Intersections between connectivity and digital inclusion in rural communities

ABSTRACT

As societies become more connected and digitalised, evidence shows that differences in infrastructure quality are growing between urban and rural areas. The constant catch-up of infrastructure and existing social exclusion factors create a double jeopardy in rural areas. Furthermore, as digital technologies are increasingly embedded into economic, political, social, and personal lives, the disadvantages that occur from disconnection manifest differently depending on the social context of an individual, organisation or community. There is a need to improve our understanding of specific contexts of digitally excluded groups and develop targeted policies and programmes. Drawing from fieldwork in rural communities in Australia, this article examines the relationship between limited connectivity, the local context and socio-economic outcomes in rural areas. We suggest a customised policy framework that is responsive to the diversity and uniqueness of local contexts in connectivity and digital inclusion.

KEYWORDS:

• Rural connectivity
• broadband
• access
• digital inclusion
• digital divide
• Australia

Acknowledgments

Freeman gratefully acknowledges the support received from the Edward Wilson Estate for her contribution to this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The NBN is Australia’s National Broadband Network, intended to provide high-quality internet service to all premises in the country (NBN, 2018).

2. The project was approved by the Human Ethics Committee at the University of Canberra (16–174).

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by the University of Canberra’s Faculty of Arts & Design Research Funding Support Program, Category B Collaborative Project Development and Dissemination. Community engagement to bridge the digital divide in rural areas.

Notes on contributors

Sora Park

Sora Park is Associate Professor of Communication and Associate Dean of Research at the Faculty of Arts & Design, University of Canberra. Her research focuses on digital media users, media markets and media policy and has written widely on how digital technologies are transforming communication, media and society.

Julie Freeman

Julie Freeman is a Lecturer in Communication and Edward Wilson Research Fellow in the School of Communication & Creative Arts at Deakin University. Her research explores how rural and regional media ecologies and variabilities in internet connectivity impact digital inclusion and local democratic engagement.

Catherine Middleton

Catherine Middleton is a Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University. Her research focuses on digital inclusion, identifying and assessing policies and practices that enable people to get access to the communications technologies that are central to everyday life. She is also interested in how people use (or don’t use) the Internet and mobile devices, and in understanding ways to advance individuals’ capacities to use communications technologies to engage in society. She is a member of the Ageing + Communications + Technology research partnership, the Canadian Spectrum Policy Research project and the Public Wi-Fi in Australia project. www.ryerson.ca/~cmiddlet