Report on Use of Emergency Alert in Canberra

The ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Simon Corbell, today released a report on "Use of Emergency Alert during the Mitchell Hazardous Material Fire". The eight page report notes problems with the system used to issue a recorded message to land-line telephones and SMS to mobile phones on 16 September 2011.

The minister's media release refers to the limitations in the national system, but does not deficiencies in the use of the system by ACT Government staff. In particular the text message contained the spelling errors Insadents for incidents.
Resadents for residents. Media reports indicated that as a result some of the public thought this was a hoax this is a well known issue with credible emergency communications. It is not clear why this failure in procedure was not picked up in the training and instructions issued.

The report notes that there are other means of issuing emergency messages, such as the web. However the report does not addresses the deficiencies in the ESA web site I noted on the day of the emergency.

Use of Emergency Alert during the Mitchell Hazardous Material Fire 16 September 2011

27/9/2011
Page 1

1. Background
Emergency Alert is a nationally coordinated telephony based warning system designed to send messages to the landline and mobile telephones of residents in a defined geographic area. The ACT is a partner in Emergency Alert and has established a capacity to use the system operationally in the ACT. Emergency Alert is not an “opt in” or “opt out” system, as it is based on the national telephone database of all Australian telephone providers.

Emergency Alert is operational, allowing messages to be sent to landline and mobile telephones in a defined geographic area determined by the billing addresses that occur in that area.

It will not provide messages to mobile phones within the target area that have billing addresses outside that area. Likewise, it will send messages to mobile phones outside the target area if their billing address is inside that area.

For the hazardous material fire at Mitchell, two Emergency Alert campaigns were run, and messages were issued. The commencement of messaging was at 0138 and 0319 on the morning of 16 September 2011 for the first and second campaign respectively.

This was the first operational use of the system in the ACT. Previous uses have been for testing only.

2. First use of Emergency Alert – 16 September 2011 – 0138 hours

2.1 The Messages

The first Emergency Alert was issued at 0138 hours on Friday 16 September 2011.

• The first voice message advised:
  
  Emergency. Emergency. The ACT Fire Brigade is responding to a Chemical incident in Mitchell. Residents are advised to evacuate the suburb immediately including the racecourse and EPIC. Further information is available via Canberra Connect, or go to www.esa.act.gov.au.
• The first text message advised
  
  Emergency. Emergency. The ACT Fire Brigade is responding to a Chemical incident in Mitchell. Residents are advised to evacuate the suburb immediately.

Spelling errors in the original text message are corrected above.

There has been criticism levelled at the ACT Government regarding the messages issued due to the
spelling errors in both messages issued via SMS. It is regrettable that this led to uncertainty regarding the origin and authenticity of the messages for some recipients.

Specifically, the following spelling errors were contained in the text message:

Insadents for incidents.
Resadents for residents.

The Emergency Alert System issues warnings via voice recording and SMS based on predefined templates for a particular emergency.

The template of the voice message requires words to be spelt phonetically by the originating agency to ensure that words will be pronounced correctly when automatically converted from text to voice by the system. However, this is not a requirement for warnings issued via SMS. This distinction was not taken into consideration at the time the Emergency Alerts were issued with the result that phonetic spellings were inadvertently copied into SMS messages.

2.2 Target Area

The Target Area was to registered billing addresses for mobile and landline telephones within the suburb of Mitchell including Exhibition Park (EPIC) and the Canberra Racecourse. The data provided in this report is based on information provided by the system manager on 17 September 2011.

Within this area:

22,598 landline services were identified. 1
2,693 mobile services were identified.
A campaign duration of 30 minutes was nominated.

Analysis of the Geocoded National Address File (GNAF) which is administered by the Public Sector Mapping Agency identified 1421 individual address points in the first target area, which is significantly less than the 22,598 landline services identified. This reflects the target area was largely commercial and industrial, and may include telephone exchanges. The ESA will raise with the system managers issues associated with the high proportion of landline services identified compared with the actual number of address points to potentially reduce the time required to send messages by the system.

2.3 Call Statistics

Of the 22,598 voice messages to fixed landline services identified in the target area:

5,851 (25%) of calls were answered.
2,375 (10%) of lines were identified as busy.
3,652 (16%) were not answered.
9,836 (44%) were invalid calls. 2
884 (4%) were fax lines.
NB: 22,598 (100%) of numbers were dialled.

Of the 2,693 mobile services identified in the target area3:

1,696 (63%) of text messages were delivered.4
895 (33%) of text messages expired.
58 (2%) text messages were undelivered.

3. Second use of Emergency Alert 16 September 2011 – 0319 hours
3.1 The Messages
The second Emergency Alert was issued at 0319 hours on Friday 16 September 2011.

• The second voice message advised:
  
  The ACT Fire Brigade is responding to a chemical incident in Mitchell. Residents of Franklin, Crace, Harrison, Watson, Downer, Kaleen, Lyneham, Hackett are advised to shelter indoors, immediately. If you are indoors, close all windows, doors, vents and turn off air conditioning. Further information is available via Canberra Connect, or go www.esa.act.gov.au.
• The second text message advised
  
  The ACT Fire Brigade responding to chemical incident in Mitchell. Residents of Franklin, Crace, Harrison, Watson, Downer, Kaleen, Lyneham, Hackett stay indoors.

Again, spelling errors in the original text are corrected above.

There has been criticism levelled at the ACT Government regarding the messages issued due to the
spelling errors in both messages issued via SMS. It is regrettable that this led to uncertainty regarding the origin and authenticity of the messages for some recipients.

Specifically, the following spelling errors were contained in the text message:

Insadents for incidents.
Resadents for residents.

The Emergency Alert System issues warnings via voice recording and SMS based on predefined templates for a particular emergency.

The template of the voice message requires words to be spelt phonetically by the originating agency to ensure that words will be pronounced correctly when automatically converted from text to voice by the system. However, this is not a requirement for warnings issued via SMS. This distinction was not taken into consideration at the time the Emergency Alerts were issued with the result that phonetic spellings were inadvertently copied into SMS messages.

3.2 Target Area

The Target Area was to registered billing addresses for mobile and landline telephones within the suburbs of Franklin, Crace, Harrison, Watson, Downer, Kaleen, Lyneham, Hackett and Mitchell.

Within this area:

86,801 landline services were identified.5
83,774 Mobile services were identified.
A campaign duration of 30 minutes was nominated.

3.3 Call Statistics

Of the 86,801 voice messages to fixed landline services identified in the target area:

13,784 (16%) of calls were answered.
2,690 (3%) were invalid calls.6
69,229 (80%) were not dialled.
1,098 (1%) were fax lines.

Of the 83,774 mobile services identified in the target area7:

52,700 (63%) of text messages were delivered. 8
26,740 (32%) of text messages expired.
3,049 (4%) of text messages were undelivered.

4. Analysis

In preparing the campaigns, there was an expectation that the alerts issued for the target area would be delivered within 30 minutes due to the nature and urgency of the incident. The system captured the identified areas and accepted the allocated campaign time nominated by the ESA. It was not until the results of the two campaigns were provided that it was identified that a significant number of phone messages and SMS messages were not delivered as the time specified for the system to dial all of the numbers with billing addresses in the target area proved to be too short. These are identified as “text messages expired” or “not dialled” fixed landline calls above.

While the system does identify the necessary time duration to complete a campaign, the system does not provide a warning to the operator that the proposed campaign is too short.

These matters were discussed with the managers of the system. With the size of the second campaign, it was estimated it could have taken 6-7 hours to complete – this would have finished sending messages around 9:00 - 10:00 am, well after the “shelter in place” advice had been lifted.

The system managers advised on a number of options that may assist in disseminating these advices:

a. Prioritise SMS messages by sending these prior to commencing fixed landline messaging;
b. Split the target areas into a number of separate campaigns, although this may not assist where the system is accessing a single telephone exchange to deliver the messages.

These issues did not arise in previous testing over relatively smaller areas. Testing undertaken on 7 June 2011 covered Dunlop and targeted 1573 fixed landlines and over 5000 mobile services. This test resulted in approximately 88% of landlines being answered and text messages sent to approximately 67% of mobile phones within 45 minutes.

Summary and recommended actions

Notwithstanding limitations arising from a discrepancy between the identified target area and the nominated campaign time, the Emergency Alert successfully provided warning messages to a significant number of people in the community that were acted upon.

Also, it is important to note that Emergency Alert is a single component of a comprehensive series of tools for alerting the community. The ESA’s systems for alerting the community to emergencies via the media and via the ESA website homepage were successful. This was demonstrated through local media resuming local broadcasting early on Friday morning. For example, ABC local media commenced broadcasting at approximately 2:00 am, compared with their normal commencement of local broadcasting at 5:30 am. In addition, the ESA with the assistance of ACT Policing used person-to-person notification in the early stages of the incident to warn those people who were staying at
EPIC when the incident occurred.

