Telecommunications infrastructure facilitating sustainable development of rural and remote communities in Northern Australia

Telecommunications access in the rural and remote areas of Australia has come under considerable scrutiny in recent years. In the past decade, various Federal Government reports and inquiries have citied inadequate infrastructure, lack of service provision, the high cost of access and "thin" markets as key impediments. Whilst these difficulties are not restricted to rural and remote Australia, they tend to impact disproportionately on regional communities, notably in education and health service provision. Particularly at risk are the indigenous communities in rural and remote regions of Australia. In this paper telecommunications infrastructure is perceived as the lynch-pin for achieving sustainable economic and social development. It is suggested that without appropriate development of information infrastructure, the disparities already experienced by rural and remote communities will be further exacerbated as the reliance of goods and services over computer-mediated networks increases. The paper offers a new paradigm that will assist in maintaining a competitive telecommunications environment and facilitate the sustainable social and economic development of rural and remote communities.