Broadband

In a recent finding by Akamai, that only 17 percent of the UK citizens receive an average broadband speed made of 5Mbps or better, in spite of Ofcom’s report stating the average has increased to 11.5Mbps.

The report is part of Akmai’s latest quarterly result which includes State of the Internet report figures. The research states that around 83 percent of the UK’s broadband users receive speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 4Mbps with the average overall speed being just 3.9 Mbps.

Akmai also reported other European country broadband averages as comparison where Romania ranks high with 6.8Mbps. Netherlands had 49 percent users, which was the highest percentage of users in Europe with 5Mbps or faster average speed. Akamai also noted that it saw a 12 percent increase in the number of connections in the Netherlands connecting to its servers at a speed of 25Mbps or more.

Ofcom’s report with SamKnows earlier this year in May had revealed that the advertised average speed was 11.5Mbps and the actual average speed received by the customers was 5.2Mbps which is an improvement since last year’s 4.1Mbps.

This superlative difference between the advertised and actual averages had led to Ofcom’s creation of a new set of guidelines in July urging the broadband providers to provide more clarity, consistency and improvement in the speed that is being made available to the subscribers.

“Actual speeds are often much lower than many of the advertised speeds, which makes it essential that consumers are given information which is as accurate as possible at the point of sale; this is what the new code is designed to deliver,” Ofcom chief Ed Richards said in a statement at the time.

Akmai’s global highest average was 16.6Mbps with South Korea having 75 percent of the users receiving 5Mbps or more, leading the rat pack.

The State of the Internet also highlighted the increase in the number of unique IP addresses accessing its servers all over the world, reaching just over 500m with a 2.8 percent second quarterly increase. At the same time the number had fallen for UK requests by 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter.

The report stated that two of the top ten countries (the United Kingdom and Canada) showed quarterly declines, though each were less than one percent, while the remaining eight countries showed modest quarterly increases.

United States and China were each accounted for 11 percent internet attack traffic with Russia coming a close third place with 10 percent. Europe on a continental basis topped the list with 39 percent attacks while the UK accounted for just 1.2 percent of attacks.

It is very much clear by now as to the role broadband is going to play in the very near future. Everything has gone online and more and more people are simply getting hooked to the net by the day. But then again, this has seen the rise of two parties in Australia, one against and the other pro to the development made in the field of broadband. Mr Turnbull, the newly-appointed communications shadow minister made a startling statement against the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development report. The report went on to say that the governments ought to be technology neutral in relation to the developments in the area of broadband technology. While Mr Turnball simply stated that Australia doesn’t exactly need 100mb download speeds as far as broadband is concerned.

The UN Broadband commission saw a new entrant in the form of Senator Conroy to its office. A spokesperson on his behalf went on to state that there has to be a balance maintained in using of the various technologies namely wireless, satellite optical fibre in order to maintain and truly enhance a nation’s prosperity.

Mr Turnbull, simply states that the overall investments being made to get the Australians the best of broadband speed is simply worthless and will bring loss. None the less he does agree with the importance of broadband and the way it has enhanced business and communication all around the world simply shrinking the globe. The point he makes is that the $43 billion construction of this network from National Broadband Network (NBN) is simply not profitable. According to him most of the Australians don’t need this revolutionary speed which is visible on the horizon as of now.

Every single minute another one is getting attached to the internet for life for the better. This trend is bound to continue and won’t stop as more and more of business work; entertainment, communication, shopping, and a string of other activities have gone online. It is not an exaggeration to say that a large chunk of the population will be dependent completely on the internet.

If the current revolution taking place in all the leading countries of the world is anything to go by, then this is very much true. A number of countries are already to receive lightening speeds of up to 100mb that would change the shape of many things as to how they work. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) stated recently that the number of internet users have peaked to a striking 3,455,000 subscribers in the month of June this year. This rise is very much bound to continue and broadband is going to definitely flourish without looking back. A good 71% of the Australian population is hooked to the net downloading constantly at a good speed of 1.5 mb and more than that. The mobile broadband connections in the mean time are also on the rise and too increasing greatly.

Though the internet users have risen in numbers the amount of data downloaded has quite dropped. This is apparently because people are downloading from cheaper varieties. In the mean time dial up connections have also fallen and the data downloaded as well drastically. All this even as the next generation fiber broadband network is already to set in.