The wording and issue of any future alerts using the Emergency Alert System will be critically examined as part of the ACT Fire Brigade After Action Review for this incident. Pending outcomes of the review the ESA will undertake the following measures in relation to the future use of the system:

1. Additional training on the use of the Emergency Alert system to identified ESA staff;
2. Review of the internal procedures relating to the operation of the system, including quality assurance and authorisation processes;
3. Recognition that in future campaigns, the use of multiple and smaller campaigns may be more appropriate where a large number of voice and text messages are required to be delivered; and
4. The Emergency Services Commissioner will provide written feedback to the systems managers about the ACT’s experience of this operational activation of the system, including to suggest potential improvements in the operator’s interface, such as the provision of a “Red Flag” warning for circumstances where the size of the campaign exceeds the time nominated for delivery of the message.

It is also recommended that:

5. The ACT raise issues associated with the ACT’s operational use of the system in appropriate emergency management fora (including the National Emergency Management Committee and the Standing Council on Police and Emergency Management) at the next convenient opportunity.


1 The number of fixed landline phones for the first alert message was much greater than mobile services. In residential areas, there are generally a significantly higher proportion of mobile telephones to fixed landlines.

2 Numbers incorrectly identified due to customer’s records not being updated.

3 These figures are based on the campaign summary report provided by the systems manager and it is noted for the mobile services the “delivered”, “expired” and “undelivered” messages do not equal the total services identified. This
discrepancy will be raised with the system managers.

4 The system does not identify whether “delivered” text messages were opened and read by the recipients. Likewise, the system does not identify whether these mobiles that received the messages were inside or outside the target area at the time of delivery.

5 The number of fixed landline phones for the second alert message was similar to mobile services. As previously noted, in residential areas there are generally a significantly higher proportion of mobiles to fixed landlines. It is noted that the second campaign also included the area of Mitchell, which as shown in the first campaign, has a large number of fixed landlines relative to mobile phones.

Analysis of the Geocoded National Address File (GNAF) identified 37,017 individual address points in the second target area, which is significantly less than the 86,801 landline services identified. The ESA will raise with the system managers issues associated with the high proportion of landline services identified compared with the actual number of address points to potentially reduce the time required to send messages by the system.

6 See note 2 above.

7 See note 3 Above

8 See note 4 above.

Huawei Deuce U8520 Dual SIM Android Smart Phone at Sydney Linux User Group

I have volinteered to give a lightening talk about the Huawei Deuce U8520 Dual SIM Android Smart Phone at Sydney Linux User Group Sydney Linux User Group (SLUG), Friday, 30 September 2011, 6pm at Google's Sydney's office. Here is a summary of what I want to say:

Huawei Deuce U8520 Dual SIM Android Smart Phone

1. Under $249 from AllPhones
2. 3.2 Inch touch screen, Android 2.2.2, 160 MB RAM, 2GB Flash card, QCT MSM7x27 processor
3. User Manual on the FCC web site.

Dual SIM

1. Dual SIM both active at the same time: one 3G one 2G
   
2. Have used it with a Virgin Broadband postpaid SIM (3G) and my Vodafone postpaid SIM (2G) at same time.
3. Catch is that using one SIM cuts off access to the other.

Good Points

1. Reasonable price,
2. Dual SIM,
3. Touch screen is very good,
4. Generic Google Android,
5. Usual smart phone features.

Problems

1. Smart phone functions work fine, but phone call audio quality is poor.
2. Battery only lasts 12 hours.
3. Unexplained activation of phone flattened battery in under six hours.
   

Suggested Solution

1. Convert into a Flip Phone with 3D Printing to improve call quality and prevent inadvertent activation flattening battery.
   

ICT Sustainability eBook Published

An ePub edition of "ICT Sustainability" is now available from LuLu.com. The text of the book remains available free on the web, as well as a print on demand paperback and a PDF eBook. This is a new edition of the notes for the postgraduate courses: COMP7310 (Australian National University), Green Technology Strategies (Australian Computer Society) and ACS25 (Open Universities Australia).

Vint Cerf On Human Rights on the Internet

Greetings from the Australian National University 'remote hub' in Canberra for the United Nations Internet Governance Forum.

The IGF Meeting is being held in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme 'Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and innovation'. Currently Vint Cerf, is discussing human rights on the Internet with several others. There is a Live Webcast, along with a live text transcript.

One amusing aspect that a UK representative claimed that recent riots in the UK were just criminal activity, not political. I expect that any government would make the same claim. ;-)

Learning Object Workshop in Canberra

A free workshop on "Creating Learning Objects" will be held 19 October at CIT in Canberra.

e-Resources Professional Development

Creating Learning Objects (Open Educational Resources) with The VET Reload Content Packaging Tool

Wednesday, October 19th, 8.00am – 9.30am B016, Ground Floor B Block CIT Southside Campus , Cnr Ainsworth St. and Hindmarsh Drive Phillip

Make you own learning object

This hands-on workshop follows from the e-Gems Webinar "Learning objects: Create, Reuse, Deploy for better teaching and learning online!" (11 May 2011). It shows you how to work with the VET Reload Tool to create or manipulate learning objects.

You will be able to assemble your existing resources, e.g. word documents, digital photographs, html pages, videos and pdf files in a learning object format or add and remove pages from an existing learning object you have downloaded from the TLOR (Toolbox Learning Object Repository).

This flexible and universal learning object format allows learning sequences you have created or customised to be used as a standalone, coherent resources or imported into any Learning management system or even delivered on CDRom.

Requirements: Bring a collection of resources on a USB Stick.

About the VET Reload Tool

VET Reload Tool v2.61 (ZIP 14.6 MB) December 2009

Java 1.6.x is required. Standard Windows only (not Windows 7)


The VET Reload Tool can be used to create IMS and SCORM 1.2 content packages and corresponding VET metadata (Vetadata). It is based on the Reload tool developed by CETIS in the UK, and has been customised for the Australian VET sector.
Existing VET Reload users may want to view information on the changes to the VET Reload tool made in December 2009

Cost: Free for Educators. Sponsored by ACT Framework

Registration

You need to register for this event before October 19thth. To register please contact Helen lynch, 6207 4031 or email helen.lynch@cit.edu.au

For more information about other upcoming professional development opportunities for ACT educators please visit the ACT Framework webpage at: http://flexiblelearning.net.au/ACT

Australia's first enhanced eBook?

Greetings from the National Library of Australia in Canberra, where cultural historian and folklorist Warren Fahey is talking about his book "Australian Folk Songs and Bush Ballads". This is claimed to be Australia's first "enhanced" eBook.

A representative of the NLA did a gushing introduction about ebooks. Warren provided an entertaining history of his involvement with technology, starting with the crystal wireless and tin cans and string telephone. He then talked about his involvement with bush music and the ABC. But so far no explanation as to what an "enhanced eBook" is. I assumed it had digital audio files, along with images and text.

Warren went on to explain how he obtained a copy of his own field folk song recordings from the NLA and converted them to a suitable format for the eBook.

Warren used what appeared to be an Apple iPad for a demonstration of the eBook. He showed what looked like a traditional book format, with video displayed like a still image (click on the image to play the video) and audio controls (click the play button). The audio used seemed to be short excerpts, with links to on-line stores to purchase the full recording.

Warren said that volume was 600 Mbytes, due to the sound files. The publisher is splitting the book into volumes.

What was a little confusing was that I could only find an Amazon Kindle eBook edition of the book on-line. Warrne explained that Amazon refused to carry a Kindle eBook with links to Apple iTunes (for the audio). So a different edition had to be produced with different links in it.

This is a brave attempt at an "enhanced" eBook. But I am not sure that including the audio files in the eBook file is worth the effort. Instead the files could be downloaded from the web as required.

Warren ended by discussing what effect eBooks will have on book publishing and distribution. This provides a world market for the author, but cheaters challenges for the local bookstore and library.

At question time I asked what Warren's next ebook would be like. He said he wanted to do a book for children, being the 21st century of the Coles funny picture book for kids.

Someone asked how the cost of producing an enhanced ebook compared to a PDF ebook. Warren replied it was must more expensive by PDF ebooks were so static and dull.

This appears on topic for Senator Kate Lundy's Digital Culture Public Sphere on-line and in Sydney, 6 October 2011.

Internet Governance is Like Other Governance

Greetings from the The Sixth Annual United Nations Internet Governance Forum ANU Remote Hub, at the Australian National University in Canberra. Three local speakers are setting the scene, before the streaming commences from the United Nations Internet Governance Forum 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya.

