TOWNSVILLE CITY DIGITAL ECONOMY STRATEGY - MAY 2013
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Townsville
City Digital
Economy
Strategy
May 2013
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 1
Acknowledgements
The Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy
(TCDES) acknowledges the assistance provided
by the Townsville City Council, the Queensland
Department of Science, Information Technology,
Innovation and the Arts, Regional Development
Australia Townsville and North West Queensland,
James Cook University, and other key stakeholders
in the Townsville region.
This Strategy is an initiative of Townsville City
Council supported by the Queensland Department
of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and
the Arts, Regional Development Australia Townsville
and North West Queensland and James Cook
University.
Initially prepared by David Ives Principal Consultant
Mach Technology Group Pty Ltd, the TCDES was
finalised by the working party in May 2013 for
presentation to the Broadband for the Tropics
Committee for endorsement.
For more information contact:
Economic Development & Strategic Projects,
Townsville City Council
Phone: 1300 878 001
Email: investtownsville@townsville.qld.gov.au
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 1
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 2
Executive Summary
Recent advances in digital technology and software have caused major
changes in our personal and business lives. In the recent past, these changes
have occurred predominantly in physical devices, in information storage, and
in software systems. Telecommunications services have not kept pace with the
dramatic improvements in other information technologies (IT).
However, telecommunications are now starting to change rapidly. The
widespread deployment of high-speed wireless and optical fibre broadband
networks across the world is driving the development of new IT architectures,
including sensor networks, handheld devices, software applications or ‘apps’.
This new IT ecosystem is enabling new applications and new business models.
The Australian Government’s announcement of the National Broadband
Network (NBN) has caused renewed interest in broadband technology and
how it can be used to improve our lives. The Townsville City Digital Economy
Strategy (TCDES) considers the impacts on Townsville and Northern
Queensland, and presents some strategic initiatives that should help Townsville
to leverage its advantages as the first location in Queensland to receive
significant NBN coverage.
The NBN uses optical fibre-to-the-premises to deliver speeds of up to 1,000
Megabits per second to 93 per cent of premises across Australia. Fixed wireless
and next-generation satellite will be used to deliver services to those premises
not connected to the optical fibre network. The speed of the NBN is up to five
times faster than most existing broadband services. The availability of high-
speed broadband data connections will stimulate new applications across
a wide spectrum of business, residential and social activities. Many of these
applications will use a broadband connection to the Internet, but the NBN
can also provide connections to other networks such as telephone, medical,
education, entertainment, energy saving, and security networks.
The scope for these new applications to change our lives is difficult to estimate,
and many people have underestimated the impact of technological change in
the past. A number of technologies have started slowly but eventually caused
dramatic change – the telephone, personal computers, mobile telephones, and
social media – are some examples. Like most technology change, the most
important aspect of the broadband revolution is not the technology itself, but
the potential uses it will deliver to the way we work and live.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 3
A number of recent studies have estimated the benefits of the digital economy
using high-speed broadband to improve economic outcomes. Access
Economics estimates that if 10 per cent of Australians were to telework for 50
per cent of the time, the total annual gains would be in the order of $1.4 - $1.9
billion per annum.
Businesses generally will benefit from online participation through three
main activities: online transactions, selling online through eCommerce; online
marketing, the use of online technology to identify and sell to new markets; and
online collaboration, working with suppliers, partners and customers to improve
efficiency and outcomes.
The benefits of the digital economy extend beyond the general benefits to
business and visitors to cover virtually all sectors of the economy:
1. Regions are likely to benefit through improved connection to other regions
and capital cities, and the more widespread use of high-quality video
conferencing and collaboration.
2. Sustainability may be improved through the reduction in the need to travel
and the improved capability to manage our impact on the environment
through extensive sensor networks and automation.
3. Construction and manufacturing may benefit through the use of online
technology such as cloud computing to manage collaboration and
information resources.
4. Health and aged care are already benefiting from advances in remote
monitoring technology and this trend will accelerate, reducing costs and
improving care.
5. Education is already benefiting from remote access and, as technology
improves, the use and benefits of online education will increase, especially in
regional areas.
6. Research and data analytics have the potential to extract valuable
information from the large data sets being generated by sensor networks in
industries such as agriculture, mining and environmental management.
7. Remote working has the potential to reduce travelling expenses and return
injured workers to the workforce while improving productivity.
8. Mining and minerals processing industries are already starting to use remote
operation technologies to remove people from hazardous areas and improve
productivity.
9. Employment will benefit from the construction phase of the NBN and from
the new businesses that are likely to grow in the digital economy.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 4
10. eGovernment has the potential to streamline the provision of government
services and benefit consumers and business.
A number of strategic initiatives (19) have been identified within the Townsville
City Digital Economy Strategy (TCDES) to assist the development of the digital
economy in Townsville.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 5
Contents
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy
Strategic Initiatives 8
Introduction 12
Strategic Context 16
Benefits of the Digital Economy 25
Strategic Initiatives 38
Implementation and Governance 48
Conclusion 50
Appendix 1 – Abbreviations 52
Appendix 2 – ICT Trends 53
Appendix 3 – Pilot Projects 60
Appendix 4 – Agreed Terms of Reference –
Implementation Committee 64
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 6
Townsville
City Digital
Economy
Strategy
Strategic
Initiatives
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 7
Townsville City Digital Economy
Strategy Strategic Initiatives
1 – Building Infrastructure Research
JCU and industry leaders to develop and encourage the use of new
infrastructure and Building Management Systems (BMS) solutions so that new
applications education, sustainability, health and aged care delivery are not
limited by inadequate facilities or buildings.
