Broadband could mean extra $4bn to economy each year

Small and medium businesses may end up contributing an additional $4 billion to the Australian GDP each year following the completion of the nbn network rollout, according to research from the University of Melbourne.

Research performed at the university’s Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) — which focused on the effects of cloud computing and electronic commerce for businesses with less than $2 million annual revenue — revealed many Australian business owners will benefit from access to digital services as it will help to transform the way they interact with suppliers and customers.

The ‘Economic Benefit of the National Broadband Network’ report highlighted the growth of e-commerce and availability of cloud services as the largest drivers of business efficiency as they become essential tools to increase productivity, lower costs and improve customer service.

nbn Executive General Manager of Business Ben Salmon said the network is changing the way Australians do business.

“For regional Australian businesses, it has the benefit of providing greater flexibility and access to global markets,” said Salmon. “We are already seeing the rise of new ‘Silicon Suburbs’ around the country as universal access to fast broadband drives entrepreneurialism and innovation outside metro cities.”

Representing a step-change in broadband capability, the report says, the nbn will “support a range of new content, applications and services that allow people to work in new ways, changing business processes in ways that should stimulate productivity and potentially increase labour-force participation.”

Bernard Salt, demographer at KPMG, echoed this sentiment: “Whether you’re an online craft business able to source and sell products more efficiently or a tradie now able to process payments on the go, e-commerce will allow Australian businesses to access new markets, no matter where they operate,” he said.

The report also estimated the economy itself will be nearly 2% larger than it would have been without the nbn, and as a result national welfare will also increase.

For a detailed summary of the research, click here.

Image courtesy of nbn.

Originally published here.