There are two speakers from ANU and one from the Department of Communications:

1. Dr. Jacinta O'Hagan, Department of International Relations, ANU
2. Andrew Mauer, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
3. Dr. Matthew Rimmer, College of Law, ANU
   

Dr. O'Hagan discussed what "Governance" is and how that addresses the needs of those in need internationally. This seems a little naive to me, as in the rest of life, the Internet will mostly be government by those who have resources and power to preserve their interests. There is no reason why the Internet should suddenly make people altruistic.

In my view, current Internet governance issues are around the division of power between the USA, Europe and emerging economies in Asia, particularly China. The Internet was designed in the USA and the World Wide Web in Europe. Even where there was a deliberate attempt to be inclusive the results were limited. As an example, the Internet was designed to work primarily with the English language and, to a less extent, other European languages. Even when Unicode was introduced to allow other languages, it had the US ASCII character set built in, making it easier to use for English than Asian languages.

Andrew Mauer explained ICANN's origins in academia and its diverse makeup. He emphasized that ICANN is not a UN body and operates differently to some other international bodies. He discussed various proposals for more government control of the Internet. But in my view ICANN works much like other voluntary standards bodies, with similar government and commercial tensions.

In my view many international systems which look as if they were run by monolithic government control, such as the banking system and telecommunications, really are not like that. Tensions in the international standards process are well documented. Kenneth R. McConnell's book "Fax: Facsimile Technology and Systems" (1999) describes the disputes between the USA and Japan over the development of fax standards. Carl Malamud's 1992 book "Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue" discussed the dysfunctional nature of international telecommunications standards, which held up adoption of the Internet. Marc Levinson's book "The Box" discussed commercial and national rivalries in developing the ISO shipping container standard.

Dr. Rimmer, talked about the Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. But as with Internet governance, in my view Intellectual Property (IP) law is understandably designed by those with power and resources to maintain their position. Essentially the developed world, after building their industry by freely copying inventions, wants to now limit access to inventions by developing nations. This is acknowledged, for example with the Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile referring to called section 17.4.4 of the Australia—US Free Trade Agreement as the "Mickey Mouse clause".

ps: I will be talking about "Education on-line for development" at the forum at ANU, 3pm, 29 September 2011

Regulation of Electronic Communications in the European Union

Dr Marialuisa Costa, will speak on "The Regulation of Electronic Communications in the European Union: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges", at the Australian National University in Canberra, 6 October 2011, 11:00am to 12:30pm:

The Regulation of Electronic Communications in the European Union: Lessons Learned and Remaining Challenges

Dr Marialuisa Costa, ANU Centre for European Studies

Thursday 6 October 2011, 11:00am – 12:30pm

Over the past two decades the regulation of electronic communications in the European Union has undergone significant development. These changes have been motivated by a combination of technological innovations and the adoption of new regulatory strategies consistent with a liberalisation of the sector and the aim of creating an integrated and vigorous market for electronic communications across EU member countries. This seminar will explain and analyse the main changes in the regulatory framework that the EU institutions have created. Several challenges were overcome in the process of developing a harmonised regulatory framework and effective intra-European competition, but other challenges remain. The seminar will discuss the lessons learned, and will identify a number of future regulatory issues that may need to be resolved.

Dr Marialuisa Costa holds a Bachelor of Law (Honours) Cum Laude from Sapienza, University of Rome. She recently completed her PhD in Economic and Market Law at the Scuola Superiore ISUFI (SSI), Department of Euromediterranean School of Law and Politics, University of Lecce. Dr Costa has served as Contributing Writer and Editor of the Legal Encyclopedia at The Institute of Italian Encyclopedia in Treccani. During her stay at the ANU Centre for European Studies she has started a new research project on the extent to which the principle of proportionality may be applied as an effective and appropriate constraint on decision-making in the regulation of electronic communications in Europe and Australia.

Venue:ANU Centre for European Studies, 1 Liversidge Street (Bldg 67C), Canberra

Parking: please see the Visitor Parking Map

RSVP:europe@anu.edu.au by by Wednesday 5 October

ANUCES is an initiative involving four ANU Colleges (Arts and Social Sciences, Law, Business and Economics and Asia and the Pacific) co-funded by the ANU and the European Commission.

Google Maps Challenge in Canberra

Google Engineers will conduct the "Google Maps Challenge" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 29 September 2011, 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Those wanting a more policy perspective can attend the United Nations Internet Governance Forum 'remote hub' at ANU, the same day.

Less talk, more code!

Google (Google)

GENERAL

DATE: 2011-09-29
TIME: 17:30:00 - 18:30:00
LOCATION: CSIT N115
CONTACT: heather.mcewen@anu.edu.au

ABSTRACT:
Google Engineers are visiting the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science. All interested staff and students are invited to attend their hands-on interactive tour of the Google Maps API.

They will take you inside the API and the solutions used to build a fast, feature-full, flexible API beginning with the basics by completing small exercises of increasing complexity.

Free pizza and Google prizes are also on offer.

Who: Computer science students and anyone with an interest in software development.
*Skill requirements: You should be able to write programs of beginner complexity.
**Technical Requirement: Please bring a laptop if you own one to secure a spot.

First come, first serve for lab computers.

What: Google Maps Challenge

When: Thursday, 29 September at 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: CSIT N115

How: RSVP

Optimizing Computer Application Energy Efficiency

Greetings from the famous room N101 at the Australian National University where Associate Professor Steve Blackburn's PHD students are reporting their progress researching the energy efficiency of computer architectures for different applications.

As I teach in my course on ICT Sustainability, the first step in energy efficiency is to measure energy use. This is discussed in the paper "Looking Back on the Language and Hardware Revolutions: Measured Power, Performance, and Scaling" (2011).Measurement has become easier this year with the release of Intel's Center-bridge processor support of a Runtime Average Power Limit (RAPL) Driver.

This work is of more than just theoretical interest and it may change the future of the world. The share of electrical energy being used by computers is increasing and so their contribution to global warming.

George Bray Showing the Use of Broadband Across Australia

Digital video maker George Bray has set off around Australia to highlight the benefits of high speed broadband with The Broadband Show and is looking for sponsors.

Ten years ago George set out on the Tech Trek. In a motor-home filled with the the latest computer and telecommunications equipment, sponsored by the industry, he demonstrated the use of the Internet to regional Australia. The trek ended at a computer show in Sydney with the motor-home on display.

The emphasis on this second trek is on high speed applications, particularly video. His latest report is from the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane in Queensland. In 2007 I visited University of the Sunshine Coast, looked at their computer aided learning and the Thinlinx computer company (makers of thin client computers) at their technology park.

Education on-line for development

I will be talking about "Education on-line for development" at the The Sixth Annual United Nations Internet Governance Forum ANU Remote Hub, Australian National University in Canberra, 3pm, 29 September 2011.

The United Nations Internet Governance Forum 2011 is considering how to provide access to knowledge and content via the Internet in developing countries, for education and development. The main obstacle to access to knowledge and content on-line in both developed and developing countries is education. A bootstrap process can be used, where existing Internet access is used to provide better education, which then stimulates economic development and makes faster Internet access affordable.

The Internet was introduced to the government, community and business sectors in developed nations by the education sector and this process can be actively supported in developing nations. An example of how education can be provided on-line at low cost to help development is the work being done on ICT Sustainability. Using open access course content and open source software, professionals are being educated online to improve government and industry energy energy efficiency, in a way which allows for disabilities and multilingualism.

Open Source Developers Conference 2011

The Open Source Developers Conference 2011 will be held at the Manning Clark Center, Australian National University, Canberra, 14 to 18 November 2011. Senator Kate Lundy will open the event. One talk which caught my attention is Stephen Roberts from ANU on "Predicting the Flow of Tsunamis and Floods Using FOSS Environment ANUGA". OSDC are looking for sponsors.

