Australian Internet speeds drop: report

Globally, average Internet speeds increased 5 per cent to 2.9Mbps quarter-on-quarter

Average Internet connection speeds in Australia dropped 23 per cent year-on-year in 2012, according to a report by Akamai Technologies.

Average connection speeds in the 2012 quarter fell 2.3 per cent compared to Q3, according to the Fourth Quarter 2012 State of the Internet report.

Australia’s global ranking for connection speeds fell one place to 41 in the quarter, compared to the previous quarter.

The report found adoption rates of broadband of speeds greater than 10Mbps in Australia fell 56 per cent, compared to the same period in 2011, while global broadband adoption rates greater than 4Mbps increased 42 per cent.

Globally, average Internet speeds increased 5 per cent to 2.9Mbps quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year, average connection speeds increased 25 per cent, with the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Japan all reporting growth.

Peak global Internet speeds increased 35 per cent year-on-year, according to the report.

“Looking back across the year, we observed strong growth in our key connectivity metrics around the world. We believe that this points to greater availability of broadband connectivity, as well as increased speeds on those connections,” David Belson, the report’s editor, said in a statement.

“This is supported as well by the long-term trends observed over the five-year history of the State of the Internet Report.

“The combination of improved broadband availability and higher speeds should open the door for greater innovation in how the Internet is used by both businesses and individuals around the globe.”

Average connection speeds on surveyed mobile networks ranged from 345kbps to 8.0Mbps in the fourth quarter, with 64 providers delivering average connection speeds of more than 1Mbps.

The report also found China accounted for 41 per cent of online attack traffic, up from 33 per cent in the previous quarter, followed by the US accounting for 10 per cent of attack traffic.

DDoS attacks reported by Akamai customers increased more than 200 per cent from 2011, with 768 attacks reported by 413 unique organisations.

A total of 35 per cent of those attacks targeted the commerce sector and 22 per cent on media and entertainment companies.

Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

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