Broadband growth strong in Oz

Australia had one of the strongest broadband subscriber growths in 2005, according to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to the OECD, Australia’s per-capita subscriber growths, jumped from nine per 100 inhabitants in 2001 to 13.8 per 100 inhabitants in 2005.

The OECD found Australia, Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands had added more than six subscribers per 100 inhabitants in 2005. Australia rated 17, out of the 30 countries surveyed on the number of broadband subscriptions during 2005.

DSL was the leading platform in Australia and the rest of the OECD countries, except for Canada and the US where cable subscribers outnumbered DSL.

In Iceland, 26.7 percent of citizens have a subscription to an always-on broadband internet connection, compared with 25.4 percent in South Korea, 25.3 percent in the Netherlands and 25 percent in Denmark.

The countries with the most broadband subscribers:

Iceland – 26.7 percent
Korea – 25.4 percent
Netherlands – 25.3 percent
Denmark 25 percent
Switzerland – 23.1 percent
Finland – 22.5 percent
Norway – 21.9 percent
Canada – 21.9 percent
Sweden – 20.3 percent
Belgium – 18.3 percent

The US ranked 12th with 16.8 percent and Greece ranked 30 with only 1.4 percent of broadband subscribers.