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INTRODUCTION
The Internet Activity Survey (IAS) is a census which collects details on aspects of Internet access services provided by ISPs in Australia. This publication contains results from all identified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in Australia at 31 March 2004.
DATA QUALITY
A number of reporting errors relating to the data on subscribers adopting a SPAM filtering product were discovered for the previous cycle. As a result, the September quarter 2003 figures for the number of subscribers who have adopted SPAM filtering products have been revised downwards from 2.48 million to 837,000.
Estimates for data at the State/Territory level are derived from data provided for POPs (Point Of Presence or servers). In recent cycles, changing access technologies, infrastructure and operational arrangements have been impacting on the quality of the data at the POP level. As a result, data presented at the State/Territory level should be considered only indicative measures of Internet activity.
CHANGES IN COLLECTION FREQUENCY
The ABS has conducted a review of the collection. As a result, the IAS will change from a biannual to an annual frequency following the completion of the September 2004 collection. The annual collection will continue to measure changes in the structure of the ISP industry and the number of Australian households and organisations obtaining access to the Internet through ISPs.
CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE
Two new tables have been added to this issue; the first, showing the distribution of subscribers by type and ISP size, has been added to Chapter 2: Subscriber Characteristics, the second, showing average data downloads per subscriber by type and ISP size, has been added to Chapter 4: Data Downloaded.
A change has been made to the question on SPAM filtering products and their provision by ISPs. An additional category was included to capture those ISPs who provided SPAM filtering products as both a free and a charged service. Previously only an either/or response could be given.
COMMENTS
Comments and suggestions for both survey content and this publication are welcome and should be addressed to the Director, Innovation & Technology Business Statistics Centre, GPO Box K881, Perth, WA, 6842.
ROUNDING
Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of the components and the total. Averages have been calculated using unrounded data.
HIGHLIGHTS
- At the end of March quarter 2004, total Internet subscribers in Australia numbered just over 5.2 million, an increase of 9,000 (0.2%) from the end of September quarter 2003. This modest increase follows a slightly larger increase in the previous cycle, 3% for the six months to the end of the September quarter 2003.
- Whilst the March quarter 2004 showed only a minimal increase in the total number of subscribers, of more interest is the compositional shift in access technologies from dial-up to non dial-up.
- Dial-up subscriber numbers in Australia fell by 163,000 (4%) in the six months to the end of the March quarter 2004, and now account for 84% of total subscribers. This continued a pattern of decline evident since March quarter 2003 when 91% of total subscribers accessed the Internet via dial-up technology.
- The number of non dial-up subscribers grew from 690,000 at the end of the September quarter 2003 to 861,000 at the end of the March quarter 2004, an increase of 171,000 (25%) reflecting the continuing move toward these technologies. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) subscriber numbers grew strongly from 372,000 in the September quarter 2003 to 512,000 in the March quarter 2004, an increase of 140,000 (38%).
- There were 694 ISPs supplying Internet access to 5.2 million active subscribers at the end of the March quarter 2004. This is an increase of 27 ISPs (4%) over the six months to the end of the September quarter 2003.
- 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 834,000 broadband subscribers at the end of the March quarter 2004, an increase of 27% from the end of the September quarter 2003.
- Data downloaded by subscribers during the March quarter 2004 increased by 37% from 4,665 million MBs to 6,409 million MBs. Reflecting the much faster download speeds available with non dial-up technology, these non dial-up subscribers increased their usage by 53% and accounted for over 75% of the total data downloaded whilst dial-up subscribers increased their downloads by just 5%.
