Broadband services not good enough

Australians are in desperate need of better broadband services, according to an IDC report.

Shing Quah, market analyst telecommunication IDC, said customers need better broadband bargains which move beyond the usual high speed plans with gigantic download limits.

“To awaken the broadband giant within, Aussies want good value-for-money broadband bargains. Customers want value-for-money deals like naked DSL offerings (DSL services without fixed line subscription),” she said.

“They also want unlimited free calls on VoIP networks and IPTV services over ADSL2+ speeds are commonly available in France – which has broadband penetration rate only 1.4 percent ahead of Australia.”

The report found that there were around 2.9 million broadband subscribers by the end of 2005.

IDC expected total broadband subscribers to exceed 5.9 million by 2010, mostly driven by ADSL uptake.

The independent analyst group stated in the report, growth in the internet market has been exclusively driven by the uptake of broadband from 2005 onwards.

IDC expects three out of four (or 73 percent) of internet access users will be broadband subscribers by 2010.

In revenue terms, the Australia broadband market has generated total revenues in excess of $1.9 billion in 2005 and will continue to grow and surpass the four billion dollar market by year end 2010.