2 – New Application Development
Support the research and development of new applications by partnering
with business, industry associations and government, to sponsor promotional
opportunities such as competitions and internships.
3 – Work Experience and Internships
Create opportunities for graduate work experience or internships to improve
industry linkages and development, and reduce the loss of skills from Townsville.
4 – Community Engagement and Education Campaigns
Engage and develop digital and online literacy campaigns for the commercial
and community sectors, in the digital economy journey, through awareness
seminars, marketing campaigns, social media, demonstrations and pilot projects
including utilising the role of the Community Hubs.
5 – Smart Directory and Online Collaboration
Establish a smart directory for the region to assist with business matching and
collaboration, in conjunction with the Townsville ICT Business Network, Industry
Capability Network (ICN), relevant Queensland Government departments,
Townsville Enterprise Limited and other interested parties.
6 – Cooperative Work Centre
Establish a trial cooperative work centre (smart work centre) in a suitable
location to study the effectiveness of the centre in reducing commuting imposts
and encouraging collaborative working.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 8
7 – Remote Mining Operations
Investigate the establishment of remote mining operations in partnership with
North Queensland mining and refinery operators.
8 – Investment Attraction
Attract catalytic digital enterprises to Townsville through the use of targeted
investment attraction methods and incentives, collaborative research and
investment programs.
9 – Building Business Capacity
Assist business by identifying and delivering educational services that improve
business processes using digital tools, and develop collaborative partnerships to
identify and develop local capabilities.
10 – Council Services Online
Townsville City Council will continue transition services to an online environment
through its e-business, e-property and e-services initiatives.
11 – Council as a Service Provider
Townsville City Council to collaborate with other regional councils to develop
on-lined shared service delivery to improve the level of service to the ratepayer.
This investigation should consider a range of offerings covering Platform-as-
a-Service (PaaS), Applications-as-a-Service (AaaS) and Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS).
12 – Cloud Computing Adoption
Townsville City Council, James Cook University and other major organisations to
actively participate in the development of local cloud computing opportunities
such as the NQ Data Centre and Code Valley initiatives.
13 – Health Service Delivery
Extend the Diabetes trial and consider other health and aged care applications
as future trials. Potential applications include:
oo Operating teleconsultations to rural and remote communities
oo Operating teleconsultations and procedures between Townsville Hospital
and other specialist hospitals
oo Using sensors for monitoring health and wellbeing
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 914 – Use of Public Libraries
Expand the work and role of public libraries to develop the community’s digital
access and education services.
15 – Cabling of New Premises
Townsville City Council to work with industry to educate and encourage
developers and builders to provide new buildings with best practice cabling
(including minimum Cat 6 structured cabling from a wiring hub to all points
according to current design standards).
16 – New Defense Housing
The Defence Department should be encouraged to ensure that the design and
internal cabling of new defence buildings complies with current best practice
(including minimum Cat 6 structured cabling from a wiring hub to all points
according to current design standards and serving multiple applications such as
power management and water management).
17 – Demonstration Smart House
Develop or modify an existing demonstration Sustainable Smart House in
conjunction with local builders and suppliers to show how a smart house can
work with the NBN, showcasing applications like eHealth, smart grids, high-
bandwidth entertainment, sustainable living and teleworking.
18 – Collaboration Between Regions
Encourage collaboration between Townsville and other centres across
North Queensland using the work of JCU and NICTA, under the guidance of
Broadband for the Tropics.
19 – Intelligent Community Forum
Townsville to progress with an application in 2013 to be an Intelligent
Community, with the aim of securing a place in the Smart21 (Applications close
September 2013). The application would be a valuable benchmarking exercise
for the city
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 10INTRODUCTION
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 11Introduction
Background
The Commonwealth Government has set a goal that by 2020 Australia will be
among the world’s leading digital economies.
Ensuring that Australia becomes a leading digital economy will improve our
productivity, maintain our global competitiveness and improve our social
wellbeing. The Australian Government’s commitment to build the enabling
infrastructure for the digital economy, the National Broadband Network (NBN),
is a key step towards this vision1, nationwide.
The NBN is a next-generation national broadband network based on three
1 Australian Government, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy—National
Digital Economy Strategy, 2011
Photo provided by © State of Queensland
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 12technologies – optical fibre, fixed wireless and next-generation satellite.
Work has begun on the NBN, and by the end of 2021, NBN Co plans to have
connected all Australian premises to this new high-speed broadband network 2.
Under the NBN, 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses will
have access to optical fibre-to-the-premises (fttp), capable of providing speeds
of up to one gigabit per second (1000Mbps).
A further seven per cent of premises will have access to the NBN through next-
generation fixed wireless and satellite technologies, providing peak download
speeds of 25 Megabits (Mbps) per second and 5 Mbps upload.
Townsville has been selected as an NBN first and second release site with
planning for close to half of Townsville premises having access to NBN
connection by the end of 2013. Its selection provides Townsville with first user
advantage over other Australian cities the TCDES will assist Townsville to
maximise this advantage and provide the foundation for continued leadership in
digital collaboration.