Speakers and topics:

• Keynote: Senator Kate Lundy
• Alexander Zangerl: Practical Online Anonymity with Open Source Software and Open Services
• Steve Dalton: Messaging with Bunnies: RabitMQ
• Graham Weldon: An Introduction to Titanium
• Robin Sheat: Koha - Bringing Libraries Into the Present Day
• Pia Waugh: Open Government: what does it all mean, really?
• Glen Smith: Fake Your Way as a Developer Rockstar with Phonegap
• Dan Bentley: Opening a Closed World
• Andrew Gerrand: Go: It's that Simple?!
• Paris Buttfield-Addison: Design for Developers: Making Beautiful Android Apps
• Evan Leybourn: Free as in Kittens
• Rusty Russell: CCAN: C Code Archive: Like CPAN, Before it Got Popular!
• Andrew McMillan: Free Software in the Android Ecosystem
• Nariman Habili: Open Source Tools for Field Data Collection and Analysis at Geoscience Australia
• Adam Harvey: What's New in PHP 5.4?
• Wii Homebrew: Running and Writing Software for the Wii
• Brendan Scott: Negotiating Contracts Involving Open Source
• Arjen Lentz: SQL Locking and Transactions
• Lana Brindley: Open Source Docs: The Good, The Bad, and the WTF?!
• Keynote: Damian Conway
• Paul King: Groovy Testing for Agile Teams
• Bernard Duggan: Erlang in Production: "I wish I'd known that when I started"
• Sridhar Dhanapalan: Australias Toughest Deployment
• Jason Shepherd: JBoss AS7
• Jacinta Richardson: Perl Best Practices
• Arjen Lentz: Real Brain Hacking
• Paul Marrington: Unifying the Software Development Lifecycle Using Open Source and Domain Specific Languages
• Edward Scofield: Python for R&D
• Swayam Prakasha: Open Source Solutions for High Availability and Disaster Recovery
• Cliffano Subagio: Continuous Delivery Using Jenkins
• Kazuaki Maeda: Structured Data Representation for Ruby, Groovy and Scala
• Olly Betts: The Art of Writing Small Programs
• Keynote: Brian Catto, Director Architecture and Emerging Technologies, AGIMO
• Graham Weldon: Building 3D Apps with Javascript
• Paul King: Groovy Concurrency With Gpars
• Stewart Smith: Dropping ACID: Eating Data in a Web 2.0 Cloud
• Marc Fasel: Joys and Pains of Node.js in the Enterprise
• Stewart Mackenzie: Lifting Scala's Functional and Object Styles to Concurrent Programming
• Gavin Jackson: An Introduction to Open Source GIS
• Ben Tesse: The Return of JavaScript: 3 Open-Source Projects that are driving JavaScript's renaissance
• Craig Aspinal: Groovy Baby!
• Tim Serong: Cross-Distribution Packaging Made Easy
• Stewart Smith: Drizzle 7, GA and Supported: Current & Future Features
• Michael Neale: Coping With Errors - We are Doing it Wrong
• Stephen Roberts: Predicting the Flow of Tsunamis and Floods Using FOSS Environment ANUGA
• Keynote: Tony Beal, Deputy Australian Government Solicitor

Griffin's Canberra, Burnham's Chicago, Garnier's Lyon

Professor David Theodore Van Zanten, Northwestern University (USA), will speak on "The Griffin's Canberra, Burnham's Chicago, Garnier's Lyon: The Perfect City on the Edge of World War" at the University of Sydney, 6pm 21 October 2011. Professor Van Zanten is author of Sullivan's City: The Meaning of Ornament for Louis Sullivan.

The Griffin's Canberra, Burnham's Chicago, Garnier's Lyon: The Perfect City on the Edge of World War

Professor David Theodore Van Zanten, Mary Jane Crowe Professor in Art and Art History, Northwestern University, USA

Co-presented with the Power Institute at the University of Sydney

The modernist style of the American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin is known to many Australians because of their work in Canberra, the national capital. David Theodore Van Zanten will juxtapose drawings for the Griffins' competition plan for Canberra (1911), the Burnham Plan of Chicago (1909), and the French architect Tony Garnier's drawings for his Cité Industrielle", published in 1917. He explores the two intersections in the story of these seminal plans: first, the Griffin's subtle debt to their compatriot Burnham; second, the experiments in a new concrete architecture shared between their plan and Garnier's.

Professor Van Zanten will explore the fascinating quality of optimistic fantasy in these projects, in the context of the approaching catastrophic World War.

Professor David Theodore Van Zanten lecturers in American and European architecture and urbanism after 1800 at Northwestern University. His research primarily focuses on how architects think through designs, the involvement of that with techniques of drawing, and the intersection of that with the mentalities of their interlocutors, clients on the one hand and parallel professionals – engineers, urbanists, social scientists – on the other. Secondly, he is interested in the application of this in the shaping of the modern city c. 1830-1914, especially Paris and Chicago. His Designing Paris: The Architecture of Duban, Labrouste, Duc, and Vaudoyer won the 1988 Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award from the Society of Architectural Historians. He extended this work in Building Paris: Architectural Institutions and the Sullivan's City: The Meaning of Ornament for Louis Sullivan was published in 2000.

He received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study the development of Paris, London, Vienna and Hamburg. Educated at Princeton and Harvard University, prior to his appointment at Northwestern in 1979 he taught at the University of Pennsylvania and McGill University. He has held appointments at the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art (2006) at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (2008), both in Paris.

Date: Friday 21 October, 2011
Time: 6.00pm to 7.30pm

Convert Apple iPhone into a Flip Phone with 3D Printing

Recently I purchased a Huawei "Deuce" U8520-1 smart phone. This has the same slate phone style of case as the Apple iPhone and many other other smart phones. A custom cover to turn them into flip phones, much like the Motorola A760, would make them much easier to use.

Most of the front surface of a slate phone is taken up with a touch screen. This optimizes the screen size, but creates problems. The Motorola A760 had a cover over its touch screen which hinged up to provide the ear-piece. The cover has a transparent window.

Poor Sound Quality for Slab Phones

The major problem I have noticed with slate phones is poor sound quality for phone calls. The speaker and microphone are located at the top and bottom of the screen of the slab phone. The flat glass surface of the phone is not shaped to make good contact with the ear and so does not block external noise. The slate phone is not tall enough to reach the user's mouth, resulting in external noise being picked up by the microphone.

Other Problems with Slate Phones

The slate phone has a large unprotected glass screen surface, making it vulnerable to dirt and breakage. The antenna for the phone is located at the top, near the ear-piece, blocking the radio signal and also exposing the user to possible radiation.

Flip Phone Advantages

The flip phone opens to make a device twice as long as the equivalent size slate phone. This makes it long enough to have the microphone in front of the user's mouth, reducing background noise. As there is more space on the phone, the ear-piece can be molded to comfortably fit the ear, reducing background noise.

The antenna can be placed near the hinge of the phone, at the point furtherest from the user, improving signal strength and reducing radiation hazard.

When closed the flip phone screen is covered and so protected from dirt and damage. The touchscreen is covered and so protected from inadvertent button presses, removing the need for a keyboard lock. Some flips are "active" so that closing the phone automatically ends a call, with no button presses needed. Opening the phone can also be set to answer a call.

Flip Cases With No Electronics Needed

Most flip phones have electronics in both halves of the phone with wires connecting the two parts at the hinge. Usually the screen is in upper part of the phone and keyboard in the lower half. This allows more space for controls, but at the cost of increased manufacturing complexity.

Some flip phones have all the electronics in one half, with the flip cover being just a piece of plastic with channels molded into it to carry sound. The microphone and speaker are located in the body of the phone as they are in the slab phone. But a channel in the flip carries the sound down to the speaker's mouth, or up to their ear.

Making a Flip Cover for Smart Phone

It should be feasible to add a flip cover to a slab smart phone with minimal redesign. A hinge needs to be added to the case of the phone, with a hollow channel in it to carry sound. A transparent window on the flip (as in the Motorola A760), would allow the user to see who was calling, without opening the cover.

Some phones are designed to have user installable interchangeable covers. A flip cover could be designed as a replacement for such phones.

There are also more bulky cases designed to provide additional protection for phones. This more bulky design would provide sufficient room for the flip mechanism to channel sound from the phone's speaker or microphone.

3D Printed Phone Case

A flip cover would be an interesting use for 3D printers. Cases are normally mass produced using plastic injection molding. This requires an expensive metal mold to me made for each model of phone. Instead the digital design of each case can be stored and when a case is ordered, just one produced by the 3D printer. There are already some 3D printing services offering phone cases, such as Shapeways and Freedom of Creation . But they do not appear to have any flip designs at present.

What is TEDx?

While helping out at TEDx Canberra 2011 today, at the National Library of Australia (NLA) in Canberra, I was asked "What is TEDx Canberra?". I said that TEDx is a local version of an event where people speak on ideas, which started 20 years ago in California and that this was the second to be held in Canberra. But I was asked what "TED" stood for, so I thought I should look it up:

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading."

TED was founded in 1984^[1] as a one-off event and the conference was held annually from 1990 in Monterey, California.^{[3] ...}

TED grants licenses to third parties to hold free TEDx events in cities around the world. <sup>[26]

From:</sup> TED (conference), Wikipedia, 11 September 2011 at 18:15.

The first TEDx Canberra was held at the National Library of Aus­tralia on 24 Octo­ber 2010.

Listen and Learn at TEDx Canberra

Greetings from the National Library of Australia (NLA) in Canberra where TEDx Canberra 2011 is on today. The video is being streamed live on-line. It is being vieo streamed live on-line and audio streamed by 666 ABC Canberra Radio. Some segments will be broadcast later on ABC TV Big Ideas.

I volunteered to be on the door. There are about 300 people registered for the event and there was a steady stream of people through the door from 8am for the 9:15 start.

The talk I found most exciting was one of the shortest: three minutes from Emma Davidson on communicating with refugee and indige­nous com­mu­ni­ties.

