Broadband applications and commercialisation: Hospital-in-the-home and water management

Government investment in ubiquitous high-speed broadband, such as the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) is often seen as putting the cart before the horse, due to the lack of existing applications that can utilise the technology. From a commercialisation perspective, the NBN and its technology is not the innovation; instead it is a platform that enables innovation. Innovators can use the NBN to fundamentally transform existing products and services, or to create new ones. This paper examines two applications: hospital-in-the-home and agricultural water management, representing a sliver of the commercial and social opportunities made possible through broadband infrastructure investment.