What would it cost to get the 58,000 lowest-income families with children in New Zealand set up with unlimited broadband and devices, allowing them to enjoy the digital access many of us take for granted?
The subsidy needed is $78.4 million a year, according to new research commissioned by the Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa (Deca). The research found that the gap between what those poorest families can afford to pay and the cost of providing a two-parent, two-child family with unlimited internet and two devices is $26 a week. Subsidising just the internet connection alone would cost $13.9m a year.
Either way, it’s a fair wad of cash and in this era of public spending austerity, the coalition government will be reluctant to commit to a subsidy long term.
But it has to do something. Next month, a programme set up during the pandemic to cover broadband connection costs for about 10,000 households so kids could do their lessons from home is due to end.
Turning off the broadband tap for the poorest families would be a harsh blow in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Having the means to engage in the digital world at home as well as at school is as important as being able to access school lunches.
There’s also a sound economic argument for subsidising access for families that can’t afford it. “Research shows a conservative estimate of $3 of benefit to households for every $1 invested in digital equity,” the Deca report suggests.
Having broadband on tap and Chromebooks, tablets and smartphones that can run the latest applications help kids learn at home. They also help adults to upskill themselves and take care of household admin more easily.
The alternative for families that need to choose between keeping the kids fed or having a broadband connection is to head down to the library to use the free Wi-Fi and computers. That’s not ideal.
I think of how my world expanded as a kid when the first computer arrived in our house. It was a ZX Spectrum, the equivalent of a calculator in today’s computing terms. Admittedly, I used it only for gaming. But I soon migrated to the Commodore 64, then the Amiga 500, and in the 1990s, a succession of X86 PCs. I learnt how to code, logged onto bulletin boards over a dial-up internet connection and started building my own computers.
Now, there are endless opportunities online for kids to follow their curiosity – as long as they can actually get online.
Deca’s suggestion of using the welfare system to distribute a digital equity payment to families most in need makes sense. This is already done effectively for the winter energy payment.
It’s the option that generates the least friction and bureaucracy. The Ministry of Social Development already knows most of the 58,000 families.
There’s ample scope to pursue something this government will love – a public-private partnership. A chunk of that $78.4m should be absorbed by our telecoms providers, who could offer cut-price unlimited connections to the families via the ultrafast broadband network or wireless broadband.
Device-makers can chip in, too, with cheap laptops and tablets and refurbished devices. All of these companies have environmental and social governance requirements. Helping end the digital divide in New Zealand would be praised by shareholders and staff alike.
Unfortunately, many other Kiwi families also struggle with broadband affordability. But helping those 58,000 families most in need would be a fantastic start and one that would pay dividends for the country.