Annette Zou and Richard Dear talked about ANU XSA, the ANU Cross-disciplinary Stu­dents Acad­emy. This grew out of Professor Ian Young's Vice-Chancellor’s Courses, which emphasize inter-disciplinary sharing.

Regional Telecommunications Review

The Australian Regional Telecommunications Review is currently holding regional consultations on telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia. There is an issues paper available. Here is the text of the RTF version, minus images, converted to HTML for easier reading:

2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review

The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee is reviewing telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia. The committee is comprised of Ms Rosemary Sinclair (Chair), Mr Warren McLachlan, Mr Robin Eckermann, Ms Heron Loban, Mr Alun Davies and the Hon. Kim Chance.

The 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review is an independent review and the committee must provide its report to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy by 5 March 2012. The committee"s terms of reference are at Appendix 1.

Background

This is the second legislated RTR and follows on from the 2008 review led by Dr Bill Glasson AO. The committee acknowledges the Glasson committee"s comprehensive report, Framework for the Future, and its commitment to improving regional telecommunications. In direct response to the 2008 review, the government established the Digital Regions Initiative to fund projects that use broadband applications to improve education, health and emergency services in regional communities.

The government"s response included funding for an enhanced Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme and an Indigenous Communications Program, which is delivering improved telecommunications, public internet access and training to remote Indigenous communities.

Subsequent to the Glasson review, the government"s National Broadband Network (NBN) policy was announced. On 7 April 2009, the government committed to building a ubiquitous national network, providing access to high-speed broadband for every home, school and business in Australia. This represents a step change in rural and regional Australia"s access to affordable and reliable communications services.

The NBN will provide access to high-speed broadband to 100 per cent of Australian premises. The government"s objective is to connect 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses with fibre-to-the-premises technology (FTTP) providing speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. All remaining premises will be served by a combination of next-generation fixed-wireless and satellite technologies providing peak speeds of 12 megabits per second.

NBN Co Limited was established to build and operate the new high-speed network. The NBN is expected to be completed by 2021 at which time around 13 million premises will have access to fibre-to-the-premises, fixed-wireless or satellite broadband services.

The NBN policy was strengthened by the government"s Commitment to Regional Australia, announced on 7 September 2010.

The commitment includes prioritising the regional rollout of the NBN to ensure non-metropolitan communities are amongst the first beneficiaries of reliable high-speed broadband. This will occur by:

• building fibre in regional areas as a priority

• bringing forward the introduction of wireless and satellite services so that regional Australia can gain access to better broadband as soon as possible

• putting in place uniform national wholesale prices, so that regional areas can pay the same prices as people in the city.

Since then, NBN Co has launched commercial services on the Interim Satellite Service on 1 July 2011, providing eligible rural and regional Australians with immediate access to enhanced broadband services. This new service targets customers who do not have access to a metro-comparable broadband service.

The Interim Satellite Service offers users peak speeds of 6 megabits per second download and 1 megabit per second upload. Currently, seven retail service providers (RSPs) are offering interim satellite services (Activ8me, Bordernet, Clear Networks, Harbour IT, Reachnet, SkyMesh and Australian Nomad Technologies). NBN Co has announced plans to sign up to 20 RSPs to offer retail satellite services from November 2011, ensuring rural and remote Australians enjoy the benefits of a competitive retail market.

NBN Co is also in the process of designing and procuring two new, Ka-band satellites to deliver the Long Term Satellite Service from 2015. The Long Term Satellite Service will offer peak speeds of 12 megabits per second download and 1 megabit per second upload and will enable average data higher than average DSL usage today.

NBN Co has also brought forward the introduction of its next-generation fixed-wireless service so that regional and rural Australia can get access to better broadband as soon as possible.

The first communities to receive the service will be the less densely populated rural and regional communities that surround Ballarat (Vic), Darwin (NT), Geraldton (WA), Toowoomba (Qld) and Tamworth (NSW). It is expected that customers in these areas will be able to sign up with retail service providers to use the network, with the latest 4G technology, from the middle of 2012. It is anticipated that those parts of Australia outside the fibre footprint-the so called "last 7 per cent"-will be fully covered by NBN Co"s fixed-wireless and long-term satellite services by 2015.

In addition, since the announcement of the NBN in April 2009 the majority of the fibre network construction that has occurred, or is planned, has been in rural and regional Australia.

In July 2010, the first services were switched on in the three regional Tasmanian centres of Scottsdale, Midway Point and Smithton. Of the 19 first and second-release sites on the mainland, where construction or planning is already underway, many are in regional centres.

These fibre, wireless and satellite networks will ensure that every community in regional Australia gets fair and equal access to affordable high-speed broadband. This includes the delivery of uniform national wholesale pricing within the three technology platforms. This means that wholesale broadband prices for comparable products will be the same for households and businesses regardless of where they are located--in the city, in regional Australia or in more remote parts of the country.

Further, under the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program, 6000 kilometres of optical fibre will be laid before the end of 2011. This program will connect 100 regional locations and provide around 400 000 people across six states and territories with access to competitively-priced backhaul.

Another major change in the telecommunications sector since the Glasson review has been the increase in demand for mobile access broadband services. Mobile phones and/or broadband devices are becoming increasingly popular with Australians. This is due to a number of factors such as higher rates of mobility, and the desire to connect to the internet remotely for business and personal use, including social networking. The committee is interested in better understanding the impact that this additional demand for mobile access broadband services will have, or is already having, on the existing wireless networks.

Introduction

The 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review seeks to build upon the progress achieved since the 2008 review. In doing so, the Minister has asked the committee to have particular regard for the opportunities that the NBN creates for the emerging digital economy to improve the delivery of:

• health and education outcomes

• business efficiencies and opportunities

• growth in local economies

• government services and programs, including local government services

The committee is also interested in other telecommunications issues that are important to regional, rural and remote communities. These include:

• the communications needs of Indigenous Australians, particularly those that live in rural and remote communities

• developments in the terrestrial and satellite mobile phone sector

• the consumer concerns of people and businesses in regional, rural and remote Australia.

The committee"s approach to the 2011-12 RTR is to take a snapshot of current service availability in different areas and to look to the future to identify what further steps are needed for regional Australia to progressively take advantage of improved broadband services, including those which will become available as the NBN is deployed.

The committee is keen to learn from the experiences of consumers, businesses, agencies and organisations using telecommunications services in regional Australia.

The committee is also keen to understand the initiatives that are in place or planned to support access to, awareness of, and use of improved telecommunication services in regional Australia.

The government"s commitment to the rollout of the NBN will, over time, bring about major structural reform in the Australian telecommunications industry. The NBN also forms a key platform over which a new generation of services and applications will evolve. The committee recognises that the rollout will take some time but also is of the view that, for regional Australia to benefit from the NBN, thinking needs to start now about future opportunities, how regional communities can best prepare themselves for these opportunities, and what can be done to accelerate and extend these opportunities.

With this in mind the committee would welcome your views and ideas on:

• changes in user behaviour and preferences with telecommunications services

• the extent to which these services are used in traditional sectors, such as farming, and also new business and economic development opportunities

• the extent to which people in regional Australia are using telecommunications services to shop, access government and community services, to assist with information, communication and decision-making, and to allow for automated communications between devices, such as sensors and weather stations or dataloggers.

This is an exciting time for regional telecommunications and the committee encourages you to have your say. The committee is accepting submissions until 1 December 2011. Details on how to make submissions and provide comments are in the Have your say section of this paper.

The committee will conduct consultations in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia. The consultation schedule and other information about the committee is available at www.rtirc.gov.au

Complementary inquiries

The committee is aware of other relevant inquiries that are ongoing or have been recently completed. These include:

• the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Networkⁱ

• the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Networkⁱⁱ

• the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications inquiry into the National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010; and Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures-Access Arrangements) Bill 2010ⁱⁱⁱ.

Additionally, there are several existing reports that are of direct relevance to the committee"s review and will help inform the broad directions of our work. These include:

• our predecessors, the Glasson committee, and their 2008 Regional Telecommunication Review report Framework for the Future^iv

• Dr Genevieve Bell"s 2009 report Getting Connected, Staying Connected^v

• the Australian Government"s National Digital Economy Strategy^vi.

The 2011-12 RTR seeks to complement, but not replicate, these other bodies of work. The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee will remain focused on the particular opportunities and challenges that face regional, rural and remote communities. You can assist the committee to do this by making a submission or attending one of the public meetings.

Have your say

The committee welcomes submissions from individuals, businesses and organisations. If you wish to make a submission, please consider the following guidelines.

You can email your submissions to secretariat@rtirc.gov.au Please clearly label the submission and any appendices that you attach. The total size of an email, including all attachments, should not exceed 3 megabytes.

