Declining affordability pricing Australians out of the Internet
More Australians are online than ever before, but a lack of internet affordability threatens to widen the gap between the richest households and the poorest.
New data from the Australian Digital Inclusion Index shows that internet affordability has declined in Australia since 2014, leaving poorer Australians straggling behind higher income households when it comes to online access, digital ability and particularly affordability – particularly those in rural areas. The results of the index come a year after Australia was scored lowest for internet affordability by the World Economic Forum – today, it ranks 57th out of 139 countries, behind New Zealand and Iceland.
Nic spoke to Professor Julian Thomas from the Digital Ethnography Research Centre at RMIT University, who helps to explain why internet affordability has declined in Australia, and what can be done to make sure that everyone has equal access.
