Telecommunications and social inclusion: new approaches to accessibility and affordability
Tony Eardley, Gerard Goggin and Jasmine Bruce
Social Policy Research Centre and Journalism and Media Research Centre, UNSW
Contact Email:   t.eardleyunsw.edu.au

New forms of telecommunication can benefit both national economies and individuals. There is also evidence that lower-income groups can benefit particularly from access to mobile phones, through improved work and productivity gains. Social benefits are also important, including maintenance of familial links and enhancement of social capital. However, affordability remains a problem. In Australia, although the notional cost of mobile phone usage has fallen, expenditure on telecommunications has been growing and placing strain on some family budgets.

Access to these technologies, particularly broadband connections, is also still inequitable, as is the digital literacy necessary to make use of them. However, the concept of the ‘digital divide’ is less useful in the technological context than that of ‘social exclusion’, as digital exclusion tends to follow and reinforce existing social inequalities. There is evidence that as telecommunications usage becomes normal practice for a majority, those unable to access or use these technologies become further disadvantaged, particularly where many public and government services are increasingly moving online.

The paper draws on a review of the Australian and international literature on the relationship between telecommunications and community wellbeing, commissioned by Telstra’s Low Income Measures Assessment Committee. It discusses access and affordability issues for disadvantaged groups in the context of rapid technological change, and benchmarks Telstra’s Access for Everyone social tariff package against those in other comparable countries. We conclude with recommendations for taking forward practice and policy debates on access and affordability.

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