Dan Warne12 May 2009, 9:15 PM
The Federal Government budget 2009 cuts in some areas that hurt, but tech has won out for once.
Of course, the big ticket item in the Government's budget announcement this evening focused around the $43bn fibre-to-the-home broadband network, and the government announced it has paid up on its $4.7bn election promise, and laid down that amount of cash to get things going.
It has also formed the new company that will build the network, though it wasn't given a name, nor were any staff announced. For the record, it is ACN number 136 533 741.
The government also recapped the key things it has done since the announcement of the FTTP network:
- the approval of a FTTP and wireless rollout by the Tasmanian government, which will commence by July.
- It has a group working on a report for "early 2010" which will figure out the operating arrangements for the national broadband company.
- It will figure out the changes to the law needed to allow developers of "greenfields" estates to install FTTP technology that would be compatible with the national network by July next year.
- It has identified broadband monopoly spots where only Telstra has fibre backhaul to the area, and it is installing its own fibre backhaul to create price competition.
However, beyond the broadband network, there were plenty of other nuggets of welcome funding in the tech space:
$80 million to promote broadband takeup in regional areas, which includes $15.3 million over three years for the ABC to create 50 online Local Regional Broadband Hubs, which will apparently be "web sites and portals, and ‘virtual town squares’ for communities to share experiences". Sounds a lot like Microsoft Bob to us, but then the ABC usually churns out pretty high quality stuff, so we won't pre-judge it.
Another $14 million for the "Digital Regions Initiative" to take it up to $60 million funding over three years. It is a bit hard to cut through the government bureaucrat-speak on the webpage about it, but it appears to be a Federal initiative to jointly fund dragging local and state governments in remote areas into the online era of service delivery. "It will co-fund innovative digital enablement projects with state, territory and local governments. It is a collaborative approach to improve the delivery of education, health and emergency services in regional, rural and remote communities."
$5 million to fund "Rural NBN Coordinators" who "would be assigned to regional backbone projects. They will live and work in the local community, have a sound knowledge of broadband, and be able to quickly establish strong working relationships with local governments and businesses,” said Senator Conroy." So, whether it's a lamington drive that's needed, or council approval to put a WiMax tower in the local church, you can count on your Rural NBN Coordinator to get the job done.
$140 million to help people fix up antennas, obtain set-top boxes and set up their TV for digital TV. This will be primarily targeted at people who couldn't afford to do so themselves, so a household must have one resident who is a recipient of the full Aged Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carers’ Payment or equivalent payment from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
People in outer metropolitan Adelaide, where there is apparently poor TV reception, may get their towers upgraded too, "if required" according to the government -- which doesn't sound like an iron clad funding promise. In fact, no numbers were actually mentioned in this particular announcement. “This additional funding will be available if required to supplement funds allocated in the 2008–09 Budget to address reception problems along the Para Escarpment, in the Ingle Farm to Craigmore area,” Senator Conroy said. “Television reception in this area has troubled some residents for a number of years.
Funding of the research organisation National ICT Australia (NICTA) through to 2015, a four-year extension worth $185.5 million. NICTA does research in areas such as security, transport, environment, broadband, water management and health, including medical implants such as the bionic eye, and has
five research labs (two in Sydney and one each in Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra), with over 250 research staff and 300 supported PhD students.
Expansion of the Do Not Call Register to cover business numbers, fax numbers and emergency service numbers (yes, it seems telemarketers try to sell steak-knives to telephonists at fire and police stations, too.) This will cost $4.7 million but the telemarketing industry will pay back $3.5 million of it, which seems fair to us.
Community broadcasting services such as local TV and radio stations will get $2.5million in funding for training courses. If that sounds surprisingly generous to you, given the economic times, there is a focus point for the funding: "These training places will support the special training needs in radio for the print handicapped and Indigenous broadcasting."
A new energy efficiency program worth $100 million to develop a "smarter and more efficient" energy distribution network that will use a network of sensors connected by -- surprise surprise -- the government's broadband network -- to more easily integrate renewable energy like solar and wind power into the grid, and enable energy generated in homes, schools and businesses to be stored and shared. It will also include smart meters in homes, which will allow consumers to access immediate information on how much energy they are using, at what cost, and how they can save money.
Lastly, and it may not exactly be tech, but it does come from Senator Conroy's office -- the ABC and SBS finally get massively increased funding. The ABC's funding levels will rise dramatically compared to what the Howard government had allowed in its decade in power.
ABC and the SBS get an additional $185.3 million in the 2009–10 Budget, which will allow the ABC to raise its Australian drama production from a paltry 20 hours a year to 90 hours per year. It will also be able to launch a dedicated ad-free, kids' digital TV channel, featuring "high-quality educational, commercial-free viewing options for Australian families” as well as online services.
The SBS will receive an additional $20 million over three years to enable it to provide up to 50 hours of new Australian content annually.
The Government also said it remained committed to completing Australia’s conversion to digital TV by December 2013, which will save $11.4 million over three years due to the closure of ABC/SBS analog broadcasting.
However, bad news for ABC NewsRadio listeners -- $1.6 million is being returned to the budget following delays in the planned rollout of NewsRadio services, though it's not clear what these were to be.