Australia's Government Policy and Broadband Internet Access

Abstract

Like many other governments in the world, the Australian government has taken a multi-faceted approach to promoting broadband Internet access. This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of policy issues on broadband Internet access in Australia. The primary goal of this chapter is to develop a holistic understanding of Australia’s national approaches pertaining to broadband Internet access. This research has clearly indicated that the state of broadband Internet access is closely related to the government’s policy and regulatory framework. The government has been basing its actions on market forces as a principal driver for broadband Internet connectivity. However, market forces only play their roles in improving broadband Internet access in the major cities and have little effect in regional and rural Australia. The research has indicated that the regulatory competition regime, by and large, has failed to address concerns of market dominance and market power in the telecommunications sector as is evidenced by a relatively lower price-performance ratio of broadband services in Australia.