Australian Internet facilities

The cheapest ADSL2+ in Australia ?

$ 5.99 per month… Yes, Six Australian dollars per month. That’s the basic cost for a selected group of locations, with a usage charge of $1.50 per Gigabyte during peak periods or only 75c per GB during off-peak periods.

Perfect for some people, but not everyone of course.

You can check if your area is ‘online’ and get more details at:

• Aanet Five Dollar ADSL2+ Plan

If you select a plan from this ISP, use this promotion code, if requested, AANET893

Some Internet Plans in Australia

November 2010
ADSL2+ Speed 24000/1000 kbps

• 30 GB Download + 30 GB offpeak $34.95 pm
• 80 GB Download + 80 GB offpeak $59.95 pm

Broadband Plan Comparisons

• Internet Choice let’s you compare over 600 broadband plans from 15 of Australia’s leading Broadband Providers.

How Internet speeds compare in Australia

I am on a slowish connection, compared to what is available these days, being on the older ADSL, and I took a speed test at www.speedtest.net during May 2009.

My results were low, compared to the rest of Queensland, and are shown here:

The World average is shown as 4.95Mb/s
Australia is 4.69Mb/s and
Queensland is 4.21Mb/s

Get your speed rated at www.speedtest.net.

Australian Internet Broadband speeds

June 2010

• 22.57% BroadBand under 1.5Mbs
• 77.43% BroadBand 1.5Mbs and above
• 36.9% of all Broadband is 8Mbs or higher

June 2009

• 34.80% BroadBand under 1.5Mbs
• 65.20% BroadBand 1.5Mbs and above
• 30.60% of all Broadband is 8Mbs or higher

December 2008

• 39.6% BroadBand under 1.5Mbs
• 60.4% BroadBand 1.5Mbs and above
• 30.3% of all Broadband is 8Mbs or higher

December 2007

• 51.7% BroadBand under 1.5Mbs
• 48.3% BroadBand 1.5Mbs and above
• 28.2% of all Broadband is 8Mbs or higher

Source:

• www.abs.gov.au - Internet Activity 2009

Australia to roll out the world’s fastest wireless broadband network

This information refers to “wireless” broadband network

Telstra Corporation will roll out what it says is the world’s fastest wireless broadband network, over the next two months.

Telstra will be increasing the maximum speed of its Next G mobile network to 21 megabits per second.

Telstra would increase the speed to 42 Mbps towards the end of 2009 and in early 2010.

Optus’ network operates at a maximum speed of 7.2 Mbps, and others at maximum speeds of 3.6 Mbps.

But Optus said Telstra customers will have to buy a new modem and “live or work” beneath an exchange to achieve the [maximum] speed increase.

Telstra’s services cost more than double its rivals, with a 1 gigabyte (GB) pack costing $59 a month. Optus offers 6GB for $59.99 and Vodafone offers 5GB for $39.95.

Business Spectator

Internet Providers

Various Internet options are available in Australia, and the following links can be invaluable in choosing the best option for you at any specific time.

• Broadband ISP Directory and Information - http://whirlpool.net.au
• Broadband ISP Plan search and Comparison - http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-plan.cfm
• Australian Broadband Discussion Forums -http://forums.whirlpool.net.au

One of the most commonly used Internet Providers is Telstras Bigpond. It is popular for the same reason that British Telecom is: It is the most well known.

www.aanet.com.au is pretty reliable, and if you happen to choose them, use the Promotional code code: AANET893

Some providers allow 6 month contracts, but often give 12 or 18 month contracts at better rates.

Special offers are often available with some of the providers.

Be very wary of the cheaper options with low download limits of about 200mb. These can be expensive once you go over the limit.
One example charges at $150 per Gb excess charge, compared to the more standard $3 per Gb excess charge.

Check any Off Peak allowances. Some providers give you an extra allowance during their off peak hours. I came across one that classes Off Peak as 12midnight - 12noon. Others may have different times.

Internet Safety

• NetAlert Limited (NetAlert) is Australia’s Internet safety advisory body. NetAlert’s objective is to promote a safer Internet experience, particularly for young people and their families.

Australian Internet User Statistics

Source: ABS publication: Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0)

June 2010

There were 9.5 million subscribers to the Internet in Australia, in June 2010.
7.686 million being household subscribers and 1.629 million being Business and Government.
There were 803 thousand Dial Up subscribers in June 2010, down from 2.75 million in Sept 2006.
8.77 million subscribers now use connections other than Dial Up.

There are:

635,000 users with a speed of 24Mbps or greater
2,600,000 users with a speed between 8Mbps and 24Mbps
3,553,000 users with a speed between 1.5Mbps and 8Mbps
1,979,000 users with a speed between 256kbps and 1.5Mbps
803,000 users with a speed of less than 256kbps

June 2009

There were 8.4 million subscribers to the Internet in Australia.

7.031 million being household subscribers and 1.389 million being Business and Government.

There were 1.103 million Dial Up subscribers in June 2009, down from 2.75 million in Sept 2006.

7.32 million subscribers now use connections other than Dial Up.

There are:

443,000 users with a speed of 24Mbps or greater
1,800,000 users with a speed between 8Mbps and 24Mbps
2,529,000 users with a speed between 1.5Mbps and 8Mbps
2,546,000 users with a speed between 256kbps and 1.5Mbps
1,103,000 users with a speed of less than 256kbps

June 2008

There were 7.23 million subscribers to the Internet in Australia, 6.21 million being household subscribers.

43% of subscribers in June 2008 had an Internet speed of 1.5Mbps or faster, compared to only 17% at the end of September, 2006.

There were 1.57 million Dial Up subscribers in June 2008, down from 2.75 million in Sept 2006.

5.66 million subscribers now use connections other than Dial Up, 3.94 million of these use DSL.

There are:

262,000 users with a speed of 24Mbps or greater
1,390,000 users with a speed between 8Mbps and 24Mbps
1,440,000 users with a speed between 1.5Mbps and 8Mbps
2,551,000 users with a speed between 256kbps and 1.5Mbps
1,581,000 users with a speed of less than 256kbps

Another way to look at the above is:

3,940,000 Total DSL users at June 2008
262,000 over 24Mbs or 6.65% of DSL users
1,390,000 between 8Mbps and 24Mbps or 35.28%
1,440,000 between 1.5Mbps and 8Mbps or 36.55%
848,000 under 1.5Mbs or 21.52%

Dec 2007

There were 421 ISPs operating in Australia in the December quarter, 2007.

There were 7.10 million subscribers to the Internet in Australia, 6.14 million being household subscribers.

35% of subscribers in December 2007 had an internet speed of 1.5Mbps or faster, compared to only 17% at the end of September, 2006.

There were 1.89 million Dial Up subscribers in Dec 2007, down from 2.75 million in Sept 2006.

5.21 million subscribers now use connections other than Dial Up, 3.81 million of these use DSL.