Regional Australia must ensure that it does not get left behind in the Digital Revolution, says Charles Sturt University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Development), Mr Bernie O’Donnell.

“We are on the edge of the digital revolution, which will revolutionise the way we carry out business and provide education, and country Australia could miss out if appropriate telecommunications are not put in place soon,” Mr O’Donnell said.

The senior CSU administrator will set the scene for the national Connecting the Country conference with his opening address, which commences at 9.00 am on Monday 28 September in Albury.

Mr O’Donnell is particularly concerned with the current state of telecommunications in regional Australia. “People in regional Australia do not want a repeat of the start of the industrial revolution, when their city counterparts gained electricity years before them because they did not have access or it cost too much for electricity.

“There is already evidence of two levels of use in Australian telecommunications, with around 80 per cent of all Internet traffic now generated in the nation’s largest cities,” he said.

“Regional Australia needs better telecommunications infrastructure for better access to the Internet for rural businesses and residences. Improved bandwidth will increase the amounts of data carried and speed of data transferred through the system, and so decrease telecommunication costs for rural users.

“Charles Sturt University is doing its part by building a microwave-based communications network linking our campuses in Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga to a major Internet site in Sydney. However, regional Australia at large will become the ‘information-poor country cousins’ if our telecommunications are not improved,” Mr O’Donnell said.

The Connecting the Country Conference will allow for some lively discussions on rural and regional communications, which will include a debate between senior representatives of Federal parties contesting the upcoming election.

Charles Sturt University will host a session the second day of the conference (Tuesday 29 September) concerning education, health and legal services. This session will include a presentation by Mr Leslie Burr on the NSW HSC On-Line Project, which is particularly aimed at rural Year 12 students and their teachers who have limited access to educational materials.

The conference will be held at the Albury Convention and Performing Arts Centre, Swift St, Albury.