It was a throwaway comment from a minister on the election trail, but one that should serve as a challenge to our broadband providers, regardless of who wins the election.
“I’m really keen to have a conversation after the election – if I’m lucky enough to still be here – with industry to say, if the Government is prepared to put X amount of dollars into a bucket, I’d be keen to see some of those providers meet that,” Ginny Andersen told the Tech Users Summit in Auckland last month.
The Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications had been asked what the government was doing to address lingering digital equity issues that mean about 130,000 households are without internet access. Her impromptu suggestion was a public-private partnership to address broadband access issues.
The barrier, in most cases, is the cost of broadband. “The cost of living crisis is making it harder for stretched families and whānau to access the digital essentials as affordability becomes an increasing issue,” says Tech Users Association chief executive Craig Young. “This is further exacerbated by the cost of devices and the lack of digital skills within some households. Some estimates are that 20% of Kiwis lack the essential digital skills needed to use the internet safely and effectively.”
In 2020, the Ministry of Education launched a scheme in conjunction with broadband providers offering a free home internet connection to eligible households with school-aged children. It was aimed at helping families deal with the logistics and cost of kids continuing their studies online in lockdown conditions.
The rebate scheme, which ended up subsidising 18,000 internet connections, was set to be discontinued earlier this year, which would have pulled the plug on families hard-hit by escalating grocery and utility bills.
But it was thrown a last-minute lifeline: $15.5 million was allocated in May’s Budget to continue the subsidy for existing and new eligible families. But no funding allocations have been made beyond June 30 next year.
That puts Andersen’s suggestion into perspective – she’s looking for industry to step up to help with the cost of keeping it going and expanding it.
The Skinny Jump prepaid mobile broadband service, which offers 35 gigabytes of data a month for $5 with no contract and a free modem included, is an attractive offering for cash-strapped households. But $5 is still too much for many, let alone the cost of even a cheap Chromebook device or basic smartphone to use to get online. For fixed-line connections, which offer faster speeds and are better for busy households, the Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa points out that the lowest connection cost is $40 – and that’s the wholesale price.
In 2021, the United Nations introduced the “aspirational target” of making universal access to the internet a basic human right by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The UN wants an entry-level broadband subscription to cost less than 2% of average income of the bottom 40% of population.
Its aim is for all fixed-line broadband subscriptions to offer a 10Mbps (megabits per second) connection or faster. That’s a very low level given we have a gold-plated ultrafast broadband network.
But tackling lingering digital equity issues is about basic digital skills as much as broadband access at home on the move. Lately, I’ve been doing the rounds of SeniorNet and Probus groups explaining artificial intelligence to pensioners. They are trying to get their heads around ChatGPT, while avoiding falling victim to hackers.
We need a more substantial commitment to digital equity initiatives under the next government. The payoff, for our kids through to the elderly, would be worth it.
