The information society
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045495 |
| Published date | 01 April 1996 |
| Pages | 374-376 |
| Date | 01 April 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The Information Society
Continuing our review of initiatives and projects that will help the growth of
the
Information Society. If you know of such
a
project,
or are
involved in one that you
would like to see here, please contact the Managing Editor, Ben Jeapes, at the
publisher's
address or
by
e-mail
at
tel@learned.co.uk.
Australia
The Coalition Government and the
online industry
Following Australia's recent General
Election the Minister for Communica-
tions and
the
Arts,
Senator Richard Al-
ston, last month addressed the Internet
Industry Association of Australia and
gave an overview of the Coalition
Government's policy approach to on-
line services.
He emphasised at the outset that the
Government is committed to the de-
velopment of a strong and dynamic
online services industry. While recog-
nising that in general the directions for
the industry will be set by the market
and the private sector, the Government
still has an important role in the sector:
providing policy leadership and direc-
tion;
developing a responsive and flex-
ible regulatory environment; and put-
ting online services to innovative use.
Senator Alston said that for the
most part he was of the view that on-
line
services
do
not presently need spe-
cial and unique regulation, at least in
terms of carriage and industry struc-
ture.
Equally, radical revisions of ex-
isting legislation in areas like copy-
right and privacy to take online
services into account are not required,
and the current regulatory framework
can
be
adapted
to
deal with the particu-
lar issues emerging. However, there
are still some difficult issues still to be
resolved such as encryption, authenti-
cation and security of financial pay-
ments. There are now a number of
vir-
tual carriers for the Internet:
competition is emerging between
them and a range of
issues
are emerg-
ing which relate to that competition,
such as the exchange of traffic be-
tween Internet backbone networks,
and the bundling and pricing of serv-
ices and products. What is being seen,
said the Senator, is a move from a situ-
ation where one carrier
has
been domi-
nant to one in which a number of
smaller players have rapidly growing
market segments, and are seeking a
fair go in the competitive environ-
ment. The Government believes that
the industry must attempt to find its
own solutions to these issues.
ISDN
The Government remains firmly com-
mitted to doing all it can to bring down
the price of providing digital connec-
tivity to online services, and is exam-
ining ISDN prices generally in
Australia, including their effect on the
cost of online services. A number of
options are under consideration, in-
cluding price caps.
The
Information Policy Advisory
Council
The Government is to form a peak ad-
visory body, to be called the Informa-
tion Policy Advisory Council. The
membership of the Advisory Council
will consist of a range of experts from
different sectors of industry and the
community who will be able to review
the directions of the online services in-
dustry and keep the government in-
formed.
Access
The Government will take steps to en-
sure that access to online services is as
widely available
as
possible,
including
for rural and remote Australians. It
will be consulting and working with
industry and State and Territory gov-
ernments to address access issues. The
Government is also proceeding with
its election commitment to review the
Standard Telecommunications Serv-
ice,
which is intended to clarify pre-
cisely what services should be
provided as a minimum to all Austra-
lians in the context of the universal
service framework post-1997.
Content regulation
The Government has what the Senator
called 'a long and proud record of
commitment to freedom of speech',
though he added that no medium is
ever unregulated. The Government is
mindful of the dangers of heavy-
handed regulation discouraging inno-
vative content and access providers. It
is critical, he said, that any control
mechanisms in Australia also work on
an international level, as Australia is
the fifth highest user of the Internet.
The Government does not have juris-
diction to take action against all those
who publish objectionable material
from all over the world, but it is com-
mitted to a multi-faceted approach to
the content regulation of the online in-
dustry which responds, in a balanced
and realistic way, to the concerns of
industry and the community. Also,
said the Senator, by addressing com-
munity concerns about content regula-
tion and ensuring people are
comfortable with increasing access to
374 The Electronic Library, Vol. 14, No. 4, August 1996
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