Australians are keen on technology, especially at home, but the country’s broadband is just not cutting it apparently.
Well that’s the only conclusion you can draw from a bunch of new research at least. The first from the OECD said fibre accounted for 42% of all fixed broadband subscriptions across member countries in 2023—up from 38% the year before—while Australia’s “multi-technology” NBN lingered well below that figure.
The other, from Speed Test Global, showed that we had fallen to 81st place globally for fixed broadband performance, behind even developing countries like Nicaragua, Uzbekistan, and El Salvador.
Consumers already know this. Complaints about slow internet speeds and connectivity dropouts have surged according to the Telecommunications Ombudsman who recently reported a 13% rise in complaints during the last quarter of 2024.
The problem is we keep wanting more tech, more broadband & faster speeds. And the tech companies keep selling us gadgets & services that absolutely demand it.
New figures from the NBN prove that. The average Aussie household now downloads ten times more data than it did a decade ago—expected to double by 2029—at the same time 4 of 5 households—79%—said they’re eager to for new tech that could drive up data demand dramatically both at home and at work.
Our homes are already tech heavy it seems. A new study from Telstra showed that almost a third of homes now feature five or more smart gadgets. But globally the number of internet-connected devices in households now averages 25, a figure predicted to soar to 44 by the decade’s end.
Fibre is clearly the right solution, we’ve known that for a long time. Other countries are rapidly investing in fibre while Australia keeps patching up the NBN with fibre upgrades in a system that has been plagued by slow innovation and constant political interference.
We started Smart Wiring 2 decades ago because we knew home tech was here to stay & would only get more important. Fibre hasn’t changed the fact that copper cabling is still the best solution at home, best suited to meet the promise of fibre backed broadband to door and a network of high tech gadgets inside.
My hope is that with a new government we just get the NBN we want and deserve.
Cheers, John Fennell
