Broadband Speeds Rising
The latest data from broadband comparison site www.broadbandexpert.com.au reveals that the average Australian broadband connection speed is 5.5Mbps, up from the average of 5Mbps recorded by Broadband Expert in the first 6 months of 2010.
Optus tops the local speed table with customers clocking an average of 7.8Mbps making it Australia’s fastest broadband provider. The research was based on 13,346 speed tests run on the comparison site’s broadband speed test from July 2010 – December 2010.
Of the 12 Internet service providers tested for the current research, eight recorded faster average speeds than in the previous tests, with Optus showing an increase of 20% from 6.5Mbps to 7.8Mbps. Just four of the providers tested were either marginally slower or showed no increase in speed.
The average speed delivered by an Australian broadband provider was up over 10% from 3.9Mbps to 4.4Mbps. This is slower than the average connection speed as it is the sum of the average speed of each provider divided by the number of providers tested.
Shara Evans, CEO of telecommunications analyst firm Market Clarity, believes this average increase in speed could reflect a number of factors. “An important factor to consider is the random distribution of users. If, in this test sample, more of the DSL-based users are located close to exchanges, their average connection speeds are bound to be faster than in previous periods.
Another potential reason for the speed increase measured by Broadband Expert has to do with ISP infrastructure upgrades. For example, Telstra, Optus and Neighborhood Cable have undertaken significant HFC (cable) infrastructure upgrades, by adopting the DOCSIS 3.0 standard in parts of their networks, which could increase connection speeds for end-users connected to services using the new standard. In addition, many ISPs continue to upgrade the backbone links between their DSLAMs. By increasing the capacity between exchanges, ISPs are able to deliver faster end user connection speeds,” she explained.
Ms Evans also pointed out that these tests specifically measured the connectivity of fixed broadband services to servers based in Australia. Download speeds would vary depending on the location and dimensioning of the web hosting server. Despite the upward trend, a minority of the providers tested recorded a decrease in speeds.
Rob Webber, Director of Broadband Expert, warned that overloaded networks could cause slower connection speeds. Broadband Expert’s figures show that cable customers achieve by far the fastest speeds with an average download speed of 10.1Mbps compared to just 2.7Mbps for ADSL customers and 5.8Mbps for those using ADSL2+.
