Australians living in rural and remote areas are used to the tough life. Droughts, floods, fires and vast distances have made them a resourceful and determined bunch.
When it comes to telecommunications, these attributes manifest themselves in a drive to overcome isolation and establish reliable, cost-effective communications networks.
Never far from the top of the political agenda, the push to improve regional and remote telecommunications serves to highlight the radical differences between those living in the cities and those in the bush.
In major metropolitan areas, fairly priced access to mobile and fixed-line phones and high-speed Internet are the norm. But travel outside those areas and a very different picture emerges.
While improvements have been made in recent years, there are still vast areas with no mobile phone coverage. The reliability of fixed-line services can be patchy and access to broadband Internet services is little more than a dream.
As the nation's largest carrier, and the one charged with boosting services in the bush, Telstra is quick to highlight the advances it has made. Telstra Country Wide Managing Director Doug Campbell says those living in rural and remote areas have seen a significant improvement during the past two years.
He says a recent survey shows regional customers put the performance of Country Wide at 7.8 out of 10, up from the 5.4 result in a similar survey conducted in 2000. However, Campbell acknowledges more is needed, especially in the area of broadband Internet services.
"We are working hard to make ADSL available in as many regional areas as possible," he says. "We are also looking at wireless technologies to extend access to broadband where that might be appropriate."
The federal government agrees more needs to be done and committed in June to spending a further $181 million over four years on a regional telecommunications package. The package includes $142 million to assist in the provision of high-speed Internet access for remote communities through a 'national bandwidth strategy'. The new commitment follows the spending of more than $1.26 billion on regional telecoms by the government since it came to power in 1996.
The most recent spending promises came in response to the Estens inquiry into regional telecommunications. That inquiry, which comprised a lengthy series of public discussion meetings and submissions from business users, highlighted mobile and Internet services as the two areas requiring most immediate attention.
But despite the focus on Telstra, much of the innovation being seen in rural and remote telecommunications is coming from much smaller players. Around the country, community-based groups and fledgling companies are building infrastructures and providing the types of services usually only available in the cities.
Typical of such projects is Southern Phone, an unlisted public company created by a group of local councils in south-east New South Wales. Established in May 2002, Southern Phone offers telephony and data services to more than 2000 customers.
Southern Phone General Manager Phil Herrick says the company's primary role is to create a 'competitive environment' in its region.
"Telstra can and does offer services in this area, but there was no competition so they could charge what they liked," he says. "This is what we are trying to redress."
Herrick says he fully expects Telstra to match or even undercut prices set by Southern Phone, but it won't cause him to lose any sleep. "We will still have succeeded because it means business and residential customers will have better access to keenly priced telecommunications services. We are effectively creating a bigger pie."
Southern Phone has tapped into the community spirit that is strong in many regional areas, committing to plough back a proportion of all revenues raised. Rather than sponsoring massive football stadiums, says Harrick, this takes the form of assisting local sporting and social clubs.
Council groups from other Australian regions are watching Southern Phone with interest. If the model continues to work in New South Wales, it's likely to be replicated in other regions around Australia.
But such community-based telecommunications ventures are unlikely to happen without government financial support. Herrick believes 'kick start' funding is crucial to allow networks to be built and systems and marketing put in place.
"The government has recognised that there has been a failure in regional competition and that this is a way they can overcome that," he says. "Such funding can ensure projects are able to build momentum and be in a position to provide maximum economic and social benefits to the region."
Bjarne Munch, analyst with technology research firm Meta Group, agrees. His observations of regional telecoms have shown government financial support can make the difference between success and failure for small firms.
"Small carriers generally find the going very tough when they are trying to compete against Telstra," he says. "Some opt just to resell Telstra services, but the only way to have long-term success is to invest in your own infrastructure."
Munch says many small operators find it difficult or impossible to get funding from commercial markets, due to the perceived risks of the industry. "The telco market is seen as very unstable at the moment and venture capital is hard to come by. The only real source of initial funds for many start-ups is government money."
Another example of public dollars being used to stimulate regional telecoms projects is under way in the Shepparton region of rural Victoria.
