March 30 2023.
AgForce joined the Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition in Canberra yesterday, to rally politicians for better connectivity services.
The group, which included AgForce Grains Policy Director Ruth Thompson, demonstrated the power of collective action to instigate positive change for regional communications.
It came as NBN announced that 24,000 homes and businesses across regional Australia are now eligible to access the nbn fixed wireless network for the first time.
However, while important progress has been made in recent years, the need for reliable, affordable, quality connectivity services remains as important as ever in regional, rural and remote Australia.
The 2023 RRRCC delegation advocated in Canberra for the following five key connectivity goals:
- A national regional, rural, and remote strategic framework and plan for future development and investment in regional communications;
- Affordable communications services for regional, rural, and remote Australia;
- Guaranteed access to equitable voice and data services that meet minimum service standards;
- Continued program to expand mobile coverage (both voice and data) and improvement in data speeds through an increased capacity; and
- Funding and implementation of connectivity and digital literacy capacity building for regional, rural, and remote Australia.