Disability Broadband Proposal

Paul Budde has released a "Australia - National Broadband Network - Disability Broadband" (22 August 2011). This proposes a national coordinated strategy to use the NBN and on-line services to improve access for those with a disability. While this is a good idea in principle, the document is vague about what it proposes be done.

Universal service obligations are a complex area. See "Telecommunications Policy In Australia and People with Disabilities" which I published for Michael J Bourk (2000) for some history of this area.

Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd, have provided their report as a free nine page PDF download (270 Kbytes). Unfortunately, as this is PDF it is less accessible for those with a disability, than a web page meeting W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, have been. Here is an excerpt from the report:

New technologies are offering unprecedented opportunities for people with disability, older Australians and people experiencing illnesses to develop a much more inclusive and accessible infrastructure for a range of communication, information and social applications.

A new approach using the significant investment being made by the government in the NBN, and its related trans-sector policies in e-health, e-education, e-government, e-commerce and smart grids,
would allow the disability community to break through the many inflexible silo-based structures that have been created over the last 50 years. It could also help to break down the inflexible, vertically-integrated structures that impede competition and innovation while at the same time increasing costs.

There are many silo-based systems within this sector, mainly due to the technical limitations that have existed in the past. Broadband technologies now give us the chance to take a fresh look and explore ways of introducing more innovative applications, which will enable a more seamless integration of services to these communities into the broader array of services in our community.

The trans-sector approach is a crucial element in the creation of a more inclusive society.

The government and the wider community should take all of the new opportunities into account, consider the all of the new possibilities that broadband has to offer the more disadvantaged groups in our society. This report provides a broad outline of what these opportunities are and how they can be
further developed.

Taking these new developments and opportunities into account a new policy scheme should be designed and funded – one that is framed, not in line with the current silo-based environment, but according to the trans-sector approach, since this would better meet the long-term needs of the people addressed in the review, their families and carers.

With the proposed inclusive broadband infrastructure, using cloud computing as its IT utility, employers will see reduced accommodation costs and employees will be able to get to work right away, without having to specially provision each workstation they need to use.

By utilising new technologies such as those developed by broadband and internet media companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc a demand-based service can determine the people most in need of support, the services that should be available to them, and the appropriate service delivery arrangements.

A trans-sector approach based on broadband is far more efficient and effective than the dozens of often competing and uncoordinated processes currently used by many of government departments and agencies. Apart from this, the lifestyle improvements that can be achieved by this new approach offer enormous social and economic benefits to the people involved, as well as to their carers, employees, friends and families.

Government leadership is needed to break through the many silos, as it is extremely unlikely that these changes can be achieved from within the silos structures of health, aged care, informal care, income support and the injury insurance system.

This report proposes to commence the transition – from the present rather outdated communications technologies to a much more efficient and effective system. Such a transition could be developed in parallel with the rollout of the NBN.

At the start most users would still use existing technologies and other traditional services as they are currently used by the communities. However, towards the end of that period a full transition will have been made. Obviously there will always be a need for some highly specialised stand-alone services for some, but in one way or another even most of these people will benefit from this new inclusive access infrastructure – for example, with many ATs (assistant technologies) being linked through systems such as the IoT (Internet of Things). ...

From: Australia - National Broadband Network - Disability Broadband" Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd, 22 August 2011

Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency

The Australian Government has announced agreement with Telstra on implementation of the NBN "Government and Telstra agree on package of consumer measures". The government will pay to retrain Telstra staff to deploy the NBN. Also a new "Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency" (TUSMA) will be created to administer the universal service obligation (USO).

The Government - Telstra agreement comes at the same time as "Definitive Agreements between Telstra and NBN Co" on implementing the NBN. The arrangements commence on 1 July, 2012.

