Broadband use increases across all ages

New data that has recently been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has suggested that broadband and PC use across all age groups has been increasing in Australia.

It is reported that user numbers are rising with a rising number of people having access to broadband and Internet services. This could be set to increase even further with providers set to launch deals and plans on the NBN network this year, which could see a rise in subscriber numbers.

The figures were released as part of the group’s Household Use of Information Technology in Australia over 2010-11 report. The ABS said that data from the Multipurpose Household Survey for June 2010 to July 2011 showed that around three quarter of households had access to broadband services and that use of broadband and PCs was increasing as more and more people have become reliant on this technology.

Of all the households that have internet access, around 92 percent have broadband connections according to the data. In the 2010-2011 period there was growth of 10 percent in the number of households with access to a computer, which went up to 83 percent.

The most popular activity by people who are online was emailing and the report also pointed out that “the proportion of internet users that purchased or ordered goods or services over the internet was 68 per cent, up from 64 per cent in 2008-09”. People are also conscious of the need to protect themselves online, with the report stating that “of the 15.3 million people who had access to a computer at home, 90 per cent indicated they had anti-virus and firewall software and 13 per cent indicated they had filtering software”.