As the debate over wireless technology Vs fibre intensifies a new Australian Bureau of Statistics report reveals that Australia had 9.6 million active Internet subscribers at the end of June, 3.5 million of them were via a mobile wireless connection using a USB dongle or built in wireless card.
Mobile wireless (excluding mobile handset connections) is the hottest technology, with Internet access via mobile connections increasing to 3.5 million in June 2010 – a 21.7 percent increase from December 2009.
The ABS, Stats’ Internet Activity Survey collects details of Internet access services provided by ISPs in Australia. Among those to have benefited from the demand for wireless is Telstra who are credited with having the fastest Wireless broadband network in the world with their Next G offering.
This year’s main trend shows a phasing out of dial-up Internet connections with nearly 92 percent of connections now being non-dial-up and at significantly faster speeds.
Australians continue to access increasingly faster download speeds, with 71 percent of access connections offering a download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater, Stats reported.
Digital subscriber line (DSL) continued to be the major technology for connections, accounting for 44 percent of the total. However, this percentage has decreased since December when DSL represented 47 percent of the total.
This release contains results from all ISPs operating in Australia at June 30. Active subscribers are defined as those who have accessed the Internet or paid for access during the three months ending June 30.
