A study out today suggests that by the end this decade the NBN will make improvements worth $3,800 per household in Australia.
The AFR reports on the Deloitte Access Economics study, which suggests that a combination of productivity boosts (worth a stated $2,000), plus increases in teleworking ($634), the use of online shopping ($565), access to better government services ($217), greater reliance on online entertainment ($269) and finally — and a little surprisingly — only $74 through improved communications.
Now, there’s a huge grain of salt to be applied to any study like this, especially a few days out from an election where the NBN remains something of an issue. Still, the numbers are interesting, especially as the report notes that older Australians — who are typically stereotyped as being less tech-savvy or at least less tech-inclined — may benefit the most, with a purported saving of up to $7,000 per annum due to improvements in medical care.
ABS stats suggest there are around 8.18 million households in Australia, which means if the figures pan out, that’s a total value of $31,084,000,000. At that point, the issues around NBN costings become rather moot, I’d say.