The broadband situation in Australia contributed to us missing out on a guersney in the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2016, but some of our friends across the ditch scored one.
Not so long ago, location and natural resources were the deciders of a community's economic potential. However, with the advent of the broadband economy, cities such as Bangalore are next door neighbours to Brisbane; virtually speaking.
The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) is a global network of 145 counties, cities and towns with a think tank at its center based in New York. It operates to assist communities in adapting to the demands of the broadband economy, with view to building building prosperous and sustainable economies.
"Today, broadband offers every community the opportunity to move from the periphery to the center in economic terms," states the Forum.
One of its activities is ranking various communities around the world in this regard. While no communities in Australia ranked on the fourteenth annual Top7 list; Whanganui in New Zealand made the team.
A small city on the southwest coast of New Zealand’s North Island, Whanganui has seen its fair share of hard times. But in 2009, its Broadband Strategy, followed by Digital Strategies in 2010 and 2013 provided part of the catalyst for the community to become a leader in the digital world.
"We started by lobbying for an early ultrafast broadband build, which was completed last year," said Whanganui Mayor Annette Main. " From there we have been determined to make the most of Whanganui’s digital infrastructure. One of our latest projects, #GetDigital, which we are working on across our regions, helps small businesses get online in order to create more economic opportunities."
The construction of the urban fiber network has enabled 13,000 households, businesses and institutions to access truly fast broadband. This has in turn attracted high-tech companies and various professionals to the city.
You can read more about Whanganui's success story here.
Whanganui's story highlights the fact that fast broadband isn't just about being able to watch Netflix movies or upload funny pet videos in a jiffy. It's absolutely crucial to fully participating in the brave new world of the broadband economy.
As for Australia, while our appetite for speedy internet access is certainly increasing; the nation is grappling with an "already out of date" NBN and continuing to fall behind the rest of the world in average connection speed.
Image credit : WhanganuiNZ
