Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has talked up the success of the Digital Economy Strategy he launched last year during his address to CeBIT Australia 2012, Sydney.
The strategy was unveiled at CeBIT 2011 and it plotted out a number of Government initiatives to develop Australia's digital economy.
It outlined eight goals the Government wants to achieve for the country's digital future by 2020 which leverages the high-bandwidth capabilities of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Since then, the Government has added seven new initiatives and kicked-off a number of programs as part of the strategy. these include the digital enterprise program, telehealth services, along with remote education and skills program.
The latest Federal budget has also allocated millions of dollars to fund these programs.
"Australia's future is increasingly becoming a digital one," Senator Conroy said. "The NBN is the platform that will allow us to expand our existing capabilities and develop new ones.
"The national Digital Economy Strategy details the Government's plans to maximise this potential - the potential that ubiquitous high-speed broadband offers and become a leading digital economy by 2020."
While the Minister is quick to quote forecasted benefits derived from NBN-based services, it is still to early to assess the efficacy of the programs within the Digital Econmy strategy.
The Government has time though, since the Digital Economy Strategy has set for its goals to be achieved by 2020.
But the big question is whether the implemented initiatives and programs have adequately bolstered the case for building the $36 billion NBN. That is, whether the goals set by the Digital Economy Strategy can be achieved without the predominantly fibre network.
CeBIT Australia 2012 continues.
