63% of Remote First Nations Homes Lack Working Free-to-Air TV

Is Wi-Fi filling the gap?

Partly, yes. Community Wi-Fi is reducing reliance on prepaid mobile data, with 64% of respondents saying they used a public Wi-Fi service in the previous six months, up from 47% in 2025.

Twenty-three remote communities have received new Wi-Fi networks since 2024, and another 53 are expected to come online over the next two years.

First Nations co-investigator Professor Lyndon Ormond-Parker of RMIT said the shared networks matter because people can connect without burning through their own credit.

"Community Wi-Fi is making a real difference because people can connect without having to use their prepaid mobile data," Ormond-Parker said.

Household broadband is growing too. Thirty-two percent of respondents reported fixed broadband at home in 2026, and Starlink uptake jumped from 4% in 2025 to 24% in 2026 — a sixfold rise in a single year. Researchers credited promotional offers, discounted equipment and growing demand for home internet.

Featherstone, though, hedged on whether that growth will last. "Starlink is providing better household connectivity in many communities, but the challenge will be whether households can afford the service over the longer term," he said, noting that earlier postpaid services saw high default rates in low-income communities with many competing expenses.

How connected — and how affordable — is access?

On paper, connectivity looks close to universal: 98% of respondents reported having internet access, and 86% had used it within the previous day. Both figures mark significant improvements on earlier findings.

Daily life has moved online. In the previous month, 83% of respondents used online banking and 72% used government services.

Lauren Ganley, head of Telstra's First Nations Strategy & Engagement, said the findings show progress but also the limits of access alone. "Connectivity can be transformational for remote First Nations communities, but access alone is not enough. It needs to be affordable, reliable and designed around the needs of communities," she said.

"This research helps us understand where progress is being made and where the gaps remain. Telstra is proud to support this important work and, most importantly, to listen to communities as we work together to improve digital inclusion," Ganley said.

What's the catch?

Affordability. Surveyed households spend an average of $345 a month on mobile and internet services — a bill many urban families would balk at, paid out of often low remote incomes.

The trade-offs are stark: 83% of respondents said they sacrificed or cut back on essentials to afford internet access, and 69% compromised on data allowances or connection speeds to manage costs.

Ormond-Parker said the findings expose the difficult choices remote households face every month.

"Better connectivity is bringing clear benefits, but families should not have to cut back on essentials to afford internet access," he said. "Closing the digital gap requires long-term solutions developed with communities that reflect their needs and circumstances."

How was the study done?

The 2026 research ran across nine remote and very remote First Nations communities, seven of which were also surveyed in 2025. Researchers partnered with local First Nations organizations and community co-researchers to survey residents on how they access and use digital and media services.

The "Mapping the Digital Gap: 2026 Outcomes Report" is published by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology and Telstra (DOI: 10.60836/ggns-vm61).