The ) is an
Australian Government department. Its role is to ensure the integration and operations of
Telecommunication ,
Information Technology and the
Arts . The department's policy areas include:
Senator the Hon
Helen Coonan
- Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Senator the Hon
George Brandis SC
- Minister for the Arts and Sport
The Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS) was a strategy to provide registered Internet service providers with incentive payments to supply higher bandwidth services in regional, rural and remote areas at prices comparable to those available in metropolitan areas.
In June 2007, a landmark funding and legislative initiative was announced by the Department, stating that 99% of the Australian population will have fast, affordable broadband by June 2009. ''Australia Connected'' will be a new national high speed wholesale network, independent of current service providers, aiming to deliver 12Mb speeds using ADSL2, fibre, and wireless connections.