INTERNET ACTIVITY SUMMARY, Australia
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 |  |  |  |  | March | September | March | September | March |
 |  |  |  | | Quarter
2002 | Quarter
2002 | Quarter
2003 | Quarter
2003 | Quarter
2004 |
|
| ISPs(a)(b) |  |  |  |  |  |  | |  |
 | Very small | no. |  | | 102 | 102 | 110 | 153 | 176 |
 | Small | no. |  | | 276 | 254 | 251 | 316 | 319 |
 | Medium | no. |  | | 161 | 172 | 160 | 163 | 165 |
 | Large | no. |  | | 26 | 29 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
 | Very large | no. |  | | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
 | Total | no. |  | | 571 | 563 | 554 | 667 | 694 |
| Internet Access(b) |  |  | |   |  |  | | |
 | Dial-up Access Lines | no. |  | | | | | 626,554 | 623,839 |
| Non Dial-up Access Lines | | | | | | | 680,933 | 850,506 |
 | Total Access lines | no. |  | | 447,050 | 639,197 | 857,470 | 1,307,487 | 1,474,345 |
| Subscribers(b) |  |  | |   |  |  | | |
| Dial-up | | | | | | | | |
| Business and government | | | | | | 520 | 505 | 499 |
| Household | | | | | | 4,087 | 4,017 | 3,859 |
| Total | | | | | | 4,607 | 4,522 | 4,359 |
| Non Dial-up | | | | | | | | |
| Business and government | | | | | | 139 | 190 | 241 |
| Household | | | | | | 331 | 499 | 620 |
| Total | | | | | | 470 | 690 | 861 |
| Total | | | | | | | | |
 | Business and government | '000 |  | | 505 | 650 | 659 | 696 | 740 |
 | Household | '000 |  | | 3,724 | 3,904 | 4,417 | 4,516 | 4,480 |
 | Total | '000 |  | | 4,229 | 4,555 | 5,076 | 5,211 | 5,220 |
| Data downloaded(c) |  |  | |   |  |  | | |
| Dial-up | | | | | | | | |
| Business and government | | | | | | | 178 | 137 |
| Household | | | | | | | 1,341 | 1,457 |
| Total | | | | | | | 1,520 | 1,594 |
| Non Dial-up | | | | | | | | |
| Business and government | | | | | | | 1,169 | 1,294 |
| Household | | | | | | | 1,976 | 3,521 |
| Total | | | | | | | 3,145 | 4,815 |
| Total | | | | | | | | |
 | Business and government | million MBs |  | | 528 | 740 | 782 | 1,347 | 1,431 |
 | Household | million MBs |  | | 1,303 | 2,172 | 2,264 | 3,317 | 4,978 |
 | Total | million MBs |  | | 1,831 | 2,913 | 3,046 | 4,665 | 6,409 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|
| -- | Nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) | | |
| (a) | See paragraph 6 of Explanatory Notes for description of ISP size categories. | (b) | As at the end of the reference quarter. |
| (c) | During the three months of the reference quarter. |
INTERNET ACTIVITY SUMMARY, State and territory
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 |  |  | | | |
 |  |  | March |  September | March | September | March |
 |  |  | Quarter
2002 |  Quarter
2002 | Quarter
2003 | Quarter
2003 | Quarter
2004 |
NEW SOUTH WALES
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 236 | 240 | 212 | 236 | 254 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 160,100 | 241,541 | 295,563 | 449,591 | 470,122 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 1,441 | 1,583 | 1,770 | 1,828 | 1,782 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 676 | 1,132 | 1,074 | 1,672 | 2,034 |
VICTORIA
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  |  212 | 198 | 187 | 213 | 215 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 114,544 | 163,855 | 241,274 | 347,371 | 395,898 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  |  1,045 | 1,180 | 1,338 | 1,394 | 1,413 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  |  457 | 709 | 847 | 1,197 | 1,721 |
QUEENSLAND
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 151 | 150 | 146 | 170 | 173 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 77,432 | 102,767 | 143,362 | 219,800 | 249,848 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 863 | 822 | 886 | 923 | 944 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 308 | 524 | 464 | 688 | 999 |
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 74 | 65 | 57 | 62 | 60 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 31,394 | 34,807 | 44,386 | 84,533 | 90,480 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 294 | 328 | 347 | 343 | 360 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 125 | 141 | 193 | 396 | 572 |
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 100 | 92 | 85 | 96 | 94 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 42,647 | 65,044 | 86,538 | 137,786 | 187,431 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 386 | 411 | 472 | 472 | 480 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 173 | 273 | 303 | 522 | 798 |
TASMANIA
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 30 | 28 | 22 | 24 | 22 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 9,159 | 12,404 | 20,876 | 28,109 | 34,697 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 88 | 98 | 109 | 107 | 107 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 36 | 49 | 60 | 78 | 126 |
NORTHERN TERRITORY
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 21 | 23 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 3,661 | 4,701 | 6,860 | 9,340 | 13,363 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 43 | 37 | 38 | 35 | 32 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 16 | 19 | 26 | 25 | 35 |
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 46 | 44 | 37 | 38 | 34 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 8,113 | 14,078 | 18,611 | 30,957 | 32,506 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 71 | 95 | 116 | 110 | 102 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 40 | 66 | 80 | 87 | 126 |
AUSTRALIA
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| ISPs(a) | no. |  | 571 | 563 | 554 | 667 | 694 |
| Access lines(b) | no. |  | 447,050 | 639,197 | 857,470 | 1,307,487 | 1,474,345 |
| All subscribers(b) | '000 |  | 4,229 | 4,555 | 5,076 | 5,211 | 5,220 |
| Data downloaded(c) | million MBs |  | 1,831 | 2,913 | 3,046 | 4,665 | 6,409 |
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(a) Based on State or Territory of operations not Head Office Location.
(b) As at the end of the reference quarter. |
| (c) During the three months of the reference quarter. |
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