Australia to rank in top five OECD countries for number of businesses online by 2020, blueprint predicts

Australia will rank in the top five OECD countries for the number of businesses using online opportunities and the proportion of households with access to high speed broadband by 2020, according to the Government’s new National Digital Economy Strategy.

The Government will also provide $23.8 million over the next three years to help residents, SMEs and not-for-profit organisations in the 40 communities that will be the first to benefit from the National Broadband Network, communications minister Stephen Conroy announced today.

The new money will be available to SMEs and not-for-profits to allow them to maximise the benefit of the network when it arrives in their area – construction will continue around the country over the next eight years.

“Maximising the benefit of the digital economy requires action by all levels of government, industry and the community as a whole,” Conroy says.

The funding has been welcomed by CPA Australia, with its head of business and investment policy Paul Drum noting Singapore had spent more on broadband education than on its rollout.

Conroy announced the National Digital Economy Strategy this morning at the CeBIT conference in Sydney, where some of the country’s leading technology experts and companies have come to show off their wares.

The Government argues the National Broadband Network will form the backbone of these predictions, with Conroy saying the network will allow Australia to “receive the full benefits of the digital economy no matter where they live around Australia”.

The construction of the network is now well underway, with the first of the mainland test sites now connecting users.

But the Government has also made some bullish predictions.

The new digital strategy blueprint says the NBN will provide the majority of Australian households and businesses with better access to manage their energy use, while 90% of high priority consumers will be able to access individual electronic health records.

“Building the NBN is a key step towards that vision, which has as one of its goals Australia being among the top five OECD countries by 2020 when it comes to the percentage of households connected to broadband at home,” he says.

The blueprint also spells out that by 2015, 495,000 telehealth consultations will have been delivered over high speed broadband and that by 2020, 25% of all specialists will be delivering telehealth conferences to remote patients.

It also says that:

• Australian schools, TAFE and university campuses will have the ability to “develop and collaborate on innovative education services”.
• Australia will have doubled its teleworking so 12% of employees may work away from traditional workplaces.
• Four out of five Australians will communicate to the Government with the internet or some other type of online service.
• “By connecting to high-speed broadband, households will benefit through savings generated from time-saving activities such as telecommuting for remote work and study and improved access to business and job opportunities, health, education, social and government services,” Senator Conroy says.

Conroy says the strategy will help contribute to Australia’s productivity and “maintain our global competitiveness”.