Managing the wider knowledge and information economy
The Smart State vision includes widening economic and social opportunities in the State by being a leader in knowledge development and application. The Smart State is for everyone, and the Government is helping people to participate in the knowledge economy by ensuring equity of access to broadband telecommunications and basic ICT skills.
Telecommunications
Constitutionally, the Commonwealth Government is responsible for telecommunications. However, the Queensland Government actively works with the Commonwealth Government on telecommunications issues. The Queensland Government has prepared over 15 submissions to Commonwealth inquiries since 2002 on telecommunications issues impacting the State. The Queensland Government is represented on the Online Council, the Online Council Officials and associated working groups. The Queensland Government is also a partner in the development of the National Broadband Strategy.
The Queensland Government is continuing to bring the costs of telecommunications down and increase the capacity of the telecommunications infrastructure in Queensland, by using its buying power to fostor competition.
The Reef Network
The Reef Network delivers high speed communications to Queensland’s coastal region through underground fibre optic cable running under the 1820 kilometre rail corridor between Brisbane and Cairns. The network has significantly reduced the costs of high speed communications to Queenslanders living in the coastal regions.
SmartNet
The SmartNet procurement approach follows on from the work on the Reef Network. It aims to:
- achieve equitable supply of telecommunications broadband carriage services throughout Queensland
- obtain increased performance and value in Government purchasing of data services
- introduce competition in the provision of telecommunications data carriage services in rural areas. The rollout of low cost broadband is imperative for economic and social development.
- Optus will install fibre optic cable into the CBD areas of Cairns, Rockhampton and Townsville, and business grade broadband infrastructure into 30 towns across Queensland.
- Soul Pattinson Telecommunications will potentially provide an alternative high capacity rural broadband network.
- Telstra will provide specialised high speed broadband Internet services to the State’s economic development areas of Townsville, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Toowoomba.
As part of the SmartNet procurement process, individual agreements have been reached between the Queensland Government and Optus, Soul Pattinson and Telstra. As part of these agreements:
Community Skills Development Program (CSDP) in Information and Communication Technology
The CSDP has provided funding to community service organisations in rural, regional and remote communities to provide free training in ICT.
The fourth and final round of the program was launched in March 2003, with training due for completion in December 2004. Under four rounds of the Community Skills Development Program, 95 projects with approximately 4000 participants have been funded to a total of more than $1 million.
Technology Survival Skills Program
The Technology Survival Skills program aims to increase the level of ICT skills within Queensland. It funds not-for-profit organisations to deliver training to people who are disadvantaged in their access to ICT training.
The Technology Survival Skills program was announced in the 2002-03 budget with $1million over four years of funding rounds. Round One of the Technology Survival Skills program was launched on 7 August 2003 and was heavily subscribed. Twenty-three organisations received funding to a total value of almost $250 000. The second round launched on 24 May 2004 has already had a high degree of interest.
Last reviewed 19 January 2006