Regional Australians engaging in the digital economy

Joseph Di GregorioManager, Communications Analysis

Definition of the Digital Economy

> The term ‘digital economy’ (DE) covers the global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by digital information and communication technologies such as the internet, mobile and sensor networks o the application of information and communication

technologies (otherwise called ICT) to social and economic activity.

o internet and internet protocol (IP) technologies increasingly at the centre of digital economy developments.

Why is the digital economy relevant to the ACMA?

> The DE is a growing source of “regulatory pressure” – due to convergence of networks and services, consumers accessing voice and content services across multiple networks and devices.

> The ACMA as an agency is positioned to assist a smooth transition to the digital economy. > The ACMA has roles and responsibilities in terms of regulating

telecommunications, broadcasting and radiocommunications industries.

> Scope of the ACMA’s involvement (just a few examples):> NBN implementation: transitioning of consumer protection > Building trust & confidence: cybersafety, e-security, SPAM> Effective management of spectrum resources: the switch to

digital TV, the digital dividend.

As an evidence-based regulator, the ACMA has an interest in monitoring and understanding the developing digital economy in the context of:

regulating for the citizen in an environment where usage of VoIP, mobile communications and the internet continues to grow, which in turn provides challenges for safeguards, such as access to the emergency call service and online security

voice regulation, where growth in VoIP usage and increasing numbers of users identifying mobile phones as their main form of communication pose challenges when it comes to applying regulatory requirements that are based on traditional fixed-line voice services

supporting consumers to make informed decisions in an environment of ongoing network, device and service innovation

regulating content in an environment where content is increasingly available on multiple platforms including the internet, mobile and traditional broadcasting networks.

Online participation: national overview

Diversity in internet access and use

Ever u

sed th

e inte

rnet

Broadband a

t hom

e

Inte

rnet a

t hom

e

Inte

rnet a

t work

Inte

rnet e

lsewhere

Onlin

e via

a m

obile p

hone

Onlin

e via

com

puter

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Jun-09 Jun-10 Jun-11

% p

op.

14 y

ears

+

Shop via TV

Make video calls through my TV

Use my TV to access the internet

Network my TV to a computer device to play music, photos or videos

Set up my TV recording via the internet

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

% of pop. 14 years+ (Interest in accessing additional services via their TV)

On theme of di-versification, small but signific-ant levels of in-terest in access-ing online ser-vices via TV.

Likely to increase as cost of techno-logy decreases and more ser-vices emerge.

More than once a day

Once a day A few times a week

Once a week A few times a month

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

52

1315

2 3

56

13 13

2 3

60

12 11

2 2

Jun-09 Jun-10 Jun-11

% o

f in

tern

et u

sers

ag

ed

14

ye

ars

+

Australians going online more often:growing level of experience increased awareness of benefits

June quarter 2010 December quarter 2010 June quarter 20110

5

10

15

20

25

30

16.1

18.3

25.1

Aver

age

amou

nt o

f dat

a do

wnl

oade

d pe

r int

erne

t su

bscr

iber

(Gig

abyt

es)

Growing intensity of online participation

Instant messaging

Made telephone calls via the internet

Buying, selling, shopping activities

General browsing/surfing

Entertainment-related activities

Banking & finance activities

Email

Research & information activities

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Jun-09

Jun-10

Jun-11

% of internet users aged 14 years + undertaking activity during month of June

Transactions, in-formation and content

Streamed radio

Streamed music

Downloaded video clips

Downloaded audio/video podcasts

Downloaded TV programs

Streamed TV (e.g. ABC iView)

Downloaded feature-length movie

Streamed video (e.g. YouTube)

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

Jun-08 Jun-09 Jun-10 Jun-11

Number of persons 14 years+ ('000s) undertaking activity during month of June

More content services being accessed online

Paid to store your computer files online

Backed up your hard drive to an online site

Stored personal video online

Used applications such as Google docs or Adobe Photoshop Express

Stored personal photos online

Using social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn

Used webmail services such as Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo!Mail

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

% internet users aged 18 years and over (April 2011)

Emergence of cloud computing

Squidoo

Yahoo!7 Groups

Six Apart TypePad

Wikia

Myspace.com

Tumblr

LinkedIn

Twitter.com

WordPress.com

Blogger

Wikipedia

YouTube

Facebook

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000

users ('000s)June 2011

Not to forget the role of social networking in underpinning in-creased online parti-cipation: 8 million home users @ June 2010 8.7 million users @ June 2011

Regional snapshot

ACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

ld.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Home access Work access Access elsewhere

% p

op.

14 y

ears

+

June 2011

ACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

ld.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Have broadband at home Have access to internet at home

% o

f po

p. 1

4 y

ea

rs+

June 2011

ACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

ld.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Used the internet via mobile phone Use the internet via computer

% p

op.

14 y

ears

+

Activity occurring during June 2011

Austra

liaACT

Sydne

y

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourn

e

Rest V

ic.

Brisba

ne

Rest Q

LD.

Adelai

de

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobar

t

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Spr

ings

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Jun-07 Jun-11

% o

f po

p. 1

4 ye

ars+

Surge in population going online more than once a day

June 2011

Austra

liaACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

LD.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%Banking transactions Paid bills Purchased goods or services

% o

f in

tern

et u

sers

age

d 14

yea

rs+

Online transactors

Activity occurring during June 2011

Austra

liaACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

LD.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Government information and services Research & information

% o

f in

tern

et u

sers

age

d 14

yea

rs+

Activity occurring during June 2011

Information economy

Austra

liaACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourne

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

LD.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Streamed TV Entertainment

% o

f in

tern

et u

sers

age

d 14

yea

rs+

Entertainment /emerging channel for traditional content

Activity occurring during June 2011

Austra

liaACT

Sydney

Rest N

SW

Melb

ourn

e

Rest V

ic.

Brisbane

Rest Q

LD.

Adelaid

e

Rest S

.A.

Perth

Rest W

.A.

Hobart

Rest T

as.

Darwin

- Alic

e Sprin

gs0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

% o

f pe

rson

s 14

yea

rs+

usi

ng t

he in

tern

et d

urin

g Ju

ne 2

011 Moving beyond traditional devices- level of interest in

accessing internet services via home TV

June 2011

Reporting activities over the next few months: Release of the annual ACMA Communications report

2010–11. Release of complementary reports examining

convergence and digital economy issues: Report 1—E-commerce Marketplace in Australia:

Online Shopping Report 2—Converging communications channels:

Preferences and behaviours of Australian communication users

Report 3—The emerging mobile telecommunications market in Australia.

The ACMA Communications report 2010–11 and related reports will be accessible from engage.acma.gov.au.

THANK YOU

joseph.digregorio@acma.gov.au