ACS Awards ANCCAC Medal for Outstanding ICT Research Paper

Tuesday 17 June 2003 - A journal article which refutes the need for a killer application to stimulate broadband uptake has won the ANCCAC Medal for the best ICT research paper published in Australia during 2002.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) yesterday presented the award to Assistant Professor Catherine Middleton, an Australian-born academic currently working at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to ICT research and publishing.

Dr Middleton's paper, "Who Needs a Killer App?" which looked at drivers for residential broadband networks, was published in Volume 35, Number 2 of the ACS Journal of Research and Practice in IT.

Currently in Australia to present a paper at this week's Broadband Conference in Perth, Dr Middleton received the ANCCAC Medal from ACS Publications Board Director, Tom Worthington, during a special ceremony in Brisbane yesterday afternoon.

"This is an enormous honour and a very pleasant surprise," said Dr Middleton. "You don't often get much recognition for this kind of work, so it's gratifying to know that my research has been read and appreciated by people here in Australia."

She said her findings were at odds with the view predominantly held by vendors that a killer application was needed to encourage broadband adoption.

"I talked to the ISPs and cable companies and they were all saying, "There has to be a killer application to make people use broadband," but I found their broadband customers were happily sharing files and sending emails and doing what they'd always done with dial-up, only faster," said Dr Middleton.

"They weren't waiting for a killer app to find value from broadband - they simply wanted to communicate more efficiently and in different ways."

While Dr Middleton's original study took place in 1997-98, she says not a lot has changed since then.

"I've specialised in the area of broadband and continue to see more and more evidence of exactly the same pattern occurring. The killer application, and certainly the primary use most customers have for broadband, is simply the way it allows people to talk to each other," she said.

ACS Publications Board Director, Tom Worthington, said the ANCCAC Medal aimed to recognise and encourage excellence in ICT research and publishing.

"We award the medal on the basis of the quality of work, the practical relevance of the research and the attention to detail. Dr Middleton's work combined scholarly research with findings that have practical value for the community and are highly relevant both to issues of broadband access and to digital television," he said.

ACS Publications Board Director, Tom Worthington, with Dr Catherine Middleton outside the Wickham Terrace Windmill in Brisbane, the site of pioneering research into telecommunications back in the early 20th century.

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This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/170603.htm

ENDS

About the Australian Computer Society: The ACS is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its 16,000+ members. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the public voice of the IT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.

Media Enquiries:

Tom Worthington, ACS Publications Board Director, Tel: (0419) 496 150, Email: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au

Caroline New, ACS PR Consultant, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au