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INTERNET ACTIVITY IN AUSTRALIA September 2003

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its Internet Activity Survey for September 2003. The results reveal continuing increases in Internet take-up and Internet activity by households and business, and a shift to faster (broadband) services.

The total number of Internet subscribers was 5.21 million, comprising 4.5 million household subscribers and 700 000 business and government subscribers. Chart 1 below shows significant increases in household subscribers in the past three years, with some slowing in the last six months, perhaps due to market saturation.

A shown in chart 2, in the business and government sector, permanent connections (mostly broadband) constitute 27 per cent of the total. The number of permanent connections increased by 37 per cent between March and September 2003, and dialup (narrowband) connections decreased by three per cent. In the household sector, permanent connections constitute 11 per cent of total connections. These increased by 51 per cent over the six-month period, while dialup connections decreased by two per cent.

As at September 2003 the ABS reported a total of 667 Internet service providers (ISPs) in Australia. Table 1 below shows the breakdown by size.

The shift in subscribers to the very large ISPs continues. Between September 2000 and September 2003 only this category has shown any significant increase in market share. At September 2003 very large ISPs held 71.6 per cent of the market.

The amount of data being downloaded has continued to increase in both the business and government sector, and the household sector. The ABS measures download over a three-month period. From July to September 2003 the average business/government subscriber downloaded a total of 1963 MB. This was 65 per cent more than in the three months to March 2003. For the same measurement period, the average household subscriber downloaded a total of 739 MB in the three months to September 2003—a 40 per cent increase over data downloaded from January to March 2003. These increases coincide with the increase in permanent connections.

Chart 3 below shows the difference in download between permanent and dialup subscribers for September 2003.

Total estimated permanent connection digital subscribers continue to rise: from 73 000 in Sept 2000 to 659 000 in September 2003 (an increase of more than 100 per cent for each year). This figure, shown on chart 4, is an approximation for broadband, and includes ISDN subscribers, some of whom may not reach broadband download speeds. Of these permanent connection digital subscribers, DSL increased from 6000 to 372 000 in the same three-year period (with yearly increases of between 190 and 400 per cent).In the latest report published by the ABS published subscribers by download speed—those with speeds at or greater than 256 kbps (generally considered a minimum speed for broadband)—were recorded at 656 000. Of these 656 000 subscribers, 168 000 were in the business and government category and 488 000 were household subscribers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in its September 2003 Snapshot of Broadband Deployment estimates total broadband (greater than 200 kbps) at 610 800. Combined DSL has most subscribers at 361 000 (11 000 less than the ABS estimate) followed by cable, at 236 300, with satellite a small contributor, at 13 200. Other broadband was estimated at 300. The ABS does not disaggregate cable and satellite, but published estimates of wireless subscribers at 8000 and ‘other permanent subscribers’ at 6000.

Chart 5 shows the percentage of broadband subscribers at each download speed level. Of note is the high proportion of lower-speed connections for both categories of subscribers, but with a significant number of household subscribers having very high-speed connections.

(Research by the Communications Research Unit of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts).* Source: ABS Internet Activity Survey catalogue number 81530

• Document ID: 25422 |
• Last modified: 5 February 2008, 7:12pm