Internet Activity, Australia
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NAME OF ORGANISATION
Most IAS survey cycles are conducted with a reduced scope format. A full census cycle will be conducted approximately every three years, with the last census conducted in respect of the June quarter 2010 and the next census planned for the June quarter 2013. Details of the reduced scope and census cycles are as follows: Census All Australian ISPs with active subscribers are surveyed in a census cycle. One of two form types is sent to each ISP depending on the ISP's total number of active subscribers.
Reduced scope Only Australian ISPs with more than 1,000 active subscribers are surveyed in a reduced scope cycle. These ISPs are sent a long form which asks all questions and covers all data items (i.e. type of subscriber, access technology, download speed, mobile handset internet subscribers, volume of data downloaded, location of subscriber, and SPAM filtering and other services offered). This approach to the IAS scope provides frequent and timely data on key trends, while keeping resource usage and provider load to acceptable levels, particularly for small ISPs. DATA DETAIL Conceptual framework The IAS was originally a quarterly census survey which collected details of internet activity services provided by all ISPs in Australia. The population is derived by the ABS from a list of ISPs registered with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. The collection frequency was reduced from quarterly to biannual from September 2001 and continued to be collected every March and September until March 2005 when the collection was suspended for review. Following the review, the collection frequency reduced to annual from September 2006. However, a subset of the population (i.e. those ISPs with more than 10,000 active subscribers) were surveyed in the March quarters so as to continue to collect frequent data on key industry trends. In response to the OECD's need for more timely data, another review was undertaken in August 2007. An outcome of this review was to change the collection reference quarters from March and September to June and December. This commenced in December 2007, when the December quarter became the census of ISPs and the June quarter collecting data only from those ISPs with more than 10,000 active subscribers. A further change was made in June 2009, when the collection scope changed to two biannual collections both covering only ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers. This enables the release of data that would otherwise be confidential. It also represents a more efficient use of resources, as the ISPs with less than 1,000 subscribers accounted for 71% of ISPs but contributed less than 1% to aggregate data for June quarter 2010. It is planned that a census cycle will be conducted approximately every three years, with the next census due in June quarter 2013. Prior to December 2009, IAS excluded internet subscribers via mobile handsets. In December 2009, based on a change in OECD methodology, the IAS broadened the definition of mobile wireless subscribers to include mobile handset internet users. This was to facilitate international comparisons and to provide statistics to key users on a rapidly growing internet technology in Australia. These changes were made in consultation with key users and respondents. Data on internet subscribers via mobile handsets were collected in December 2009 but were not published due to respondent reporting issues. In June 2010, the IAS published its first set of statistics on numbers of internet subscribers via mobile handsets and volumes of data downloaded by these subscribers. Data was presented in experimental form as an appendix. For December 2010, two quarters of data is now available, enabling percentage movement to be extracted. The data is now included in the main body of the IAS web release. Main outputs ABS catalogue number 8153.0 contains details of internet activity supplied by ISPs in Australia. It includes information on internet subscribers, types of internet connections, sector of the users (i.e. business/household), volume of data downloaded, speed of the internet connection and location of the subscriber (by state or territory). The frequency of the collection provides an indication of the growth in the number of Australian households and businesses obtaining access to the internet. In addition, the IAS indicates movements in the type of internet technology accessed in Australia. Classifications ISPs are classified by size ranges according to the number of business and/or private subscribers they report in the IAS. The size categories have been determined in consultation with the ABS Economic Standards Section. The size classifications are:
Other classifications used, including access type and access speed ranges, have been developed in consultation with key providers and users of IAS data and are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain current. They are consistent with similar demand-side questions used in BUIT, FUIT, GUIT and HUIT. GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL Australia New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Western Australia Tasmania Northern Territory ACT Comments and/or Other Regions There is strong demand for regional data but most ISPs are unable to provide this level of detail without incurring significant costs. Other means of collecting this information are being explored by users. COLLECTION FREQUENCY Biannual COLLECTION HISTORY
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