8153.0 - Internet Activity, Australia, Sep 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/03/2003   
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MEDIA RELEASE

March 7, 2003
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
27/2003
Permanent internet connections accelerate

The number of subscribers with permanent Internet connections increased by 47% to around 350,000 subscribers (8% of all Internet subscribers) between the end March 2002 and the end of September 2002 according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics

In particular, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections increased by 112% over that period reflecting the accelerating uptake of broadband (defined, for this publication, as Internet connections with an access speed equal to or greater than 256kbs).

The increasing uptake of broadband services is most evident in the large increase shown in the volume of data downloaded - up 28% between March quarter 2002 and September quarter 2002. This builds on the 42% growth in data downloaded by subscribers between September quarter 2001 and March quarter 2002. The faster access speeds provided by DSL and other high speed connections allow subscribers to download more data more rapidly.

Over the same period, the number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia decreased by 8 (1.4%) to 563 at the end of September quarter 2002. This represents a slowing in the rate of decline in ISP numbers recorded since September 2000.

The number of Internet subscribers grew by around 326,000 (8%) to almost 4.6 million. The majority of these were in the household market with over 3.9 million household subscribers connected at the end of September 2002. Capital cities continue to account for the majority of Internet access lines (81%) and subscribers (78%).

Further information is in Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0)