MAPPING THE DIGITAL GAP - Warakurna, WA 2023 Community Outcomes Report

“Good communications is vital to be able to get the message out about what we do [using] the various forms of media that we have, such as Facebook, and the phones, and the internet, and making sure that people understand how to use it and to interpret the information.” - Gina Livesay Sutton, Warakurna Community Development Advisor, 2023 Despite the high cost of data, there is growing demand for br. [...] CHANGES IN COMMUNICATIONS IN THE REGION About the Ngaanyatjarra lands Figure 6: Location of the 12 communities on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of WA The region is relatively unique in its coordinated governance and service delivery model through two primary agencies – Ngaanyatjarra Council (based in Alice Springs, which coordinates services including the Ngaanyatjarra health service, Community Developm. [...] Mobile services in the Ngaanyatjarra region The fibre backhaul enabled 3G mobile services to be installed in in the region, initially in Warburton in 2009 and later to the other five communities in 2012–14 under WA Governments’ Regional Mobile Communications Project.10 This led to immediate uptake of mobile services across the region, with Yarnangu (Ngaanyatjarra people) primarily choosing pre-pai. [...] The internet coverage for the Wi-Fi is not in the house, it's outside of the houses … There is limited money in the house for people to buy phone cards and to be able to top up their internet on their phones. [...] Prior to the fibre rollout in the 2000s, the inability of clinics to use Communicare reliably due to latency and slow speeds of satellite services was a key driver for demand for upgraded terrestrial telecommunications in the region.