Yes No No Tumblong Yes No No Booroowa LGA Trinity Centre

Ph. 63863170 East St, Harden, 2587

Booroowa Support Yes No No Frogmore No No No Rugby No No No Rye Park No No No Cootamundra LGA (Not in Study Area)

Coota HQ Yes No No Frampton No No No Cullinga No No No Wallenbeen Yes No No Stockinbingal Yes No No

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Harden LGA

Barwang No No No Cunningar No No No Demondrille No No No Galong Yes No No Jugiong Yes No No Kingsvale No No No McMahons Reef No No No Wombat Yes No No Young LGA

Bendick Murrell No No No Boara No No No Bribbaree No No No Koorawatha No No No Monteagle No No No Murringo Yes/Patchy No No Tubbul No No No Wambanumba No No No Young Yes No No

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