Remotely connected: Is there a seamless solution to address the digital divide in remote indigenous communities?

It has often been stated that Australians pick up on new technologies early, in particular those that assist with communications across distances. Since the adoption of the telegraph that linked communities in Australia in the 1860s and then to the outside world in the 1870s, the implementation of telecommunications technologies is part of the nation-building narrative of Australian history. 1

Despite a real or imagined national identity as global innovators in the digital space, there have been significant barriers for many people when it comes to accessing the Internet in urban, regional and remote locations. This is primarily because Internet access may be limited depending on where one lives, with many remote communities having no access via phone line modem, broadband cable, satellite or Next G mobile phones. Distance is a great challenge in many remote areas, as there may be hundreds of kilometres between towns, making the provision of essential infrastructure and services difficult.