Australia stays at 21st on OECD broadband stats
Summary: Australia has remained in 21st place in the latest broadband-penetration stats from the OECD, which the government says is why we need the NBN.
Australia has remained in 21st place in broadband subscriptions in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the last six months of 2011.
The OECD placed Australia 21st of the 34 nations in the latest stats of broadband subscriptions per 100 people in data released yesterday.
According to the statistics, Australia has 24.6 per cent broadband penetration, with the vast majority of those subscriptions coming from DSL connections. Switzerland topped the list, with 39.9 per cent penetration, followed closely by the Netherlands, at 39.1 per cent. Turkey placed last, at a 10.1 per cent broadband-penetration rate.
Despite increasing broadband penetration by 0.6 per cent from June 2011 to December 2011, Australia was at 21st place for 2011, after sliding to that position from 18th in June last year.
While Australia remains low in fixed broadband penetration, the nation is performing much better in the rankings for wireless penetration, coming in at 8th place, with 74.4 wireless subscriptions per 100 people as of December 2011. This accounts for 16.6 million subscriptions, and is a massive increase from the 64.8 per cent penetration rate in June 2011. Korea tops this list, with 100.8 wireless subscriptions per 100 people.
Just 0.42 per cent of Australians are currently accessing the internet via a fibre connection, according to the data.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said that the figures "reinforce the need for the National Broadband Network" (NBN).
"The OECD's figures continue to demonstrate the importance of rolling out the NBN to all Australians," Conroy said in a statement.
"The NBN's fast, affordable and reliable broadband will help Australia rise up the OECD broadband rankings, even as other OECD countries develop their own super-fast broadband capabilities."
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull was contacted for comment, but had not responded at the time of writing.
Liberal MP Paul Fletcher said Conroy should take the blame for Australia's ranking.
"Stephen Conroy’s broadband policy has had nearly five years to work. Yet on the very benchmark he consistently highlighted when in opposition, Australia’s broadband performance has got worse not better," Fletcher said.
"Conroy is like a medieval doctor applying leeches to a patient, and claiming that if he just keeps doing more of it the patient will get better."
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Talkback
NBN progress
Oh god here we go ...
Return of the bad penny!
Oh dear! What a surprise!
The fact that they are tens of thousands of connections behind their own published forecasts makes absolutely no difference - what isn't done this decade will be done the next - or, perhaps, the decade after that.
Of BTW the fact that 75% of all Australians now have a wireless connection is just a mere statistical aberration - everyone know that wireless is rubbish. Apart, of course, from the less than one half of one percent of Australian that now have a fibre connection. Is it little wonder that Julia can lecture the G20 on how to avoid a financial crisis - we absolutely future proofed.
If the history of the NBN was woven into the plot of a Grisham novel the publishers would reject it as being totally unbelievable.
Oh dear what a load of &^%$
NWAT #1 and Brian, gee.
VasMas, I would have thought with your TLS junk bonds now skyrocketing on the back of the NBN (just as you were told they would - but yet you argued and argued) that you would stop it with the NWAT rubbish? Anyway...
And Brian, no one has ever said wireless is rubbish, please stop the lies. Wireless has many restrictions but is a fantastic complementary product to fixed.
Tell us Brian are you using all wireless gear yourself? If not, bit hypocritical there!
75% of Aussies have a mobile connection (I'll take your word) wow... I know in my family we have about 10, between just 4 people and only 1 fixed, so do the math Brian. But do you know what? When everyone is home doodling on the wireless devices, they access the net via (fixed) Wi-Fi?
And do you know what else Brian, 93% of all downloads are still done by fixed and increasing (so too is wireless BTW, which simply proves their complementary nature).
So anyone who refuses to accept fibre's hard slog superiority, wireless' limitations and the accompanying stats, either has no idea, is a fool or both, imo.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8153.0Chapter7Dec%202011
Anything else Brian?
OECD stats are irrelevant
While this is the case, the Australian government dominated by centre left and extreme left elements is forcing a government owned fibre network on its population. During this Global financial crisis it is spending the equivalent of $2000 for every adult and child.
ABS stats
"Forcing" a government owned fibre network... seriously... It's known as progression/advancement and private enterprise decided they didn't want to do it, so please.
Forced, is another ridiculous Coalition claim repeated by those who cannot think for themselves, imo. Going by that logic, I am currently forced onto copper. We are ergo forced onto government roads. Yes very logical.
As for GFC and per adult/child... even the WSJ disagrees with you.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904140604576493831749969702.html
BTW, whilst I support the NBN, I oppose Labor's filtering and proposed surveillance, so unlike 'some' I am not a puppet of any party, toeing the line.
Obfuscation through words
I do not need a WSJ or OECD to tell me what is good for me. As a taxpayer living in this country and forking out tens of thousands of dollars, I can tell you NBN will be a dud.
My reasons are:
1. Broadband connection options are already available which are much cheaper than NBN can ever offer.
2. NBN is a cynical political exercise created to win the 2010 election for the Labor party.
3. Most of the people point to the high speeds(100 MBPS) NBN can offer. Those high speeds are required by businesses and they should foot the bill and not the ordinary taxpayers.
4. NBN will not be cheap for normal people and you have to pay a premium to use those speeds.
5. You regurgitate Labor/Green propaganda about the benefits of NBN, At best, they are futuristic and concocted by self serving politicians to waste taxpayers money.
6. Australia is a backward country as for as IT skills are concerned. People need the high speeds for gaming and movies, which is not productive way to spend time by our people.
7. Government has forked several billion dollars of taxpayer money to Telstra and Optus to shut down existing networks so that NBN can become even remotely viable. If this is not forcing NBN on people, what else is. Our roads and hospitals are languishing. Similar to what Nero was doing when Rome was burning.
8. Your argument about copper lacks logic. You want the latest toy and pampered at whatever cost.
Blah blah blah
2. BS - spoken like a paid up Coalition shill. It is needed infrastructure for the nation - wake up.
3. These speeds will be needed by everyone, Moore's and Nielsen's laws have said so and been right (in fact so right it seems the IT world now use their laws as their guides for progression)...! FYI - most people in Japan already use 100Mbps . And if such speeds aren't necessary why does the Coalition even admit and have as policy, FttP to be rolled out in greenfileds - wake up.
4. Lies - the plans already prove you wrong - wake up.
5. I regurgitate nothing but pro-NBN facts and can prove them, unlike you and your FUD. My friend (and I say friend to be polite only) your sheep like baa's in relation to the calls from the far right are laughably obvious - wake up.
6. Thank you for admitting it. Australia is backward as far as IT is concerned. It wasn't always that way, check history, but thankfully the NBN will go along way to remedying this! perhaps you are waking up (won't hold my breath)?
7. Government has forked out nothing or little as yet (they are incremental payments) and the cost is not coming from general taxation - so NO not from our taxes - please get at least one thing right). And being off budget/debt the NBN's $27B (from government debt to be repaid by NBNCo) or $2.7B p.a. over 10 years, will not impact upon budgetary areas such roads or health (BTW in the same period $570B will be spent on health).
You can't have it both ways cry off budget to hide funds and then cry budget areas will be affected - wake up.
8. Agreed my copper logic does not make sense (err, that was the intent). But it makes as much sense as your idiotic fibre logic. I can admit it, will you?
WAKE UP. It's sad when people are not allowed to think for themselves because the party says...!
You are a paid shill for labor party.
Fraudulent stats *sigh*