If you are unable to submit electronically, you can post your submission to:

2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review Secretariat
Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
GPO Box 2154
CANBERRA ACT 2601

For people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment

Please contact the committee secretariat through the National Relay Service:

• TTY users phone 133 677 then ask for 1800 064 851

• speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) users phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 1800 064 851

• internet relay users connect to www.relayservice.com.au and then ask for 1800 064 851

Further information about submissions, including confidentiality, privacy and how to contact the secretariat is at Appendix 2.

Key areas of interest

The committee has identified five key areas of interest for the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review:

• the digital economy

• regional health and education outcomes

• communications needs of Indigenous people and communities

• developments in the terrestrial and satellite mobile phone sector

• consumer issues.

This paper sets out the committee"s understanding of these issues for regional, rural and remote Australians. The committee also asks a number of questions in the paper, which we would like you to consider and respond to. It is not necessary to address all of these questions in your submission. The committee would also welcome submissions on other telecommunications matters that you consider are relevant to regional, rural and remote Australians.

1. The digital economy

Question 1. How is the use of telecommunications services; and information and communication technology (ICT) evolving in different industry sectors and what is the impact of these changes in regional Australia?

Question 2. What is needed to extend and accelerate the role of telecommunications services and ICT in delivering benefits to regional economies?

The "digital economy" refers to the rapidly growing use and impact of information and communications technology on the entire Australian economy-including every business, government agency, not-for-profit group and individual Australian. The ability to interact online in real-time, using the internet, is encouraging many innovative new communication models and applications.

The widespread availability of improved broadband at more affordable pricing in regional and remote areas, which the new NBN will provide, will establish a platform that people and organisations will use to change the way they currently communicate, provide and access services, and conduct their business. Many have already begun to do so.

For regional, rural and remote communities, the availability of high-speed broadband brings both opportunities and challenges.

For regional, rural and remote Australia, the NBN will provide a better platform for improving health and education outcomes, creating growth in local economies, improving business efficiency through such activities as teleworking, and delivering government services and programs. Many submissions to the Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications considered that regional, rural and remote communities will benefit from greater participation in the digital economy^vii.

However, challenges remain. For example, Australian Bureau of Statistics" data indicates that over one-third of Australians aged 15 years or older living in outer regional and remote areas have not used the internet^viii. Additionally, it is reported that less than 30 per cent of regional businesses have a web presence^ix. These are challenges to overcome before people living and working in regional, rural and remote Australia can take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy.

The committee is aware that there are programs that are designed to address these challenges. For example, the Digital Hubs program has been developed to help increase the portion of households that connect to broadband at home. This program will fund the establishment of a "digital hub" in the 40 communities that will first benefit from the rollout of the NBN. Digital Hubs will provide local people with experience of NBN-enabled services and technology and with access to education and training for the skills required to participate in the NBN-enabled digital economy.

Additionally, the Broadband for Seniors program provides seniors with free access to the internet and assists them in gaining confidence in using computer technology. Kiosks are set up in community organisations that support seniors, including community centres, retirement villages, nursing facilities, libraries and clubs. The initiative commenced in June 2008 and has delivered outcomes across 2000 sites, reaching about 94 000 seniors. The government has provided funding for a further four years from July 2011 to continue this program.

While the NBN will provide a critical piece of enabling infrastructure, the government has recognised that it is important to establish early trials of the technology to demonstrate its impact and to set the stage for broader systemic adoption in education, healthcare and government service delivery, to ensure full participation in the digital economy.

Business efficiencies and opportunities

The digital economy also provides opportunities for individual businesses, not-for-profit groups and local economic development. Initial experiences coming from the first-release NBN sites show real promise in this area. A recent report by Deloitte Access Economics valued the direct contribution of the internet to the Australian economy at approximately $50 billion in 2010^x. Experience to date suggests this figure will grow as the NBN is rolled out nationwide and consumers continue to increase their level on online activity.

Teleworking is one strategy that could lead to job opportunities and productivity gains for regional businesses, as well as increasing flexibility for individuals. Teleworking can take a number of forms, including working from home or other locations outside of the business premises, it can be done occasionally or on a full-time basis, and it can also include flexible working hours.

Specific benefits that could come from teleworking include:

• being able to recruit people irrespective of where they live;

• reduced commuting and business related travel time; and

• greater workplace flexibility, making the business a more attractive option for employees^xi.

The committee is aware that the Australian Government has developed initiatives to encourage greater online participation by businesses and community organisations. For example, the Digital Enterprise program will assist small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations, including local cultural organisations, to better understand how they can take advantage of the NBN and online opportunities in general.

The committee has a strong interest in the potential for businesses and community organisations in regional Australia to take advantage of improved broadband services. The committee is also interested in views on the role of local governments and other bodies in encouraging growth in local economies through the digital economy.

Question 3. The committee would like to hear from businesses and organisations about their participation in, experiences of, and expectations about, the digital economy. Examples could relate to specific sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing or retail; business-to-business activities; productivity; teleworking; and the development of new knowledge-based industries.

Delivery of government services and programs

Accessing government services online is increasingly becoming a preferred way of doing business with government. Many state, territory and local governments are actively developing and implementing digital economy strategies. For people living or working in rural and remote communities, the ability to access more government services online will be more convenient and achieve savings in both time and travel costs.

The Australian Government"s Digital Local Government program will assist local governments in early-release NBN sites to deliver innovative online services to homes and businesses. Additionally, developments are being investigated to improve people"s ease of use and access to Australian Government services. Such improvements include options that would enable individuals to manage their government transactions and personal information via a single online account; and provide the basis for a range of new services, including a "tell us once" capability. This would allow people to communicate updated details to multiple agencies simultaneously and pre-fill forms with information previously provided to an agency.

At the Australian government level, there are many examples of the increased focus on online service delivery. For the Australian Tax Office, tax return lodgements using e-tax increased to 2.37 million in 2009-10^xii. Centrelink reported that in 2009-10 more than 110 million web pages were viewed by 85 million visitors^xiii. The Australian Bureau of Statistics anticipated that 30 per cent of the population would use the eCensus to complete the 2011 Census of Population and Housing^xiv

Question 4. The NBN will help the range of online government services to continue to expand. The committee is interested in views and experiences about engaging with government services online, whether local, state or federal.

Question 5. What are some examples of what you want to see happen to encourage greater participation in the digital economy by people living and working in regional Australia?

The committee recognises the experiences that regional, rural and remote communities have with the digital economy will vary according to the nature, characteristics and location of that community. The committee would appreciate specific examples and case studies.

Question 6. What are the main barriers to regional communities increasing their use of information and communications technologies and do you have any ideas for ways in which regional communities could progressively overcome these barriers?

2. Regional health and education outcomes

In the health and ageing sector there are a number of telehealth trials and other initiatives underway that will take advantage of the NBN to deliver in-home and close-to-home health services. People living in regional, rural and remote communities stand to benefit greatly from these initiatives when they are rolled out nationally.

For example, the Diabetes Telehealth trial, in Townsville, is expected to deliver a range of benefits to type 2 diabetes patients such as improved diabetes management, the ability to detect and address quickly any deterioration in condition, improved patient confidence in self-managing a diabetic condition, and reduced travel times and transport costs.

A further example is the Telehealth to the Home trial in the New England and Shoalhaven regions of New South Wales. It will provide broadband-enabled access to appropriate health and mental care. This means that patients will no longer have to regularly travel long distances to access their health professionals. Patients can remain in the community and have access to the same level of care that those in major centres experience.

Through increased support for both patients and their carers, this trial will improve the quality of life for chronic disease sufferers and young people with mental health problems, and assist health professionals to provide more efficient, high-quality care for individuals wherever they live.

Similarly, trials are underway in the education sector to deliver a range of new online services. For example, EduONE-Education Our New England will trial new models of education services and resources using ubiquitous reliable high-speed broadband^xv. Vocational and adult students in rural and remote areas, many of whom have previously had to leave their homes and communities to further their educations, are obvious beneficiaries of this approach.

Expected benefits from the trial include improved access to high-quality vocational and adult education and training for students at home and in the workplace, leading to increased take-up of relevant skills development programs. This will allow greater workforce participation, as job seekers can more readily access appropriate training and professional development to get back into the workforce faster or to further enhance their existing careers.

In addition, the government has announced an NBN-Enabled Education and Skills Services Program commencing from 2011-12. This will support the development and trialling of innovative online education and skills services that take advantage of the high-speed broadband connections of the NBN and will provide more interactive and effective learning opportunities.

Regional universities in Australia are leaders in the delivery of external and distance-based studies. The committee"s view is that these institutions are particularly well-placed to develop and deliver new online education services and techniques.

For the education sector, increased experience with improved broadband to deliver training will give Australian teachers and educational institutions a competitive edge in the international education market and offer ways to deliver open-access resources. It could also improve the usage of existing teaching resources, helping to address teacher shortages. The committee believes that it will be important for teachers, students, and educational institutions to have a good understanding of intellectual property rights and licensing arrangements when offering, and making use of, open access resources.