Objectives and Scope
The objectives of the Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy are:
oo To maximise and maintain the opportunities presented by Townsville’s
selection as a first release site for the NBN and one of the most connected
communities in Australia.
oo To develop and maintain a blueprint for the future development of the digital
economy of Townsville within the framework of the broader Townsville City
Economic Development Plan 2013 -2017.
oo To inform and guide government decision-making in relation to planning
processes and development functions in the North Queensland region.
oo To inform and guide business, organisations and the community in relation to
advances in digital infrastructure and the digital economy.
The scope of the project includes the following activities:
oo Identify the current digital footprint within the city.
oo Identify key stakeholders in the development of a digital economy and
formulate strategies for engagement.
oo Identify business and industry opportunities to be facilitated through
advances in digital infrastructure.
2 Department of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 13oo Develop strategies to enable greater uptake of broadband and digital
infrastructure and technologies.
oo Identify the projected future digital footprint of the city.
oo Identify means to position Townsville as a site for industry to develop and
establish technology-based businesses.
The TCDES considers Townsville within the greater North Queensland context
(Mackay through to Cairns), as well as the broader Queensland and Australian
contexts.
New Concept
The digital economy is a relatively new concept that is impacting most business,
social and personal activities and extends opportunities currently undertaken in
economic development.
The TCDES explores key concepts of a digital economy and their likely impact
on our lives. Because of the breadth of the impact of the digital economy
it is not possible to cover all circumstances. The recommendations and
strategies within this report are high level and will require further work before
implementation.
The path of technology and its applications is not straightforward, and the
pages of history are littered with ridiculous predictions made by experts.
Any digital economy strategy must be mindful of the uncertainty involved in
predicting and mapping the future. Experience suggests that technology-based
changes often take longer than expected, but when they occur, produce more
far-reaching and faster changes than predicted.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 14strategic
context
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 15Strategic Context
Townsville is Queensland’s largest city, outside the state’s south east corner.
Acknowledged as the capital of North Queensland, Townsville lies at the centre
of one of Australia’s fastest growing economic zones.
Industry diversity, government investment and major infrastructure underpin
Townsville’s role as the manufacturing, transport, commercial and services
hub for the region’s minerals, coal, agriculture, tourism, education and tropical
sciences sectors.
High capacity rail and road networks, and the third busiest Port in Queensland
connect the North Queensland region to national and global markets.
Townsville’s industrial diversity, high-value trade and international focus
position it well to capitalise on the NBN roll-out and to become a leader in the
development of the digital economy.
The NBN will contribute to productivity, competitiveness and resilience, and
will provide the impetus for continuing strong growth in the wake of global
uncertainty.
Positioning and Context
Townsville’s selection as an NBN first release site has created significant local
interest in broadband and the digital economy. This has resulted in increased
activity by various groups with similar interests and objectives. The TCDES is
not intended to impede or exclude any initiatives, but will provide direction
and impetus for the development of the digital economy across the city.
Advances in the digital economy are unlikely to dramatically alter the structure
of Townsville’s economy; however, it will impact and improve how industry and
enterprises operate.
The Townsville City Economic Development Plan 2013-2017 sets out a path for
growth by preparing strategies for several core drivers of industry and new
enterprise. These are:
oo Precinct development (including tourism precincts).
oo Infrastructure development.
oo Business support and skills development.
oo Marketing and investment attraction.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 16Underpinning these strategies is a vision of balanced economic growth
expressed by the Townsville Economic Development Scorecard.
Formulated in consultation with local business, industry and relevant
government agencies, the Townsville Economic Development Scorecard
will guide assessment of the strategies contained within the Townsville City
Economic Development Plan 2013-2017 and help build a better platform for
planning and investment into the future.
Current Digital Footprint of Broadband
The availability of broadband in Townsville is similar to most Australian regional
cities. Townsville has ADSL and ADSL2+ services in most areas. These services
are subject to restrictions, including the impacts of distance from the exchange
and the use of RIM3 technology by Telstra.
Other broadband services include mobile broadband (3G and 4G) from Telstra,
Optus and Vodafone (including their network resellers) and fixed wireless
3 Telstra previously deployed Remote Integrated Multiplexers (RIMs) to provide services to new housing
developments (such as Annandale). The use of this technology has prevented the delivery of ADSL and ADSL2+
services to all residents in an area because of the limited capacity of the RIM. RIMs have also limited the
competitive market by preventing competitors of Telstra from delivering services from the RIM.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 17broadband from a number of Internet Service Providers. There is no cable4
broadband in Townsville and the ADSL2+ services offer speeds of up to 25
Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. However, speeds of less than 10 Mbps
and 1 Mbps are common, especially for users who are some distance from the
exchange.
The National Broadband Network (NBN)
The roll out of the NBN will determine the future digital footprint of Townsville.
Australia-wide, the NBN will provide the capability of high-speed optical fibre
broadband to more than 93 per cent of premises and 25 Mbps fixed wireless or
satellite broadband to all other premises.
The optical fibre network will use Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) to deliver up to
1,000 Mbps download and 400 Mbps upload speeds for subscribers to high-
speed services. The decision to subscribe (or not) to broadband services will be
made by the owners of premises. All premises within the optical fibre footprint
will have their basic telephone service delivered over the NBN fibre connection
with current copper telephone connections terminated 18 months after the
NBN is activated within that area. Premises within the fixed wireless or satellite
footprint will not have their copper connections terminated.
