Credit: Dreamstime
The majority of Australian consumers are accessing the internet on download speeds of less than 24 Mbps, according to a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The consumer watchdog reported that 61 per cent of broadband connections, excluding mobile, had download speeds in the lowest category, while only five per cent of the 39.9 million services in operation (SIOs) reached 100Mbps or more, as of 31 December last year.
The latest Internet Activity Report revealed that around a quarter of consumers accessed speeds of between 24Mbps and 50Mbps, while eight per cent had a range of 50Mbps to 100Mbps.
Of these, roughly half were 15.6 million fixed-line and wireless broadband, while 24.3 million came from mobile handsets, accounting for 39 per cent and 61 per cent of all access connections respectively.
Fixed-line connections overwhelmingly accounted for the highest volume of data downloaded at 4.6 million terabytes - 91 per cent of the total. Mobile handsets accounted for 324,210 terabytes, while wireless broadband claimed just 136,975 terabytes.
“The volume of data downloaded is expected to grow exponentially into the future as the result of the increased usage of content streaming services such as Netflix, social media such as Facebook and other applications including online gaming that continue to incorporate content-rich and video component,” ACCC commissioner Cristina Cifuentes said.
According to the report, the imminent arrival of 5G products and services will likely support even greater increases in the volume of data downloaded via mobile handsets and wireless broadband access technologies.
Meanwhile, fibre connections account for the greatest proportion of total fixed-line connections followed by DSL contributing 49 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively.
The ACCC said it expects the proportion of fibre and cable connections to rise as the NBN roll-out continues and DSL connections are disconnected as a result.
The Internet Activity Report is prepared biannually and provides information on the number of retail services in operation (SIOs) in terms of access connection and download speed as well as the volume of data downloaded within Australia.
