ADVERTISED DOWNLOAD SPEED


Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were asked to report the number of subscribers as at 31 December 2013, by the advertised download speed (in ranges) of access connection.

For the purposes of the Internet Activity Survey, download speed is equivalent to the advertised or theoretical maximum speed of data transfer rate. This can differ considerably from actual speeds experienced by internet users which can vary based on factors such as the modem, the distance from the node or exchange and the level of internet traffic.

Internet subscribers by advertised download speed, for ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers
		Dec 2012	Jun 2013	Dec 2013
		'000	'000	'000
Less than 256kbps		288	232	210
Broadband
	256kbps to less than 1.5Mbps	609	394	332
	1.5Mbps to less than 8Mbps	4 213	r4 971	4 159
	8Mbps to less than 24Mbps	5 406	r4 976	5 608
	24Mbps or greater	1 645	1 785	2 088
Total broadband (256kbps or greater)		11 873	12 126	12 187
Total number of subscribers		12 161	12 358	12 397
r revised

The advertised download speed range which recorded the highest number of subscribers at 31 December 2013 was the 8Mbps to less than 24Mbps range, with 5.6 million subscribers, a 4% increase from the end of December 2012. The number of subscribers that accessed the internet at an advertised download speed of 1.5Mbps to less than 8Mbps decreased by 16% to 4.2 million subscribers between 30 June and 31 December 2013.

More than 2 million subscribers accessed the internet at an advertised internet access speed of 24Mbps or greater, increasing by 17% since the end of June 2013.

Subscriber numbers declined across all three speed ranges below 8Mbps. The advertised download speed range of 256 kbps to 1.5 Mbps had the greatest annual decrease in subscriber numbers. The number of subscribers in this range almost halved, decreasing from 609,000 as at 31 December 2012 to 332,000 connections at the end of December 2013.

Previous Page

Next Page