Communication Infrastructure: What are the impacts of National Broadband Network on Australian lives?
Recent years have seen major changes in broadband service due to the emergence of advancing information and communication technologies. As human’s activities are served by the technology through complex and multi-dimensional interactions, it is important to enrich our knowledge about what roles media and communication infrastructures are playing in shaping the way we use media and the way media has impacts on our lives.

Available since the late 1990s, broadband service over time has been offering much higher speed and greater functionality in accessing the Internet, which results in users’ convenience of “always-on connectivity” (Choudrie, 2013). While the benefits of broadband network Choudrie mentioned resonate with the arguments of Massey around the notion of “connectivity”, Massey discussed even further by emphasizing the role of infrastructure in “the construction of a relational politics of the home, the suburb and the nation” (Massey, 1994).
Regarding this, the rollout of Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) is such a great example due to its impact on public and private service, economic and social activities in Australia. It is argued that this technological transformation has shaped a particular kind of society, a “socio-economic and cultural environment” where higher broadband capacity and data transfer speed increase the productivity of “manufacturing and service industries, people and organization in rural and remote areas, and public institutions such as hospitals and schools” (Wilken et al., 2013).

However, the vast majority of Australians are not willing to pay for such a speedy connection due to its relatively high cost and unpractical benefits. This issue led to the controversies around government’s objectives in pricing strategy and disappointments of the service quality due to the cost-cutting policy (Fifield, 2018).
While NBN, to some extents, benefits the regional centers, rural and remote households of Australia are facing difficulties in adjusting their daily routine to access the high-speed network. This resulted in less effective work performance and social activities. In fact, it becomes even more challenging for Australia’s government to rebalance the connectivity model which focuses on amplifying social connections and mitigating geographical isolations (Wilken et al., 2014).
Undoubtedly, media infrastructure such as broadband network has widened the context of our current communication technology uses. For policymakers, investigating and understanding economic and cultural implication of these innovations will be a key to the country’s sustainable development.
References
Choudrie, J. A. 2013. Management of Broadband Technology and Innovation : Policy, Deployment, and Use, London : Routledge.
Fifield, M. 2018. Truth about NBN is that Australians do not want to pay for the internet speed they do not need [Online]. The Sydney Morning Herald. Available: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/truth-about-nbn-is-that-australians-do-not-want-to-pay-for-internet-speed-they-do-not-need-20180117-h0jt7y.html [Accessed August 31 2018].
Massey, D. 1994. Space, Place, and Gender, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Wilken, R., Nansen, B., Arnold, M., Kennedy, J. & Gibbs, M. 2013. National, local and household media ecologies: The case of Australia’s National Broadband Network. Communication, Politics & Culture, 46, 136–154.
Wilken, R., Nansen, B., Kennedy, J., Gibbs, M. & Arnold, M. 2014. NBN Benefits Regional Centres, But Rural Australia Is Still Left Wanting [Online]. The Conversation. Available: https://theconversation.com/nbn-benefits-regional-centres-but-rural-australia-is-still-left-wanting-34532 [Accessed August 31 2018].