1377.0 - Measures of a Knowledge-based Economy and Society, Australia, 2003  
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Contents >> Information and Communications Technology Indicators >> Number of household ISP subscribers

CHARACTERISTIC: HOUSEHOLD AND INDIVIDUAL USE OF ICT

INDICATOR: Number of household ISP subscribers, by internet access speed

At the end of the March quarter 2004, there were an estimated 4.5 million active household ISP subscribers in Australia. The number of household subscribers has grown since the inception of the survey in September 2000, increasing 32% over the three years to September 2003, however, the March 2004 figure showed a slight fall (down 0.8%) for the first time. At the end of the March quarter 2004, an estimated 14% of household subscribers were on broadband access speed connection plans with the remainder (86%) on sub-256kbps access plans.

HOUSEHOLD ISP SUBSCRIBERS(a), by internet download speed(b)
2001
2002
2003
2004
September
quarter
March
quarter
September
quarter
March
quarter
September
quarter
March
quarter
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000
'000
Total Subscribers
3,726
3,724
3,904
4,417
4,516
4,480

Access Speed
Less than 256kbps
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
4,027
3,871
256kbps or greater
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
488
609
(a) Number at the end of the reference quarter.
(b) Download speed of access connection was collected commencing September 2003.
Source: ABS Internet Activity, Australia, March 2004 (cat. no. 8153.0).


NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLD ISP SUBSCRIBERS

Graph - Number of Household ISP Subscribers
Source: ABS Internet Activity, Australia, March 2004 (cat. no. 8153.0).




STATISTICAL NOTES

The ABS Internet Activity Survey is a census which collects information on aspects of Internet access services and other services provided by ISPs in Australia. Please see the Explanatory Notes of cat. no. 8153.0 for further information on the survey including scope, methodology, data quality, concepts and definitions.

It should be noted that counts of subscribers are not the same as counts of people or households with Internet access (because subscribers may have accounts with more than one ISP and conversely an ISP subscriber account may provide Internet access and email addresses for several people/households). Growth patterns may therefore differ from those shown in the related indicators Proportion of households with access to the Internet by type of household, income and broad region and Proportion of individuals (adults aged 18 years or over) accessing the Internet by age, sex, occupation, level of education and broad region.


Active subscribers
Subscribers who have accessed the Internet or paid for access to the Internet through an ISP in the ninety days during the reference period.

Broadband
Defined by ABS as an 'always on', Internet connection with an access speed equal to or greater than 256kbps.

Business and government subscribers
All businesses, corporations, non-profit organisations and government organisations who obtain access to the Internet through an ISP.


Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Resident Australian individual or business offering Internet access services to customers.

Kilobits.
A kilobit (Kb) is a data unit of 1,024 bits and generally abbreviated as kb or kbit. Data speeds are generally referred to in kilobits (kbps).

Monthly/quarterly/annual access plan
A subscription option where customers pay a flat monthly/quarterly/annual fee, and receive either a set period of time on-line during the month/quarter/year, usually with additional fees for exceeding that time or set download limits, or a flat monthly/quarterly/annual fee for unlimited access time during the month/quarter/year with other limits usually applying e.g. maximum single session times.

Hourly access plan
A subscription option where customers pay for dial-up access on an hourly basis.


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