NBN Co Blog

 
 
Print

Blog Category

Thu 03 MAY

Comment

Technology

Australia’s average download speed slower than Slovakia, Latvia

Posted on Thursday 03 May 2012 by Dan Warne

Slovakia – gorgeous mountain villages… and faster download speeds than Australia.

Australia ranks 24th in the world for download speeds, according to the latest State of the Internet report from global download provider Akamai.

Across the country, the average download speed was 4.9Mbps, well behind the fastest country in the world - South Korea - with its average speed of 17.5Mbps.

Australia was ranked behind South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Latvia, Switzerland, Ireland, Czech Republic, Romania, Belgium, USA, Singapore, Taiwan, Norway, Denmark, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, Germany and Slovakia. 

In fact, according to Akamai, only 19% of Australian internet users top 5Mbps currently, and 41% are getting less than 2Mbps.

Curiously, the fastest city in Australia as measured by Akamai was Canberra, with an average peak download speed of 31.5Mbps.

Akamai is a company that places file servers in ISPs and data centres all over the world, reducing the strain on their clients' central servers and increasing download speeds for end-users.

It hosts files such as large software updates, movies and music libraries for online stores and more.

As a result, when a user downloads an update to their computer's operating system software, it's likely to be downloading from the Akamai server at their ISP, not the software company itself.

Akamai collects statistics on how fast people all over the world download files through Akamai's servers, and publishes them on a quarterly basis.


View more about:
Speed, Akamai

By Dan Warne, NBN Co Blog Editor

Dan has been a technology journalist for the last 10 years, first with broadband community site Whirlpool.net.au, and later with APC Magazine and Sydney Morning Herald. He has a baby boy, two chocolate labradors, and a fascination with broadband and everything it can make possible. Email: danwarne@nbnco.com.au

Legal stuff you need to know:

When we talk about speeds delivered over the National Broadband Network, we are referring to the wholesale speed to telephone and internet service providers. The speed you can achieve, and services you can use, on your individual connection will depend on many factors including the services you subscribe to, the software and communication protocols you use, quality of your equipment and connection to your home/business, the broadband plans offered by your telephone or internet provider and how it designs its network to cater for multiple users.

Recent blog posts

  1. CategoryCommunity

    Teleworking pays dividends

    Teleworking pays dividends

  2. In the orange

    In the orange

  3. Sydney switches on the National Broadband Network

    Sydney switches on the National Broadband Network

  4. 1.3 million more homes and businesses added to NBN construction timetable

    1.3 million more homes and businesses added to NBN construction timetable

Comments

All comments are moderated and will be reviewed before they are published. To ensure your comments will be published, please read and follow our Community Guidelines.

By commenting you agree to Disqus' (the blog comment platform owner, a US company) Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and to the NBN Co Privacy Policy and NBN Co's Community Guidelines. NBN Co and Disqus may collect, store and use personal information that you post in accordance with these terms and policies.

NBN Co Logo

Blog Community Guidelines

NBN Co welcomes your comments. We are committed to ensuring that issues discussed on the blog are relevant and expressed calmly and in a way that is respectful of all participants. Your use of the NBN Co Blog is subject to these guidelines and our general website Terms and Conditions of Use.

To ensure the standard of discussion on the site remains polite and on-topic, NBN Co reviews all comments before publication. Comments will be reviewed during normal business hours (9:00 - 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday) and, if accepted, will generally be posted within two hours. You will not be contacted if your comment is not accepted.

You should NOT post any comment that:

  • is aggressive, inflammatory or defamatory;
  • is too long or repeats previous posts;
  • misrepresents NBN Co, its shareholder or its board members;
  • is not about the topic of the discussion;
  • is not relevant to the NBN or broadband;
  • attacks or impersonates individuals;
  • is, in our judgement, mainly about promoting an external website; or
  • presents another legal, commercial or technical risk.

Your comment should be your own, don't copy from someone else.

You must supply a valid email address to be able to post a comment. Your email address will not be published.

We reserve the right to edit, withhold or remove any comment that does not comply. You may be personally liable if your comment is unlawful.

Comments about our moderation policy will not be published. The moderator's decision is final.

If you find a comment offensive, please contact the NBN Blog team and tell us why you think the comment breaches these guidelines. Please include the web address for the page on which the comment appears in your email.

You agree that we can use your comment (in whole or in part) in other forums, including on our website and in marketing materials.

NBN staff and contractor comments

NBN staff and contractors should review the social media policy available on the NBN Intranet before commenting on the site.

Customer Service

NBN Co does not sell directly to the public, so any questions about your specific NBN internet connection should be directed to your telephone or internet service provider.



blog comments powered by Disqus

Most popular blog posts