NBN Co is a Layer 2 wholesale network service provider, with Retail Service
Providers (RSPs) delivering services using the NBN as a wholesale carriage
network. The NBN will provide connectivity from the Point of Interconnect (PoI)
at Townsville exchange to the customer; RSPs will connect their services at the
PoI.
Townsville was selected as both a first release site and second release trial
NBN site. The first release passed 2748 premises within parts of the suburbs of
Mundingburra and Aitkenvale. Limited services, based on the needs of residents
and small business, are available in the first release site. This will expand over
time to include services suited to the needs of medium to large enterprises and
institutions (including commercial, residential and multi-dwelling units).
NBN will provide optical fibre-based services to most premises in Townsville
in the near future. As a result, the digital footprint will increase to close to 100
per cent of the city, with just a small percentage of premises having NBN fixed
wireless or NBN satellite services operating at up to 25 Mbps download speeds.
4 Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) is used by Optus and Telstra in most of the capital cities and some larger regional
cities to deliver pay television and broadband..
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 18Figure 1 - First and Second Release
Further information on the NBN roll-out is available from
www.nbnco.com.au/rollout
Broadband usage in Townsville
In 2010, the former Queensland Government completed a survey of businesses
in the first release site of the NBN. The purpose of this survey was to examine
business knowledge of and attitudes towards the NBN and the digital economy.
The results of this survey provide a useful snapshot of business readiness for the
digital economy.
The report5 concluded that:
1. 72.3 per cent of businesses had not taken any training to improve their
awareness of online business opportunities.
5 Townsville Business Survey to Assess NBN Impact, AEC Group, Version 1.1 June, 2011
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 192. 45.7 per cent of businesses believe they are not using the Internet to its full
potential.
3. The most common barriers to using the Internet to its full potential were lack
of time (39.3 per cent), lack of technology or understanding (36.1 per cent),
and low Internet speed (31.1 per cent).
4. 70.6 per cent of businesses believe that government has a role in identifying,
developing and promoting training programs to maximise NBN-related
benefits.
The sample for this survey was limited to the first release area only. Caution
should be taken in extrapolating these results to the broader business
population. However, the survey is useful in providing a baseline to track
participation in the digital economy as the NBN is rolled out and gains
acceptance.
The connection rate for Townsville residents in the first release area was 44
per cent which followed NBN Co seeking consent to connect the network to
premises. From a total of 2748 homes passed, 1217 had a Premises Connection
Device (PCD) installed. Of those 477, or 17 per cent have been activated. The
low response rate may be due to the relatively large number of rental properties
within the area. It should be noted also that multi-dwelling units could not be
connected until recently.
As of April 2013, the connection rate of the Townsville FRS has been 39.5 per
cent (http://www.itnews.com.au/News/340663,nbn-cos-take-up-by-the-
numbers.aspx/0)
Definitions and Assumptions
The Digital Economy
The Australian Government defines the digital economy as:
The global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by
information and communications technologies (ICT), such as the Internet, mobile
and sensor networks.
The digital economy includes all elements of the ICT spectrum:
oo Telecommunications including fixed and mobile voice communication and
broadband or data communication
oo Computer hardware (fixed and mobile)
oo Software technology and developments
oo Internet-enabled transactions
oo Service.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 20The digital economy is generally defined as that part of the broader economy
that use ICT as a critical enabler – particularly if it contains an online or
networked component. For example, the use of a computer for Computer
Aided Design (CAD) or a Programmable Logic Control (PLC) is using ICT for
economic benefit. It is not necessarily the critical element, but rather a tool that
has replaced a drawing board. However, the use of an online network to work
collaboratively between two engineering offices using Computer Aided Design
(CAD) is a good example of ICT as a critical enabler.
Notes on Broadband Performance
It should be recognised that the advertised speed of a service does not fully
describe the quality of experience or the capability of the underlying network.
Factors such as server response time, network latency (delay), data throughput
(speed) and the variability of data throughput due to contention ratios, all
contribute to the overall experience.
No particular specification is used for broadband in this report. Rather, it is
considered to be all services delivered by technologies such as ADSL, ADSL2,
ADSL2+ and various wireless and mobile services. For the purposes of this
report mobile broadband is included under the general term of broadband.
The term high-speed broadband is used to describe the broadband services
delivered by networks such as the NBN.
Economic Profile
Townsville’s economy has displayed strong and stable performance over the
past decade, benefiting from significant population growth, new public sector
investment, linkages to the minerals industry, its increasing capacity as a hub for
tropical sciences and the growing role of the City as a public and private sector
regional service centre. The estimated resident population of Townsville as of 30
July 2012 was 180,389.
Table 1: Population Forecasts for Townsville
Year Low Medium High
2016 209,472 216,524 223,808
2021 227,566 241,684 255,834
2026 246,091 268,330 290,104
2031 263,870 295,578 325,929
Source: AECgroup (2013)
Even in the face of global uncertainty, Townsville’s economy has enjoyed strong
growth with its performance supported by significant industry diversity. Since
2006-07, Townsville’s economy has increased by 6.6 per cent on average per
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 21annum (nominal GRP at factor cost). This rate is approximately 0.8 percentage
points higher than that for the State of Queensland over the same period. In
2010-11, Townsville’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) was estimated to be $10.7
billion. This represents 82.2 per cent of the Northern Statistical Division’s (SD)
GRP ($13.1 billion) and 4.0 per cent of Queensland’s Gross State Product, or GSP
($266.6 billion) in 2010-11.
