• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

NOTES


INTRODUCTION

• The Internet Activity Survey (IAS) is a census which 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 subscribers as at 30 June 2006.
• This is an electronic release of Internet Activity in Australia. There is no accompanying publication released.

• This commentary 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 the Large and Very Large ISPs.

• At the end of the June quarter 2006, there were almost 6 million active Internet subscribers in Australia, comprised of 867,000 business and government subscribers and almost 5.1 million household subscribers.
• The number of dial-up subscribers was almost 2.8 million, compared with over 3.1 million non dial-up subscribers recorded at the end of June 2006.
• Non dial-up subscribers increased from almost 1.7 million at the end of March 2005 to over 3.1 million at the end of June 2006. Non dial-up subscribers represented 53% of total Internet subscribers in Australia at the end of June 2006 compared with 31% at the end of March 2005.
• Household subscribers comprise the majority of broadband connections of 2.6 million, these technologies were used by 51% of total household subscribers. A higher proportion of business and government subscribers (64%) have taken advantage of faster access speeds.
• There were 36,232 million megabytes (MB) of data downloaded by subscribers during the three months ended 30 June 2006.
• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) remained the predominant access technology used for non dial-up Internet services with almost 76% of total non dial-up subscribers being connected using this means.
• Using the definition currently adopted by the ABS to define broadband (an 'always on' Internet connection with an access speed equal to or greater than 256kbps), there were over 3.1 million broadband subscribers at the end of June 2006.

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

• The ABS has previously notified readers of this publication of a suspension to the survey pending the outcome of a review. The review considered ongoing requirements for the range of data, new and emerging data needs related to Internet activity, methodology, scope and data collection mechanisms. The outcome is such that, the Internet Activity Survey will be conducted on an annual basis from September 2006.
• If you need to know more about the review contact Tim Landrigan on Perth (08) 9360 5104 or email tim.landrigan@abs.gov.au.

TABLES

TABLE 1. Internet Activity Summary, Australia
				March Quarter 2004	March Quarter 2005	June Quarter 2006
ISPs(a)
	Large		no.	25	25	20
	Very Large		no.	9	10	10
	Total		no.	34	35	30
Subscribers(b)
	Dial-up
		Business and government	'000	403	351	310
		Household	'000	3 429	3 358	2 474
		Total	'000	3 832	3 709	2 784
	Non dial-up
		Business and government	'000	197	349	557
		Household	'000	581	1 326	2 605
		Total	'000	779	1 675	3 161
	Total
		Business and government	'000	601	699	867
		Household	'000	4 010	4 684	5 079
		Total	'000	4 611	5 384	5 945
Data Downloaded(c)
	Dial-up
		Business and government	million MBs	92	212	212
		Household	million MBs	1 260	1 343	1 287
		Total	million MBs	1 352	1 555	1 498
	Non dial-up
		Business and government	million MBs	915	2 383	11 831
		Household	million MBs	3 336	8 403	22 903
		Total	million MBs	4 251	10 786	34 734
	Total
		Business and government	million MBs	1 007	2 595	12 043
		Household	million MBs	4 596	9 746	24 189
		Total	million MBs	5 603	12 341	36 232
(a) See paragraph 7 of the Explanatory Notes for a description of ISP size categories.
(b) As at 30 June 2006.
(c) During the three months ending 30 June 2006.

TABLE 2. Internet Activity Summary by State and Territories
	June Quarter 2006
	All subscribers '000	Proportion of subscribers %
New South Wales	1 994	33
Victoria	1 457	25
Queensland	1 256	21
South Australia	398	7
Western Australia	586	10
Tasmania	127	2
Northern Territory	44	1
Australian Capital Territory	84	1
Australia	5 945	100

TABLE 3. Internet Subscribers and ISPs, by access technology
		June Quarter 2006
		No. of subscribers '000	Proportion of subscribers %	Number of ISPs(a)
Dial-up
	Total(b)	2 784	47	28
Non dial-up
	DSL	2 407	40	27
	Other	754	13	21
	Total(c)	3 161	53	29
Total of all subscribers		5 945	100	30
(a) As ISPs are counted for each technology provided, totals may not equal the sum of the components.
(b) Includes analog, ISDN and satellite.
(c) Includes ISDN, satellite, wireless, cable and other non dial-up technologies.

TABLE 4. Internet Subscribers and ISPs, by subscriber type and download speed
			June Quarter 2006
			Number of subscribers '000	Proportion of subscribers %	Number of ISPs(a)
Business and Government Subscribers
	Less than 256kbps		317	37	25
	Broadband(b)
		256kbps to less than 512kbps	207	24	24
		512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps	195	23	27
		1.5Mbps or greater	147	17	25
		Total Broadband	550	63	28
	Total all access speeds		867	100	28
Household Subscribers
	Less than 256kbps		2 492	49	28
	Broadband(b)
		256kbps to less than 512kbps	927	18	27
		512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps	879	17	28
		1.5Mbps or greater	781	15	24
		Total Broadband	2 586	51	28
	Total all access speeds		5 078	100	29
All Subscribers
	Less than 256kbps		2 809	47	28
	Broadband(b)
		256kbps to less than 512kbps	1 134	19	27
		512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps	1 074	18	29
		1.5Mbps or greater	928	16	26
		Total Broadband	3 136	53	29
	Total all access speeds		5 945	100	30
(a) Number of ISPs reporting subscribers within this download range. As ISPs are counted for each download speed range, totals may not equal the sum of the components.
(b) An 'always on' Internet connection with an access speed equal or greater than 256Kbps.