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For this group of Australians who have yet to engage with the internet, finding ways to address these reasons for non-engagement will be important in ensuring that all Australians can make use of and participate fully in online communications and the digital economy.
1 Introduction.
1.1 Report background.
The increasing importance of the internet as a carriage service for content and increasingly voice is underpinning the expansion of the digital economy and contributes to a more participative model of communications. .
As the statutory authority responsible for communications regulation in Australia, ACMA has the responsibility to conduct research into issues relating to internet content and internet carriage services, and to conduct community education (section 94, Schedule 5, Broadcasting Services Act 1992), as well as to report on matters affecting consumers or proposed consumers of carriage services (section 8 (d), Australian Communication and Media Authority Act 2005).
ACMA has an interest in how the internet is increasingly underpinning emerging business models, the types of internet-based services made available to Australians and the take-up of these services. .
Australia in the Digital Economy: Online Participation is part of this process and aims to contribute to greater understanding of the profile of Australians who are connected to the internet and participating in the digital economy, as well as identifying those with limited or no online participation. This report also provides additional details on the use of internet which was explored in the ACMA Communications Report 2007 "08. .
1.2 Research objectives.
This report seeks to analyse how socioeconomic and demographic factors influence participation in the digital economy, specifically: .
1. the take-up and use of the internet (including frequency of use).
2. the services and applications undertaken online .
3. the use of internet services and applications such as email, chat, instant messenger and user-generated content.