Figure 2: Townsville’s GRP – 2005-06 to 2010-11
$12,000
$10,000
$8,000
GRP ($M)
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$0
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11
Townsville
Source: AECgroup (2013)
The diversity of Townsville’s economy is built upon an industry base in which no
one sector contributes more than 17.6 per cent to GRP.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 22Figure 3: Contribution to Gross Regional Product, Townsville 2010-11
1.7% 0.7% Public Administration and safety
1.2% Construction
2.1%
2.1% Ownership of dwellings
2.2%
17.6% Health care and social assistance
2.4%
Manufacturing
2.6%
Taxes Less Subsidies
3.3% Transport, postal and warehousing
Rental, hiring and real estate services
3.5% Retail trade
11.8%
Education and training
4.2% Professional, sceintific and technical
services
Information media and
4.5% telecommunications
Mining
Other services
4.5% Accomoodation and food services
8.3% Wholesale trade
Financial and insurance services
5.2% Electricity, gas, water and waste
services
7.6%
6.7% Administrative and support services
6.9%
Arts and recreation services
Source: AECgroup (2012)
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 23benefits of
the digital
economy
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 24Benefits of the Digital Economy
The benefits of the digital economy are being widely discussed as a result of the
focus provided by the NBN roll-out. A number of studies have demonstrated
the potential benefit. A recent study by Ericsson6 found that doubling the
broadband speed for an economy increases GDP by 0.3 per cent. Access
Economics estimates that if 10 per cent of Australians were to telework for 50
per cent of the time, the benefit to the economy would be more than $1.4 billion
per annum6.
The specific benefits to Townsville are related to the unique position of the
city, as the de facto capital of North Queensland, and as a commercial hub for
minerals, coal, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, tourism, education and
tropical sciences industries – and the status of Townsville as a first release and
second release trial NBN site.
Another major benefit of the NBN is that it will make broadband available at all
premises on reasonably equal terms. For Townsville, this means an end to the
numerous black spots where high-speed broadband is either not available or
affordable. The digital economy works best when there is wide coverage of the
population with fast and affordable broadband.
The higher speeds and increased capacity of the NBN broadband speed will
lead to the development of new applications that take advantage of speed and
accessibility. The impact of these new applications will be felt across all industry
and consumer segments.
In social terms the NBN and digital economy have the potential to improve
linkages and inclusion, and to create opportunities to better deliver education,
health and aged care services.
One of the many benefits of the development of the NBN is increased
connectivity between people and organisations.
The digital economy has the potential to improve social inclusion — provided
that education can be delivered to increase digital literacy7. Widely recognised
as community hubs within community ecosystems, Public Libraries provide a
critical role in connecting with and informing the community.
6 Impacts of Teleworking under the NBN—Access Economics, July 2010
7 Digital literacy is the term used to describe a person’s ability to use computers, software programs, online
content, and to interact with others using online tools such as social media (e.g. email and Facebook).
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 25Case Study - The Townsville Digital Community Hub project, which is funded
by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy,
demonstrates that social improvements can be generated by digital economy
development activities.
The Digital Hub, which operates across all three public library branches at
Aitkenvale, Thuringowa and Flinders Street, provides free public access to
more than 50 PCs connected to the NBN. They also include a Skype lounge
and publicly available videoconferencing, all supported by an extensive range
of training programs. These training programs range from basic computing
and internet through to digital life skills training, including internet banking,
shopping, social media and content creation.
Business
Business will benefit from online participation through three main activities:
online transactions, online marketing and online collaboration.
The rapid rise in the use of online retail is an example of the potential of
eCommerce and eFulfillment to impact on business. (eFulfillment is not available
to all businesses)
eCommerce allows a firm to conduct transactions with customers and suppliers
from any location and at any time without physical contact or proximity. The
added flexibility gives access to much broader demand-side and supply-side
markets.
For those businesses that can use couriers to deliver products, or deliver goods
electronically (e.g. software), there are opportunities to improve service and
reduce cost. Businesses that have staff in the field can use online despatch
systems to manage staff more effectively. The use of a variety of digital tools
opens opportunities for improved workflow and productivity in a cost effective
manner.
Case Study – An arts and crafts retailer in a small North Queensland town
serves customers all over the world through their online retail operation. They
are able to enjoy the lifestyle offered by a small picturesque North Queensland
town, take advantage of low rents, and still operate a successful business.
Their only issue is the poor availability of broadband services to support their
business.
Online Marketing
Access to markets can be expanded dramatically for many businesses through
the use of online marketing. The future development of online marketing will
also allow more targeting of campaigns, offers and products. While traditional
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 26above-the-line8 and direct marketing can achieve some targeting, there are
limitations, especially for above-the-line marketing.
Online marketing has the potential to harness knowledge about individual
segments and even individual customers to deliver a fully targeted message
that may take account of demographics, purchase history, browsing history and
physical location.
The popularity of smartphones is helping to drive online marketing because
of the always-on always-connected nature of these devices, coupled with
GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and the ability to deliver context-aware and
location-aware advertising.
When coupled with social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the benefits can
be further improved through improved targeting based on interests, hobbies
and social groupings.
