By Keri Algar
SYDNEY, NSW: Australians with faster internet speeds spend longer online than those with slower speeds, suggesting that instead of reducing the time spent online due to the better efficiency of higher speeds, consumers will increase online usage, Nielsen Company research has found.
The study, which measured and compared connections on home computers in February 2011 across nine countries, surmised that in Australia there is an internet gap between those spending the least amount of time online due to slow connections speeds and those spending greater amounts of time due to the facility of faster speeds.
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Australia, alongside the UK and Spain, stood out against countries such as Switzerland by presenting clear differences between internet consumers spending less time online from ‘slow’ home connections and those spending more time online from ‘fast’ connections. But that the general trend is for users with access to greater speeds to spend more time online.
Out of the nine countries measure, Australia ranked as the fourth highest of percentage of people on ‘super fast speeds’ however, it also had the second highest of percentage of people on slow to medium speeds or lower. Overall, the report confirmed that Australia lagged in internet speeds.