Question 7. Do you have ideas for ways in which high-speed broadband could enhance the delivery of education and healthcare outcomes in regional communities?

Question 8. The committee would like to hear from individuals and organisations about their participation in, experiences of, and expectations about, online health and education service delivery.

3. Communications needs of Indigenous people and communities

Access to reliable high-speed broadband is the first step to participation in the digital economy for people living in rural and remote Indigenous communities. The fast-tracked availability of the NBN interim satellite solution provides an immediate opportunity to improve competitive access to broadband to the home, through a range of retail service providers.

In addition, the recent announcement of the NBN fixed-wireless network to communities in five states and territories will provide fast-tracked access to high-speed broadband, with the first services available from the middle of 2012.

However, the most recent census figures (2006) revealed that only 20 per cent of Indigenous households in remote and very remote Australia had an internet connection in 2006 compared with 60 per cent of non-Indigenous households in the same statistical area^xvi. As these figures illustrate, access will be a key challenge if these communities are to benefit from the digital economy.

Other challenges that people in Indigenous communities may face include:

• the ability of end users to access internet services to their full potential

• awareness of the opportunities provided by the digital economy.

Overcoming access and digital literacy issues will be important for Indigenous communities, as will improved awareness of the uses and benefits that the NBN can provide.

Access to high-speed broadband

There are a number of private and public programs that are improving access to computers, the internet and basic telecommunications services in remote communities.

The government"s response to the Glasson review included the Indigenous Communications Program, which commenced in 2009 10. The four-year program is helping provide public access to internet services and training for people living in remote Indigenous communities. The program is delivered through a National Partnership Agreement with four states and the Northern Territory. Since the inception of the program on 1 July 2009, 63 communities have received public internet access facilities and around 1700 Indigenous Australians have received training.

The other element of this program is the provision of communications services in smaller remote Indigenous communities. Around 210 remote Indigenous communities that did not previously have access to a public telephone have received fixed or mobile satellite community telephones.

Awareness of, and the ability to harness, the digital economy"s opportunities

Currently, there is a lack of awareness in some rural and remote communities about the opportunities afforded by the NBN. Additionally, there is a shortage of data available on the impacts, opportunities and potential applications of broadband in remote Indigenous communities^xvii.

The ability of end users in rural and remote communities to understand and use the internet is fundamental to their participation in the digital economy. A number of recent inquiries into broadband and its potential applications have raised this issue. For example, in her report Getting Connected, Staying Connected: South Australia"s Digital Futures Dr Genevieve Bell suggests adopting a digital literacy program that would be lifelong, would teach basic skills and critical thinking, and could operate out of schools and other social institutions such as community centres^xviii.

One initiative that is already in operation in Western Australia is the Community Resource Network, which is a network of community-owned and operated telecentre facilities. The Community Resource Network aims to provide local access to technology such as videoconferencing facilities, information, training and other services in small rural and remote communities across Western Australia. The role for telecentres is to provide: ICT upskilling programs, access to leading edge ICT technologies including broadband, and access to government information and service delivery-most notably e-government and other online services^xix.

Question 9: Are there examples of the internet being used by Indigenous Australians in ways that take advantage of economic, social or cultural opportunities?

Question 10. What further initiatives should the committee consider to improve awareness within Indigenous communities of the opportunities provided by improved broadband services?

Question 11: What recommendations do you have for remote communities to take advantage of the progressive increase in availability of high-speed broadband?

Question 12: What more could be done to improve digital literacy amongst Indigenous Australians and within Indigenous communities?

4. Developments in the terrestrial and satellite mobile phone sector

Mobile phones and/or broadband devices have become increasingly popular with Australians over the past decade. This is due to a number of factors such as higher rates of mobility, and the desire to connect to the internet remotely for business and personal use, including social networking.

Mobile phone coverage

The committee is advised that the three major mobile phone carriers have extended the national coverage of their networks. These carriers estimate that their network coverage extends to:

• Vodafone Hutchinson Australia-94 per cent of Australians

• Optus 3G services-97 per cent of Australians

• Telstra Next G network-99 per cent of Australians.

Based on the carrier"s estimates of population coverage, mobile phone access appears to have improved over time as demand for these services has increased. However, reflecting Australia"s highly urbanised population, these high levels of coverage equate to around 25 per cent of the Australian landmass.

Question 13. Have you been able to readily obtain information to improve your mobile phone coverage, such as using an external antenna or choosing particular phones that are better suited to rural or remote coverage?

Question 14. Are you aware of emerging technologies or initiatives that could be used to improve mobile phone coverage in regional Australia?

Satellite mobile phones

Satellite mobile phone services cover the entire Australian landmass. For areas that are sparsely populated or have little passing traffic, the only commercially-viable option for mobile services is via satellite.

Satellite mobile phones have similar functionality to terrestrial mobile phones, including voice, SMS and data services. While mobile phone towers are at risk of damage from bushfires and other natural disasters, satellite mobile phones are not as reliant on the local power supply infrastructure and can be more reliable than ground-based systems during an emergency.

Traditionally, satellite mobile phones were viewed by many as expensive to purchase, with high-cost call rates, and needing a clear line of sight to the satellite for the phone to work. However, the committee is advised that recent developments in the satellite phone market have led to a significant reduction in handset costs and more competitive call costs.

Question 15. What have been your experiences with satellite mobile phones?

5. Consumer issues

The Australian Government, industry and consumer groups are currently working on a range of strategies to improve the customer-focus of telecommunications providers. The committee would welcome feedback on any significant consumer issues that are unique to regional, rural or remote communities and which have not been raised in the context of the other consumer-related inquiries.

Consumer dissatisfaction with telecommunications services has increased in recent years. The government is aware of the importance of telecommunications services to consumers and the challenges that have existed in meeting consumers expectations. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has reported a substantial rise in consumer complaints about issues including poor customer service, bill shock, poor credit management, confusing advertising and contract complexity.

In response to this situation, the government has strengthened consumer protection laws, introducing new protections through the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Act 2010^xx.

There are also a number of processes occurring in response to this situation, including the Reconnecting the Customer inquiry by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that is examining customer service and complaint handling in the telecommunications industry^xxi, a review of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme^xxii, and the Communications Alliance, the peak industry body, is finalising a new Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code^xxiii that attempts to address the issues that underpin consumer complaints.

In its 2008 regional telecommunications review, the Glasson committee found that voice services are generally adequate in regional areas but the consumer protections should be revised. The Glasson committee also found that regional voice services users had a poor understanding of the consumer protection standards. Since the 2008 regional telecommunications review significant changes have occurred in this area.

The committee notes that the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Act 2010, passed in November 2010, is a major reform of voice service and payphone standards. This legislation was aimed at enhancing competitive outcomes in the Australian telecommunications industry, such as allowing for the structural separation of Telstra and strengthening existing consumer safeguards. The regulatory reforms included measures to strengthen key consumer safeguards such as the Universal Service Obligation (USO) for voice and payphones, the Customer Service Guarantee, and to provide enhanced enforcement powers to the ACMA as the regulatory body.

As part of the transition to the NBN, the Australian Government is also reforming the delivery of the USO and other public policy outcomes. As part of this reform the government has reached an agreement with Telstra to ensure that all Australians will continue to have access to basic telephone services.

From July 2012, a new government entity, the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency (TUSMA), will manage the new universal service agreement. Under the terms of the new agreement Telstra will be subject to stronger standards and benchmarks for the provision of the USO for voice and payphone services. The TUSMA will also be responsible for administering safety net arrangements to assist the migration of voice-only customers to an NBN fibre service as Telstra"s copper customer access network is decommissioned. For people who live in areas where the NBN fibre does not extend and currently receive their voice services over Telstra"s copper network, Telstra will also be required to maintain its copper network to deliver voice services.

The committee notes that as part of the reforms for delivery of the USO, the government released a discussion paper (Universal Service Obligation legislative reform for transition to the National Broadband Network, 23 June 2011) calling for public comment on the proposed legislative arrangements. This included the establishment, functions, governance and accountability of the TUSMA and announced the government"s intention for the new legislative regime to begin in advance of 1 July 2012.

Question 16. Are there any significant consumer issues specific to rural and remote communities that you consider are not being addressed?

Question 17. Do people in regional areas, particularly those in vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, have appropriate access to information about their consumer rights and the service options available to them?

Question 18. If not, what additional strategies could be put in place to assist individuals and groups to better understand their consumer rights and responsibilities?

Another emerging issue for consumers in regional, rural or remote communities is the challenge of keeping pace with the growth of telecommunications technologies, notably mobile internet devices such as smartphones. With the unquestioned benefits of greater affordable access to information and services, comes the prospect of greater exposure to risks online. These risks can range from the protection of personal information to greater exposure to harmful and inappropriate content. The committee is aware of the need to ensure that all consumers are aware of the risks and the range of tools and information that they can use to manage these risks.