Social media networks can also be used by public agencies in times of crisis. The
use of social media (primarily Facebook and Twitter) by Townsville City Council
(TCC) and Emergency Management Queensland during the 2011 cyclones and
floods is an example of highly effective two-way communication via social
networks.
Online collaboration
Studies have found that regional businesses had far less contact with other
businesses when compared to large city businesses9. The authors believed that
this is simply because there are fewer businesses in regional areas. The NBN
will allow better contact between businesses for online collaboration, finding
suppliers, improving access to expertise, government services, supply chain
management and establishment of branch offices.
Case Study – A Cairns-based engineering firm with an office in Townsville
regularly transfers drawings between offices so that both groups can apply
different skills to the same project. At the moment, because of the limits
to broadband availability, the collaboration is limited to file transfers rather
than a cloud solution that would allow both groups to work on one set of
documentation.
Facilitating Collaboration–Smart Directories
The idea of collaboration is simple in concept – find another business that you
can work with and start working together. However, finding another business
8 Mass-market advertising and marketing such as television and newspaper advertisements.
9 Charlot S & Duranton G (2006) Cities and workplace communication: some quantitative evidence, Urban
Studies, Vol 43, No. 8, pp. 1369-1394.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 27with the skills you need is often difficult. Smart directories are designed to help
firms find suitable collaborators by generating listings of firms and capabilities
and allowing business matching. The intelligence comes from the detailed
information included in the directory. This information cannot be gathered by
traditional means and requires each business to engage in a detailed survey and
benchmarking process to enable their positioning in the directory.
A smart directory of Townsville and surrounding areas would provide
considerable assistance in driving collaboration between firms.
Regional
Developing the digital economy in Townsville will enhance regional engagement
and service delivery. Townsville, as the major business, administration, health
and academic hub of northern Queensland, provides services to communities
across the North and North-West Queensland statistical divisions and frequently
to other major population centres such as Cairns and Mackay.
Access to high speed broadband in regional areas and connectivity to services
in Townsville will enable smaller communities to attract and retain people. These
communities will continue to be competitive by offering the digital connectivity
and the benefits of lower costs of living in terms of housing and more
convenience in terms of lifestyle. The tyranny of distance and geographical
isolation will be less of an issue for businesses and individuals.
Sustainability
Sustaining the economy and environment relies on our capacity to use
resources judiciously in order to minimise negative impacts. The digital economy
promises a significant reduction in the use of resources such as transport, and
an enhanced understanding of our environment through greater availability of
information and the possibilities of corrective action and connecting actions
with outcomes.
Benefits are likely to come from traffic reduction, energy use and pollution
reduction resulting from teleworking. The improved management of traffic flow
and routing has the potential to further reduce energy usage and pollution.
Smart grids controlling and moderating energy usage will provide significant
reductions in pollution and reduce the need for the construction of new power
generation capability. Smart buildings have the potential to reduce energy usage
by working with smart grids to optimise the usage of energy as well as providing
lifestyle benefits such as enhanced security, entertainment and ease of use.
Improved research capability has the potential to provide new solutions to
environmental problems and to deliver better management solutions for
agriculture. The deployment of large numbers of low-cost sensors and satellite-
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 28based remote sensing will provide much more information to farmers on pasture
cover, moisture, crop yields and stocking levels and distribution.
More knowledge of conditions leads to better management and reduced
environmental damage, as well as opportunities for further study and
optimisation of farming.
Case Study - CSIRO is developing a Homestead of the Future at Woodstock, at
the Lansdown Research Station. The facility includes a wireless sensor network
for near real-time recording of animal movement and behaviour, pasture
dynamics and weather conditions.
Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD)
The design and construction of ecologically sustainable buildings can improve
living conditions and reduce the environmental impact of the building and its
residents.
The use of smart wiring, combined with the automation of lighting, window
coverings and treatments, ventilation, air conditioning, power management
and water management can reduce the environmental impact of residential
and commercial buildings. Automation systems monitor conditions around the
building and control devices to maximise the environmental benefits.
For example, to reduce the cost of air conditioning, an automated system could
close external shutters on the western side of the building, open heat vents in
the roof cavity, and switch on only those air conditioners in rooms where people
are detected. In cases where community-based stored water-cooling is in use,
the automated control of the cooling is essential.
Townsville could become a world leader in tropical design if it embraces the
use of digital economy-enabled design, specialising in smart infrastructure to
facilitate lifestyle, entertainment, environmental management, remote working,
and health management.
Construction
The use of online collaboration in the design and construction industries can
provide benefits in simplifying the management of contracts, specifications and
drawings, and in maintaining the currency and accuracy of documents. Already
there are new businesses that offer online services for builders using ‘cloud’
computing models.
The construction industry will also benefit from major changes in building
design and connectivity required to participate fully in the digital economy.
For example, the need for sensor and actuator deployment in buildings of the
future will assist the development of a new specialisation in partnership with the
construction industry.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 29Case Study – Building Industry Online is an innovative Townsville-based
company that offers an integrated building industry solution from a simple
online access. The building and construction industry uses a large number of
complex contracts and drawings that need to be accessed and modified by
various designers, planners and sub-contractors. This leads to issues with data
currency – ensuring that everyone is operating from the same version of the
documentation. The simplest way to achieve this outcome is to use one set of
documents – held centrally – and to give all parties access online to the central
record. This is possible only when there is ubiquitous and reliable high-speed
broadband.
