8153.0 - Internet Activity, Australia, Mar 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 01/06/2007   
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Summary

  • The Internet Activity Survey (IAS) collects details on aspects of Internet access services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia.
  • This publication contains results from all ISPs operating in Australia with over 10,000 active subscribers as at 31 March 2007. Growth from September 2006 to March 2007 may be due to the movement of subscribers from smaller ISPs.
  • This is an electronic release of Internet Activity in Australia. There is no accompanying publication released.

Note:

The commentary and tables refers only to the Internet Activity of subscribers to those ISPs with more than 10,000 active subscribers during the relevant reference periods. These are Large and Very Large ISPs.



HIGHLIGHTS

  • At the end of the March quarter 2007, there were 6.43 million active Internet subscribers in Australia, comprised of 761,000 business and government subscribers and 5.67 million household subscribers.
  • The number of non dial-up subscribers was 4.34 million, compared with dial-up subscribers of 2.09 million recorded at the end of March 2007.
  • Non dial-up subscribers increased by 16% between September 2006 and March 2007, while dial-up dropped by 16%. The growth in non dial-up was driven mainly by household subscribers.
  • Non dial-up subscribers represented 67% of total Internet subscribers in Australia at the end of March 2007 compared with 60% at the end of September 2006.
  • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) continued to be the dominant access technology used for non dial-up subscribers, with 3.36 million or almost 78% of total non dial-up subscribers being connected using this means.
  • Connections with download speeds of 1.5Mbps or greater increased by 43% in March 2007 to 1.56 million, compared to 1.09 million subscribers at the end of September 2006.


ROUNDING
  • Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of components and the total. Averages have been calculated using unrounded data.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Tim Landrigan on Perth (08) 9360 5104.


Table 1. Internet Activity Summary, Australia(a)(b)

September Quarter 2006
March Quarter 2007

ISPs
Large
no.
22
23
Very Large
no.
10
9
Total
no.
32
32
Dial-up
Business and government
'000
236
249
Household
'000
2 268
1 843
Total
'000
2 504
2 092
Non dial-up
Business and government
'000
473
512
Household
'000
3 250
3 825
Total
'000
3 723
4 337
Total
Business and government
'000
708
761
Household
'000
5 519
5 668
Total
'000
6 227
6 429

(a) See paragraph 6 of the Explanatory Notes for a description of ISP size categories.
(b) As at 31 March 2007.


Table 2. Internet Subscribers by access technology,
for large and very large ISPs.

September Quarter 2006
March Quarter 2007
No. of subscribers '000
Proportion of   subscribers %
No. of subscribers '000
Proportion of   subscribers %

Dial-up
Total(a)
2 504
40
2 092
33
Non dial-up
DSL
2 878
46
3 365
52
Other
845
14
972
15
Total(b)
3 723
60
4 337
67
Total all subscribers
6 227
100
6 429
100

(a) Includes analog, ISDN and satellite.
(b) Includes ISDN, satellite, wireless, cable and other non dial-up technologies.


Table 3. Internet Subscribers by subscriber type and download speed,
for large and very large ISPs.

September Quarter 2006
March Quarter 2007
Number of subscribers '000
Proportion of subscribers %
Number of subscribers '000
Proportion of subscribers %

Business and Government Subscribers
Less than 256kbps
237
33
249
33
Broadband(a)
256kbps to less than 512kbps
152
21
160
21
512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps
188
27
190
25
1.5Mbps or greater
131
19
162
21
Total Broadband (256kbps or greater)
471
67
512
67
Total all access speeds
708
100
761
100
Household Subscribers
Less than 256kbps
2 273
41
1 848
33
Broadband(a)
256kbps to less than 512kbps
1 101
20
1 240
22
512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps
1 187
22
1 186
21
1.5Mbps or greater
957
17
1 394
24
Total Broadband (256kbps or greater)
3 245
59
3 820
67
Total all access speeds
5 519
100
5 668
100
All Subscribers
Less than 256kbps
2 510
40
2 097
33
Broadband(a)
256kbps to less than 512kbps
1 254
20
1 399
22
512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps
1 375
22
1 376
21
1.5Mbps or greater
1 088
17
1 556
24
Total Broadband (256kbps or greater)
3 717
60
4 331
67
Total all access speeds
6 227
100
6 429
100

(a) An 'always on' Internet connection with an access speed equal to or greater than 256kbps.


Table 4. Number of subscribers by states and territories,
for large and very large ISPs.

September Quarter 2006
March Quarter 2007
All subscribers '000
All subscribers '000

New South Wales
2 031
2 127
Victoria
1 517
1 537
Queensland
1 274
1 299
South Australia
418
418
Western Australia
663
702
Tasmania
150
159
Northern Territory
45
55
Australian Capital Territory
129
132
Australia
6 227
6 429


Table 5. Volume of data downloaded by access technology and subscriber type,
for large and very large ISPs.

September Quarter 2006
March Quarter 2007

Dial-up
Business and government
million MBs
90
85
Household
million MBs
1 481
1 384
Total
million MBs
1 571
1 469
Non dial-up
Business and government
million MBs
6 073
10 722
Household
million MBs
27 063
29 888
Total
million MBs
33 136
40 610
Total
Business and government
million MBs
6 163
10 807
Household
million MBs
28 544
31 272
Total
million MBs
34 707
42 079