Planning for Connectivity: An Overview

LET’S START WITH THE CHALLENGE.

Our lives continue to be more digitally connected than ever, we are generating more and more data, and our reliance on technology continues at swift pace.

Between 2021 and 2022 our mobile data usage as a nation grew 40% (to 17.6GB per sim per month), putting Australia into third place in the fastest growing data markets around the world.

But ironically, as mobile data consumption increases at significant pace, digital infrastructure planning isn’t changing.

And the core issue here is that without effective integrated planning of wireless digital connectivity, our ability to maintain a level of service as population grows and data consumption increases will be challenged.

But for effective integrated planning of digital connectivity to be realised, deep collaboration among many stakeholders is required.

And we must do better at designing and delivering infrastructure that is of high quality and respects community values.

But to do so we must treat and value digital connectivity differently to what it is now.

We must move to a model of planning for connectivity, like any other infrastructure.