Townsville is an ideal location to pilot this service using the NBN. The service
can be extended to Townsville City Council to allow online submission of
planning approvals documentation and development assessments. The removal
of most of the paper records in this process would save time and money for the
building industry and Council.
Health and Aged Care
The benefits of the NBN to the health and aged care sectors are often quoted.
The use of in-home monitoring equipment that is connected via the NBN to a
medical or aged care service provider, will deliver a new paradigm in health and
aged care management.
A $3.76 million Townsville NBN diabetes trial currently underway in the first and
second release sites is designed to help patients better manage their condition
and improve their health outcomes from the comfort of their homes by remotely
monitoring their condition.
In-home aged care solutions have the potential to allow residents to stay in their
own homes for much longer, minimising disruption and reducing the cost of
institutionalised aged care, by remotely monitoring vital signs, patient feedback
and activity.
Case Study – Feros Care, a Gold Coast-based aged care provider, has realised
the potential of the digital economy to improve in-home aged care by
retrofitting cabling infrastructure to clients’ houses and installing monitoring
devices so that residents’ health and well-being can be remotely monitored.
This service significantly reduces the need for clients to move to an aged care
facility.
The data speeds required are not particularly high; however, as monitoring
technology improves the range of services offered will increase to allow more
sophisticated monitoring and treatment, especially using video conferencing
technology.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 30Education
There are already three online education enterprises operating in Townsville and
this positions the city well to grow into a centre of expertise in online delivery of
education. James Cook University (JCU) runs a distance education program for
students who cannot attend in person. The University has access to AARNET
(Australian Academic Research Network) that connects most universities in
Australia, including the JCU Cairns campus, and provides international capacity.
JCU is also part of the EduRoam consortium that offers location independent
Wi-Fi connections to students through virtually any wireless hotspot using
seamless centralised user authentication and enforcement of the institutional
internet use policy.
Current online education tends to use browser or webinar10 technologies
that can usually operate successfully at lower broadband speeds, albeit with
limitations on the functions and usability. Higher broadband speeds will enable
more natural and interactive environment with the ability to add high-quality
video conferencing, multi-screen capabilities and gesture recognition.
10 Webinars use specific downloaded software (e.g. Citrix Go to Meeting or Cisco Webex) to establish a voice
and data connection between participants and a moderator or presenter. This solution offers some advanced
functions such as hand-raising for questions, chat for feedback and questions.
Photo provided by © State of Queensland
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 31Research and Data Analysis
Increases in processing power and bandwidth means that our ability to analyse
complex data from disparate databases is dramatically increased. Complex data
sets are collected from many areas of the natural and built environment, usually
by sensors, and without complex analysis these data sets are meaningless.
The analysis of these very large data sets using massive computing power11
can reveal patterns and trends that can be very valuable in industries such as
mining, farming and general business.
For example, the analysis of local travel patterns of tourists through various
mapping techniques can identify their areas of interest and spending patterns.
Further, remote sensing data from mining explorations can be analysed to
indicate potential mining prospects.
Using the power of the NBN, complex data analysis or big data as it is
sometimes called, can be offered as a service by any organisation or region with
the skills and access to appropriate processing power and broadband capacity.
Remote Working
Smart work centres provide an itinerant or permanent workspace for people
who do not wish to travel to their place of work, as an alternative to working
from home. A number of services can be provided for remote workers – such
as parking, air conditioning, broadband connectivity, advanced workstations,
high-quality video conferencing, child care, banking, retail and catering. Smart
work centres provide a safe and controlled workspace which satisfies employers’
workplace health and safety concerns.
Smart work centres or co-working centres are widely used in cities like
Amsterdam, which has over 120 centres operating as commercial operations.
The centres also become social and business-networking hubs with their own
dedicated apps to facilitate interactions between users.
Smaller towns within North Queensland could also benefit from smaller smart
work centres, opening-up a wider skills base for Townsville and employment
opportunities for the smaller centres. Eventually a network of smart work
centres could operate across North Queensland allowing remote working for a
new breed of mobile workers.
Mining and Minerals Processing
Mining industry labour costs are high due to the shortage of suitably skilled
11 The processing may use massively parallel processing using large numbers of servers, which may be remotely
connected, rather than large sequential computers using traditional database techniques.
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 32workers, dangerous environments and the remoteness of operations. These
restraints can be partially mitigated by remote operation, and the benefit of
removing workers from hazardous areas is being recognised by companies in
the mining and processing industries. There is an opportunity for Townsville to
be a remote operations centre for many of these sites, using the capacity of the
NBN and the Regional Backbone Blackspots Project optical fibre network.
Remote operation is enabled by reliable high-speed data connections that will
be provided in part by the NBN, and in part by private networks. Trials of this
technology are underway in the Pilbara in Western Australia and the results
so far are promising. Townsville would be an ideal base for remote operations
because it is close to the major mining centres in Queensland and several major
processing centres, and because it has a diverse base of skilled resources.
Case Study – Google has been trialing an autonomous self-driving car in
the USA for two years as part of the certification process. The car has been
successfully driving itself around the country (with a driver as a safety and
reporting measure only) through a combination of imaging, GPS and mapping
technology. Certification has now been granted for the car to operate
autonomously.
Figure 4 - What the Google Autonomous Car sees
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 33Employment
NBN Co estimates that up to 16,000 jobs will be created nationally during
construction and that 80 per cent of the workforce demand will be for
labourers, cablers and plant operators.
