Why Does Australia Have Slow Internet?

However, despite the residents in Australia enjoying a decent standard of living, the country's internet is still in a sorry state.

According to a 2021 Statista report, the average internet speeds for mobile and fixed broadband in Australia were 126.97 Mbps and 85.57 Mbps, respectively. That's unlike countries such as South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that enjoy average mobile internet speeds in excess of 200 Mbps.

So, why does such a highly-developed country like Australia have such slow internet speeds?

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Costly Internet Plans

Internet packages with faster speeds are insanely expensive in Australia. The high cost is associated with the monopoly power of the service provider. Simply put, the lack of competition forces an ordinary citizen in Australia to spend approximately $100 every month to access high-speed internet.

Compared to other countries with equal financial abilities, that's a little too high, and most people are not willing to pay this high price for internet services. However, it's not entirely impossible to find a reliable internet connection in Australia.

If you are looking for a reliable internet plan in Australia, using the iSelect comparison tool can help you identify the best option available. The tool lets you compare different internet providers and package plans based on price, speed, reliability, and quality, regardless of where you are in Australia.

xDSL Dominance

In the mid-90s, the Cable TV bandwagon technology was rolled out in most countries across the globe. However, Australia was not keen on the adoption of this new technology, perhaps due to the high cost involved.

Today, it is estimated that only 30% of people dwelling in the urban areas of Australia have cable networks running through their residences. Most households work with xDSL, which operates on an average output of 20Mbps.

Interestingly, you have to be dwelling near the exchange to experience this network speed. That means moving further from the exchange lowers the internet. Additionally, the xDSL has a maximum range of 5 kilometers, limiting its convenience.

Ancient Equipment

Most countries have been adopting the new high-speed fiber technology for internet solutions in the recent past. However, Australia still lags behind.

Despite the government's initiative to upgrade the internet in the country through the National Broadband Network (NBN), traditional networks are still prevalent due to their affordable cost. In other words, the country is still using the old copper telephone lines to provide internet, meaning that the residents in the country can hardly access high-definition content on stream sites.

Large Country Size and Monopoly

Australia sits on an area of approximately 7 million square kilometers. Being such a large country, it has proved to be very costly to supply both mobile and fixed broadband internet connectivity to over 25 million residents.

Additionally, monopoly has hugely contributed to Australia's regressive growth of internet speeds. From the late 90s, Telstar has been the leading internet provider to most Australian consumers. However, the company utilizes all the possible avenues to avoid competition, sometimes even breaking the law.

Final Thoughts

A good internet connection has become a basic need in the current world. However, Australia falls short when it comes to mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, despite being a force to reckon with in the economic sector.

The good news is that all that could soon come to an end with the NBN initiative working on upgrading Australia's broadband infrastructure.

Samuel Daniel

Update 02 December 2021