The Shepparton Customer Access Network (SCAN), due for completion in late August, will offer voice and data services via a wireless network. Based on multipoint multi-channel (MMDS) technology, the wireless access network will interconnect with a national IP-based network owned and operated by Comindico.
Comindico Director of Channels and Alliances, Carl Braden says SCAN overcomes one of the biggest challenges for small telco companies trying to offer services to regional customers - the last mile.
"It's not too strong to say that copper is crap," he says. "The Telstra infrastructure in many regional areas has not had much spent on it in recent years. This makes it hard to offer broadband services."
With seed capital from the Victorian Government and the backing of Comindico, the project will be positioned as a local telco offering. Branding will stress the regional nature of the service, tapping into the loyalty many people feel for local businesses.
"We believe the model will work and there is no reason why it can't be rolled out elsewhere in Australia," says Braden.
The SCAN fixed wireless loop network will initially cover an area with a radius of 35 km from Shepparton. Voice services will be offered together with data up to speeds of 512 kilobits per second.
Braden says local councils are quickly recognising the importance of competitive telecommunications services to their areas and are actively supporting such projects.
"Councils are starting to see telecommunications networks as the 'sewers' of the twenty-first century," says Braden. "They are an essential service for modern living."
He expects to see more co-operative groups springing up around the country, building locally-based telecommunications infrastructures.
Another project close to completion is the Outback Digital Network (ODN). When completed, the network will provide voice, video and data services to 16 remote Aboriginal communities in Australia's far north.
Formed using funding from the federal government's Networking the Nation fund, ODN has a board of indigenous directors. Its services will assist in improving health and education services for remote communities in Cape York and the Northern Territory.
The network, due for completion in late August, is being built by NDS and will be operated by Telstra.
But while many in the industry agree government seed funding is needed to reduce the risk for new regional projects in their early stages, some have managed to do without.
Neighbourhood Cable, based in the Victorian border town of Mildura, offers voice, broadband Internet and cable television services to consumers via its own purpose-built cable network.
The company's Mildura network passes more than 20,000 people, a second network in Ballarat passes more than 70,000 people and a third in Geelong will pass more than 200,000 people by the end of 2003.
Neighbourhood Cable Chief Operating Officer Fred Grossman says initial capital for the networks had come from angel investors, removing the need for government assistance.
"We are on track to break-even and have plans for further expansion in the future," he says.
Grossman believes Neighbourhood Cable's success stems from its strategy of involving the local community in all aspects of the business.
"We take a very long-term view and invest in each location. We hire and train local people in the build phase and also in the operating phase."
He says experience in regional and remote areas shows there is always room for two competing carriers, so the company has focused on areas only served by Telstra. This philosophy means there are many other areas in which his company's business model will work.
While positive about the outlook for regional telecommunications services generally, Grossman is dismissive of the recent federal government announcement of increased spending to address service shortfalls.
"The government response is a joke," he says. "The funding announced is a clear example of left pocket/right pocket economics. Money is given by the government back to the government (Telstra)."
He says virtually all the funding will go to helping the national carrier upgrade its infrastructure rather than towards helping stimulate competition and therefore promoting better service levels.
This is not in the long-term interests of regional and remote users as it does not speed the introduction of new services or serve to bring prices down.
This view is shared by Steve Demetriou, former Chief Executive Officer of second-tier carrier IP1 Australia, now in receivership. He believes encouraging regionally-based companies to invest in their own infrastructure is the only way to address the imbalance in services between the cities and the bush.
"The only other way regional telecommunications companies can operate is to buy capacity from the incumbent operator and that can only be a short-term strategy," he says.
Despite IP1 striking problems and being forced into receivership, Demetriou is still positive about the future for regional and remote Australia.
"The community-based networks we see emerging and growing are a great sign," he says. "As long as the government can ensure that predatory pricing by the incumbent carrier does not cause them harm, they are going to succeed."
While there is clearly a significant gap in telecommunications service levels between Australia's metropolitan and regional areas, there is much effort being made to reduce it.
Through a combination of government seed funding, localised effort and loyalty, an increasing number of Australians will have access to the telecommunications services that have become vital in the modern world.
