THE West is lagging behind the rest of metropolitan Melbourne when it comes to broadband internet access, according to a report released late last month.
The State of the Regions Report, which provides regional snapshots across all Australian states and territories, reports that 48.3 per cent of the land (or 5.3 per cent of the population) in Melbourne’s West either has no access to broadband internet service, or has access to dial-up internet only – the highest rate in Melbourne.
In Melbourne’s North, 35.7 per cent of the region (or 0.9 per cent of the population) still doesn’t have access to broadband internet, while Melbourne’s more developed areas – the inner, southern and eastern suburbs – all have blanket broadband coverage.
And coverage is not expected to improve any time soon, at least until local governments start lobbying for increased services in unprofitable markets.
“It is highly unlikely that commercial operators will look after areas that are not on the top rung for commercial opportunities,” the report found.
It also stressed the important role broadband played in fostering urban and regional economic growth.
For children in Melbourne’s West broadband access rates were also well down compared with the rest of the city, with 6.6 per cent of the area’s children not having to the service.
In the West, Maribyrnong rated the highest for ADSL internet connection speed, and Melton rated the lowest.
Compared with other countries, Australia has the second lowest broadband penetration rate (the percentage of the population with broadband), with only 55 per cent of the country connected.
The report was compiled by the Australian Local Government Association, a national body representing 673 of Australia’s local councils, including the Municipal Association of Victoria.
Elsewhere, the study details the increasing financial prosperity of Melbourne’s West, reporting that annual disposable income has risen from $17,699 per person in 2001 to $19,662 in 2005-06.
The unemployment rate declined substantially across the West, falling from 11 per cent in 2001 to 8.2 per cent at the end of the 2006 financial year, although the number of people receiving social security benefits was still, on the whole, higher than the national average.