Question 19: Are there specific cybersafety challenges that arise from the way that communications technologies are being used by regional, rural or remote communities?

Question 20: How can education and awareness of the risks of using mobile devices, such as smartphones, be improved for consumers in regional areas?

Other issues

Question 21. Are there any other issues relating to telecommunications services in regional Australia that you would like to bring to the committee"s attention?

Appendix 1: 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review Terms of Reference

1. Sections 158P and 158Q of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 contain the terms of reference for the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee and the conduct of regional telecommunications reviews.

2. The committee must conduct a review of the adequacy of telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia.

3. In determining the adequacy of those services, the committee must have regard to whether people in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia have equitable access to telecommunications services that are significant to people in those parts of Australia, and currently available in one or more parts of urban Australia.

4. In conducting the review, the committee must make provision for public consultation and consultation with people in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia.

5. In conducting the review, the committee must have regard to any policies of the Australian Government notified to it by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy*; and such other matters as the committee considers relevant.

6. The committee must prepare a report of the review and give it to the Minister. The report may set out recommendations to the Australian Government.

7. In formulating a recommendation that the Australian Government should take a particular action, the committee must assess the costs and benefits of that action.

* The Minister has asked the committee to have particular regard for the opportunities that the National Broadband Network creates in improving the delivery of health and education outcomes, growth in local economies, business efficiencies, and government services and programs.

Appendix 2: Further details on submissions made to the review

Publication of submissions

The secretariat will make submissions publicly available at www.rtirc.gov.au

Please allow time for this to occur.

The secretariat reserves the right not to publish any submission, or part of a submission, which in its view contains potentially defamatory material, or where it is appropriate to do so for confidentiality or other reasons.

Submission requirements

Each submission must include the submitter"s name, organisation (if relevant) and contact details. Emails should not exceed 3 megabytes in total size. This includes the submission and any appendices. If your submission is very large, send it in parts of no more than 3 megabytes each. If the submission is brief-three paragraphs or shorter-you may send it in the body of an email.

Please provide documents in a standard word-processing format.

Confidentiality

The secretariat will treat all submissions as non-confidential unless the submitter specifically requests that a submission, or a part of that submission, is kept confidential and provides acceptable reasons with the request. Email disclaimers are not considered sufficient confidentiality requests.

Submitters of material marked as confidential or sensitive must understand that submissions may be released where authorised or required by law or for the purpose of parliamentary processes. In this instance, the secretariat will strive to consult submitters of confidential information before providing that information to another body or agency.

Privacy

Submitters should note that submissions or comments are generally subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

The secretariat is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 and all submissions will be used only for the purpose of the review.

Register of lobbyists

A person who makes a submission on behalf of another person or on behalf of a company does not need to register as a lobbyist. For more information about the Lobbying Code of Conduct, see www.pmc.gov.au/lobbyistsregister

Contacting the secretariat

Further information about the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Review and the Committee is at www.rtirc.gov.au

Contact the committee secretariat by:

• email to secretariat@rtirc.gov.au

• telephone on 1800 064 851 (a free call from a landline service)

• TTY users phone 133 677 then ask for 1800 064 851

• speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 1800 064 851

• internet relay, connect to www.relayservice.com.au and then ask for 1800 064 851.

Appendix 3: Issue paper questions

The digital economy

Question 1. How is the use of telecommunications services; and information and communication technology (ICT) evolving in different industry sectors and what is the impact of these changes in regional Australia?

Question 2. What is needed to extend and accelerate the role of telecommunications services and ICT in delivering benefits to regional economies?

Question 3. The committee would like to hear from businesses and organisations about their participation in, experiences of, and expectations about, the digital economy. Examples could relate to specific sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing or retail; business-to-business activities; productivity; teleworking; and the development of new knowledge-based industries.

Question 4. The NBN will help the range of online government services to continue to expand. The committee is interested in views and experiences about engaging with government services online, whether local, state or federal.

Question 5. What are some examples of what you want to see happen to encourage greater participation in the digital economy by people living and working in regional Australia?

Question 6. What are the main barriers to regional communities increasing their use of information and communications technologies and do you have any ideas for ways in which regional communities could progressively overcome these barriers?

Regional health and education outcomes

Question 7. Do you have ideas for ways in which high-speed broadband could enhance the delivery of education and healthcare outcomes in regional communities?

Question 8. The committee would like to hear from individuals and organisations about their participation in, experiences of, and expectations about, online health and education service delivery.

Communications needs of Indigenous people and communities

Question 9: Are there examples of the internet being used by Indigenous Australians in ways that take advantage of economic, social or cultural opportunities?

Question 10. What further initiatives should the committee consider to improve awareness within Indigenous communities of the opportunities provided by the NBN?

Question 11: What recommendations do you have for remote communities to take advantage of the progressive increase in availability of high-speed broadband?

Question 12: What more could be done to improve digital literacy amongst Indigenous Australians and within Indigenous communities?

Developments in the terrestrial and satellite mobile phone sector

Question 13. Have you been able to readily obtain information to improve your mobile phone coverage, such as using an external antenna or choosing particular phones that are better suited to rural or remote coverage?

Question 14. Are you aware of emerging technologies or initiatives that could be used to improve mobile phone coverage in regional Australia?

Question 15. What have been your experiences with satellite mobile phones?

Consumer issues

Question 16. Are there any significant consumer issues specific to rural and remote communities that you consider are not being addressed?

Question 17. Do people in regional areas, particularly those in vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, have appropriate access to information about their consumer rights and the service options available to them?

Question 18. If not, what additional strategies could be put in place to assist individuals and groups to better understand their consumer rights and responsibilities?

Question 19: Are there specific cybersafety challenges that arise from the way that communications technologies are being used by regional, rural or remote communities?

Question 20: How can education and awareness of the risks of using mobile devices, such as smartphones, be improved for consumers in regional areas?

Question 21. Are there any other issues relating to telecommunications services in regional Australia that you would like to bring to the committee"s attention?

Endnotes

i House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, Inquiry into the role and potential of the National Broadband Network, November 2010. www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ic/NBN/index.htm

ii Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network, April 2011. www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jcNBN/index.htm

iii Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications, Inquiry into the National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010 and Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures-Access Arrangements) Bill 2010. www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ec_ctte/NBN_bills/interim_report/index.htm

iv Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (Glasson committee), Framework for the Future, September 2008. www.dbcde.gov.au/funding_and_programs/regional_telecommunications_review

v Dr Genevieve Bell, Getting Connected, Staying Connected, 2009. www.thinkers.sa.gov.au/lib/pdf/GB15.pdf

vi National Digital Economy Strategy, #au20, 2011. See www.NBN.gov.au/the-vision/digitaleconomystrategy/

vii www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ic/NBN/index.htm

viii ABS 2008-09 Household Use of IT, Table 2.4, p. 10. www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/9B44779BD8AF6A9CCA25768D0021EEC3/$File/81460_2008-09.pdf

ix Ibid.

x Deloitte Access Economics, The Connected Continent? How the internet is transforming the Australian economy, p. 1. See www.connectedcontinent.com.au

xi Access Economics, Impact of Teleworking under the NBN, July 2010, pp. 10-11. www.dbcde.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/130158/ImpactsofteleworkingundertheNBN.pdf

xii Commissioner of Taxation, Annual Report 2009-10, October 2010, p. 26. www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.aspx?doc=/content/00258543.htm&pc=001/001/009/001&mnu=49806&mfp=001&st

xiii www.humanservices.gov.au/spw/corporate/publications-and-resources/annual-report/centrelink/chapter01/index.html

xiv www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/2011%20Census%20-%20Media%20Release%20-%20CO-33

xv www.dbcde.gov.au/funding_and_programs/digital_regions_initiative/eduoneeducation_our_new_england

xvi Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006a, Census data. www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/census+data

xvii Indigenous Remote Communications Association, Submission to the House of Representatives Inquiry into the Role and Benefits of the National Broadband Network, February 2011, p. 9. www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ic/NBN/subs/Sub082.pdf

xviii Dr Bell, Getting Connected, Staying Connected: South Australia"s Digital Futures p. 46.

xix ACMA, Audit of Australian Digital Media Literacy Programs, July 2009, p. 24. www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib310665/audit_of_aust_digital_media_literacy_programs.doc

xx See www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2010A00140

xxi ACMA Reconnecting the Customer inquiry, December 2010. http://engage.acma.gov.au/reconnecting/

xxii Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy, Review of Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Scheme. www.dbcde.gov.au/consultation_and_submissions/TIO_reforms

xxiii Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code Review Steering Group. www.commsalliance.com.au/Activities/committees-and-groups/tcpsg