King Valley Joins 21st Century

The King Valley has finally entered the Information Technology age with the recent access to HIBIS subsidised two way satellite Broadband ... but, at a price. Just three years ago, the valley had no mobile phone system, limited access to free television, and a very tired telephone land line system.

Digital communications has changed all that. Telstra installed a CDMA tower to service the valley, Set top boxes will pickup digital TV transmission from Shepparton and we now qualify for the HIBIS Broadband. Our land line telephone system is still suffering 50 year old underground cables that are not likely to be replaced due to the low level of population in the area.

Dial-up Internet operates at an average of 26Kbs over these degraded cables. ADSL is not available or will it be practical over these phone lines. Satellite is the only option. The Federal Government HIBIS subsidy now makes it affordable.

There are about thirty HIBIS providers registered to provide Broadband. I have selected Bordernet as they are the most local and do not charge an installation fee. They also provide a 1.2 metre satellite dish (worth $2,500) capable of operation during stormy weather whilst others provide as small as a 350mm dish which may not function during storms. At $49/month, it is less expensive for me as I had a dedicated phone line (about $35/month) plus an Internet Account ($26/month) providing a less than acceptable service.

Whilst the Federal Government is committed to providing similar services to those in the cities, they do come at a price.

• Our Telephone Exchange services about 300 phones. Calls to these phones are deemed 'local calls' All other calls are at STD rates - even a few kilometres away in the neighboring exchanges. With degraded lines, drop-outs cost a reconnection fee to finish a conversation.
  
• CDMA is as good as GSM with voice calls and SMS. However, CDMA phones do not generally have many of the functions of GSM such as Bluetooth or cameras, etc. Those that do, cost about three times the price of GSM phones.
  
• Satellite Broadband monthly fees are twice those of ADSL accounts and whilst the download speed is 250 kbs, the upload speed is 64 KBS.
  

On balance, access to Information Technology is essential if rural people are to participate in our brave new world. Now that it is happening, rural voters need to fight for economic equality in the provision of services.