Digital divide hurts
The Victorian Farmers Federation says farmers are being crippled by unacceptable telecommunications access while the government is working with seriously outdated service standards.
It said more effort was needed to bridge the digital divide between city and country areas, urging the Federal Government to invest more in rural telecommunications infrastructure at a recent Productivity Commission inquiry into the effectiveness of the Commonwealth’s Universal Service Obligation (USO).
VFF vice-president Brett Hosking said the USO, which aims to ensure all Australians receive a basic level of service from their telecommunications provider, had lost its relevance, with its emphasis on maintaining fixed line services when advances in technology meant more farmers were using mobiles.
He said the USO was ‘‘seriously outdated’’ and ignored people’s dependence on mobile phones and the internet in their daily lives.
‘‘Mobile coverage especially is crucial not just for farm safety, but for everything from checking market reports on your phone to emailing yield data to your agronomist,’’ Mr Hosking said.
The Productivity Commission recommended in its interim report into the USO last year that a baseline service should be extended through the National Broadband Network to include data as well as voice telecommunications.
But Mr Hosking said the VFF had concerns over the NBN’s capacity to deliver a basic level of service for rural communities, and ‘‘failed the pub test’’.
He said the VFF regularly had complaints from rural communities frustrated with frequent telecommunication dropouts caused by the Sky Muster satellite.