This paper discusses the views of Australian households without a broadband connection. It is based on preliminary analysis of survey data collected during August-September 2008 from a representative sample of Australian households. While a lot of work is done on the early stages of adoption of any innovation, there is little focus on the late...

Information and communications technologies (ICT) have been increasingly integrated into the delivery of many public and commercial services including banking, health, education and social security assistance. They have also become an important medium for social interaction and can help reduce the sense of isolation of people in remote communities. Adequate access to ICT infrastructure, a...

Elected on the platform that it will advance Australia towards a digital economy, the new Federal Labor Government has committed to providing high-speed internet coverage to 98% of Australian households.1 As the official policy description explains, a Fibre To The Node (FTTN) network will enhance internet connectivity and 'increase speed to a minimum of 12...

While Pierre-Auguste Renoir's masterpiece 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' is frequently admired as a paradigm of the Impressionist period, it also highlights how technology can change society. In the upper left hand corner of the painting, obscured by the awning, is a subtle rendering of the Chatou railroad bridge. Completed by the French government in...

This paper draws upon Malcom Gladwell's notion of The Tipping Point in the context of the development of new broadband services. The new Rudd Labor government has committed $4.7 billion of Australian government capital to assist in the construction of a new national fibre broadband network. Broadband platforms have enabled a different service paradigm from...