8153.0 - Internet Activity, Australia, Jun 2009 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/09/2009   
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NOTES


INTRODUCTION

  • The Internet Activity Survey (IAS) collects details on aspects of internet access services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia.
  • The scope for the June cycle of IAS has been expanded to contain results for all ISPs operating in Australia with more than 1,000 active subscribers at the end of the reporting period (i.e. as at 30 June 2009). Previously in the June cycle, data have only been collected from ISPs with 10,000 or more subscribers at the end of the reporting period.
  • This is an electronic release of Internet Activity, Australia. More detailed and historic information is available in the accompanying datacubes.
  • When comparing historical data care should be taken due to the change in scope to ISPs with more than 1,000 active subscribers.


HIGHLIGHTS
  • At the end of June 2009, there were 8.4 million active internet subscribers in Australia.
  • Digital subscriber line (DSL) continued to be the major technology for non dial-up connections, accounting for 57% (4.2 million) of these connections. However, this percentage share has decreased since December 2008 when DSL represented 63% of non dial-up access connections.
  • Mobile wireless subscribers had the next highest share, increasing significantly from 20% of all non dial-up connections (1.3 million) in December 2008 to 27% (2 million) in June 2009. This represents an increase of 51% over the six month period. (Note that mobile wireless subscriptions to the internet via a datacard or USB modem are included in the scope of this survey, but connections to the internet via mobile telephones are excluded).
  • Northern Territory subscriber numbers continued with an upward trend increasing by 20% since December 2008 to 83,000.
  • The general trend towards higher download speeds continued, with 57% of subscribers now using a download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater, compared with 51% in December 2008.


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

Internet Activity Summary, for ISPs with more than 1,000 active subscribers

units
Jun 2008(a)
Dec 2008
Jun 2009

Proportion of ISPs(b)
Medium
%
na
70
62
Large
%
70
21
27
Very Large
%
30
9
11
Total ISPs
%
100
100
100
Subscribers
Dial-up
Business and government
'000
291
230
215
Household
'000
1 275
1 060
887
All dial-up subscribers
'000
1 566
1 290
1 103
Non dial-up
Business and government
'000
726
1 064
1 174
Household
'000
4 935
5 569
6 144
All non dial-up subscribers
'000
5 661
6 634
7 317
Total
Business and government
'000
1 018
1 295
1 389
Household
'000
6 210
6 629
7 031
Total subscribers
'000
7 228
7 925
8 420
Access connections
Dial-up
Analog
'000
1 551
1 272
1 077
ISDN/other
'000
15
13
10
All dial-up connections
'000
1 566
1 286
1 087
Non dial-up
DSL
'000
3 936
4 176
4 171
Fixed wireless
'000
np
155
160
Mobile wireless
'000
np
1 298
1 961
Satellite
'000
np
79
90
Cable and fibre
'000
np
913
931
ISDN/Other
'000
31
17
20
All non dial-up connections
'000
5 661
6 639
7 333
Total access connections
'000
7 228
7 925
8 420
Download speeds
Less than 256kbps
'000
1 581
1 293
1 103
Broadband
256kbps to less than 512kbps
'000
1 588
1 442
1 297
512kbps to less than 1.5Mbps
'000
963
1 165
1 249
1.5Mbps to less than 8Mbps
'000
1 444
2 002
2 529
8Mbps to less than 24Mbps
'000
1 390
1 650
1 800
24Mbps or greater
'000
262
373
443
Total Broadband (256kbps or greater)
'000
5 647
6 632
7 317
Total download speeds
'000
7 228
7 925
8 420
Volume data downloaded(c)
Dial-up
TBs
1 597
1 079
1 211
Non dial-up
TBs
53 837
80 274
98 782
Business and government
TBs
7 778
15 180
24 363
Household
TBs
47 656
66 172
75 360
Total volume data downloaded
TBs
55 434
81 352
99 993

na not available
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) Data for ISPs with more than 10,000 active subscribers.
(b) Medium ISPs are defined as having 1,001 to 10,000 subscribers; large ISPs 10,001 to 100,000 subscribers; and very large ISPs 100,001 or more subscribers.
(c) During the three months of the reference period.



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.