As well as construction jobs, NBN and the digital economy will stimulate new
business activity such as software development and management, content
development and distribution, and support services.
Multimedia and web development specialists will be in demand to develop
the content that will use fast broadband infrastructure. Although the content
development industry may not be large in North Queensland, there is potential
for it to grow quickly, given access to NBN infrastructure. The nature of software
development is changing due to the impact of open source software and
apps. The new environment created by these changes means that software
development opportunities are not limited to large corporations operating out
of capital cities.
Currently, there are limited employment opportunities for ICT professionals in
Townsville, and JCU ICT Graduates often leave the city in search of employment
opportunities. This results in a brain drain for Townsville, reduced incentive for
students to study ICT locally and a limited pool of ICT skills for businesses to
access. Improved employment opportunities for graduates would help to create
the critical mass required to drive growth in the ICT industry locally.
eGovernment
The provision of government services online – sometimes called Government
2.0 – can save money and improve service levels. Services can include online
information resources, building & development permits and information,
property location and maps, planning scheme information, Council meetings
and committee information.
According to the National Digital Economy Strategy12 ‘A recent report by
PricewaterhouseCoopers, for the UK Government, found that face-to-face
transactions cost £10.53 (about $A16), the cost of a telephone engagement was
£3.39 (about $A5.15) and engagement with the government by mail was £12.10
(about $A18.40) – compared with the cost of an online transaction at just £0.08
(about $A0.12).’
Existing council infrastructure includes a significant data centre that is being
developed as a regional cloud that can be used to offer commercial services
12 Australian Government, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy—National
Digital Economy Strategy, 2011
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 34to local companies. There is an opportunity for Townsville City Council to
offer services to other councils in the region using the existing resources and
expertise where possible. Services such as online payments, records storage and
customer management systems could be offered to other councils.
Recent publications of state and local government databases provide a model
for development of the use of a range of data sets to identify new trends and
understanding of systems traditionally considered disconnected. Access to
new combinations of (analytical) comparisons allow this Open Data framework
to encourage all interested individuals and businesses to be innovative in
the way they look at and interact with the NQ environment. Interactions of
individual smart infrastructure components will be enhanced as these data
sets are combined and new ways of using existing (and new) infrastructure
more efficiently will evolve as new perspectives are applied to the analysis of
traditionally ‘closed’ data sources.
Case Study - MiTownsville Project, developed by the Townsville City Council,
delivers an extensive and integrated program to expand online service and
collaboration across the council and community. MiTownsville is designed to
capture and implement the best available trends in connectivity to provide
direct benefits to local residents and the community whilst being a catalyst for
digital interaction of the community.
MiTownsville, whilst focussed on the unique characteristics of Townsville, is
scalable, adaptable and replicable so that it can be used as a blueprint for other
cities and communities.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry is set to benefit from advances in 3D printing
techniques. The new technology of 3D printing allows the construction of three-
dimensional parts by the successive layering of materials including plastics and
metals by a printer, which is being controlled by a downloaded or remotely
accessed data file. The rapid availability to a range of parts will reduce material
holding and transport costs and delays, and will also allow the development of
complex custom parts.
Small scale devices that can print in plastics now cost less than $1,000. However,
more expensive machines can also print ceramic and metallic objects, or even
composite materials. Entire houses are now being 3D printed! One Townsville
firm (Bajtech) is working towards building a commercial scale 3D printer.
While not suitable for large scale or mass manufacturing, Additive
Manufacturing (3D printing) is ideally suited to small runs or complex objects.
This capability means that the production process can be disrupted and
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 35individuals can do their own manufacturing; some are calling this a new
industrial revolution. In any case, it is safe to assume that these devices will
have a significant role to play in future business and industry. Broadband is the
essential underlying infrastructure enabling this new approach to manufacturing.
Photo provided by © State of Queensland
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 36strategic
initiatives
Townsville City Digital Economy Strategy May 2013 37Strategic Initiatives
The benefits of the digital economy will not flow automatically with the
construction of the NBN. Significant development work is required across the
community, involving a range of individuals, industry groups, businesses and
government.
A range of initiatives have been proposed within eight key strategic areas
identified below. Some initiatives are works in progress and would benefit by
increased activity; other initiatives are new and require specific activities to
launch them.
The development of Townsville lends itself to two physical hubs for the digital
economy: Douglas – focussed on education, research, tropical science ICT
services, health and defence; and the CBD – focussed on business, government
administration, tourism, cultural services and the creative industries.
The advantage for Townsville is both immediate and short-term, although timely
implementation is important to capture the advantages identified in the TCDES.
Research and Development
Strategic Initiative 1 – Building Infrastructure Research
JCU, TCC and industry leaders to develop and encourage the use of new
infrastructure and Building Management Systems (BMS) solutions so that new
applications such as education, sustainability, health and aged care delivery are
not limited by inadequate facilities and buildings.
Strategic Initiative 2 – New Application Development
Support the research and development of new applications by partnering
with business, industry associations and government, to sponsor promotional
opportunities such as competitions and internships.
Townsville has the opportunity to leverage the considerable capabilities of JCU
as a major research institution, capitalising on its unique position as Australia’s
largest tropical city.
A number of projects and partnerships are being considered, with several now
progressing. The initiatives below are examples of opportunities requiring a
unified and considered approach from stakeholders across the community:
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