Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/237176

Title

At home on the outstation: barriers to home internet in remote Indigenous communities

Author(s)

Rennie, Ellie;  Crouch, Andrew;  Wright, Alyson;  Thomas, Julian

Abstract

Indigenous Australians living in remote areas have little access to the internet and make little use of it. This article investigates the various dimensions of internet take-­‐up in remote Indigenous communities in Australia and considers the implications for broadband policy. It focuses specifically on the circumstances and experiences of three remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. Residents in these communities provided significant insight into the social, economic and cultural aspects of communications access and use. This evidence is used to examine the drivers and barriers to home internet for remote Indigenous communities and to discuss a complex set of issues, including: the dynamics of remote living, economic priorities, cultural engagement with technology, and the characteristics of domestic life in remote Indigenous communities.

Publication type

Journal article

Source

Telecommunications Policy, (article in press)

Publication year

2013 (in press)

Keyword(s)

Broadband policy;  Indigenous Australia;  Internet take-up;  Home internet;  Remote Indigenous communities

Publisher

Elsevier

ISSN

0308-5961

Publisher URL

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03085961

Copyright

Copyright © Elsevier Ltd. The accepted manuscript will be available 3 years after publication in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Peer reviewed