Most people have quickly taken to manage their banking and bills online. More and more key community and government services have quickly geared up for an online strategy when dealing with customer service with the view of making these services supposedly available to all. This has been particularly good news for those who are not available to gain service during business hours or have a disability that makes mobility or transport a time consuming problem. Over the years we have seen payments streamlined for government services and we are able to gain access to information services critical in saving time instead of lengthy waits for face to face contact.
Over the last few months SACOSS, the South Australian Council of Social Service has been examining the most recent census data concerning households that are connected at home and more importantly comparing this with those groups that do not have access to the Internet at home. This study also included accessing via mobile platforms at home.
It is no surprise that the top five regions not connected are country regional areas in SA with a staggering 1 in 4 having no connection at all. Limited suppliers and higher prices for connections in the country areas makes it difficult for these people who are most in need of these online services because of distance. These results have promoted SACOSS to start lobbying the Government for a state-wide strategy to lift the level of Digital Inclusion and make it easier for those communities to connect, not just with services, but to access the benefits of social networking groups. This lack of services also imposes a large disadvantage to students in country and metro areas without connectivity as most schooling activities involve interaction via online for students to access information and to hand in work outside of school hours.
South Australia sits well behind the national average for Internet connections and it would seem that the regional areas are so disadvantaged that this digital exclusion will make another interesting topic to follow in the lead up to the state election.
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