The TUSMA is tasked to ensure:

1. all Australians have reasonable access to a standard telephone service (the Universal Service Obligation for voice telephony services);
2. payphones are reasonably accessible to all Australians (the Universal Service Obligation for payphones);
3. the ongoing delivery of the Emergency Call Service by Telstra (calls to Triple Zero '000' and '112');
4. the ongoing delivery of the National Relay Service;
5. that appropriate safety net arrangements are in place that will assist the migration of voice-only customers to an NBN fibre service as Telstra’s copper customer access network is decommissioned; and
6. technological solutions will be developed as necessary to support continuity of public interest services (i.e. public alarm systems and traffic lights).

While carrying over the existing PSTN voice services to the NBN, these measures do not go far enough. They do not address access to digital data services and in particular provision of these services in an emergency.

Joint media release

The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister of Australia

Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate

Senator the Hon Penny Wong
Minister for Finance and Deregulation

---

Government and Telstra agree on package of consumer measures

The Gillard Government and Telstra today reached an agreement that will ensure basic universal telecommunication service standards during and after the roll out of the National Broadband Network – a critical assurance for consumers in the rollout of the NBN.

The important public safeguard is part of a package of measures agreed between the Government and Telstra that included an agreement to provide assistance to retrain Telstra’s workforce to deploy the NBN.

The package also included the creation of a new government entity, the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency (TUSMA) that will administer the universal service obligation (USO) and other public interest services.

These measures were announced in conjunction with Definitive Agreements between Telstra and NBN Co that will see super fast broadband delivered sooner to Australians with less disruption and less cost.

The universal service arrangements will commence on 1 July, 2012.The TUSMA will ensure:

• all Australians have reasonable access to a standard telephone service (the Universal Service Obligation for voice telephony services);
• payphones are reasonably accessible to all Australians (the Universal Service Obligation for payphones);
• the ongoing delivery of the Emergency Call Service by Telstra (calls to Triple Zero '000' and '112');
• the ongoing delivery of the National Relay Service;
• that appropriate safety net arrangements are in place that will assist the migration of voice-only customers to an NBN fibre service as Telstra’s copper customer access network is decommissioned; and
• technological solutions will be developed as necessary to support continuity of public interest services (i.e. public alarm systems and traffic lights).

These measures are vital to ensure continuity of basic services to consumers throughout Australia given the significant changes that will occur to the structure of the telecommunications industry from the rollout of the NBN, including the progressive decommissioning of Telstra’s copper customer access network.

Telstra will submit a Migration Plan to the ACCC for public consultation and approval which will set out the process by which its existing copper customers, including customers of other companies using Telstra’s wholesale services, will migrate onto the NBN.

Copper-based services outside the NBN Co fibre footprint will continue to be available to customers under the USO agreement, as well as the new fast broadband services provided through NBN Co’s next generation wireless and satellite services.

To support the delivery of these new arrangements – which are in addition to its previously announced commitment to provide funding of $50 million per annum for the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14, and then $100 million per annum thereafter - the Government will supplement its funding to TUSMA in the first two financial years. This will ensure contributors to the industry levy, with the exception of Telstra, will not face an increase to their aggregate funding contribution through the transition period.

The commitment to provide additional Government funding towards this important reform is an important measure that will provide industry with greater certainty to facilitate the transition to the new regime.

Senator Conroy also announced today that the government has entered into a further agreement with Telstra to provide funding to assist in the retraining and redeployment of Telstra staff affected by this very significant reform.

NBN Co, in conjunction with the industry and in consultation with the Commonwealth Government, will fund and undertake a public education campaign to inform consumers about the imminent migration of services from the copper-based infrastructure to the fibre optic infrastructure.

More information on the new arrangements for the delivery of the Universal Service Obligation and other public telecommunications outcomes is available at http://www.dbcde.gov.au/broadband/national_broadband_network/universal_service_policy

MINISTER CONROY’S OFFICE ...

CANBERRA
23 JUNE 2011 ...

From: Government and Telstra agree on package of consumer measures, 23 June 2011