Australians pay for 'half-speed' broadband - Epitiro internet report

[OMEN]

MILLIONS of Australians are paying up to $100 a month for high-speed broadband but getting just half of what they pay for.

Ground-breaking research has found the average speed delivered by companies such as Telstra, Optus and AAPT is almost half the figure advertised, making Australia a broadband backwater.

The findings come just a day after Telstra announced a plan to treble internet speeds by Christmas under a $300 million plan.

And while the new data found Telstra remained the country's fastest internet service provider - in front of TPG, iiNet and Netspace - consumers could still be unlikely to take advantage of the new turbo-charged service.

The report, by global broadband authority Epitiro, revealed Australians received an average 65.5 per cent of the advertised download speed from their internet service providers.

Speeds slumped to just 14.5 per cent when downloading content from international servers, while Telstra managed just 8.7 per cent of its advertised package speed when downloading from international servers.
The findings were published in The Australian Internet Performance Index 2008. Epitiro monitored the performance of leading national ISPs in terms of actual customer experience between October and December last year.

Six million tests were conducted, covering popular broadband activities including web surfing, downloading music and movies, internet gaming and watching streaming videos.

Epitiro managing director Mike Cranna said the report "raises real concerns about both the actual levels of service being delivered to subscribers and Australia's connectivity to the rest of the world".

MX

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