Salient comments regarding consumer use of 'multiple internet access technologies' are -
At December 2010, there were nearly 10.4 million active internet subscribers in Australia using fixed and mobile wireless (dongle, datacard, USB mode) services and 8.2 million internet subscribers using mobile phone handsets - across the household, business and government sectors.ACMA echoes past comments that "more Australians are going online and becoming more intensive users", stating that -
Availability of internet services over mobile networks continues to grow. Mobile wireless subscriber numbers increased by 49% in the 12 months to December 2010, while mobile phone handset subscribers increased at a comparable but slightly lower rate (21% over the six months to December 2010). Growth in these services has not occurred at the expense of fixed-line access technologies, with ADSL subscriber numbers also increasing by 7% over the 12 month period. Fixed-line internet services continue to play a central role in driving the digital economy accounting for 91% of data downloads in Australia1. During the December quarter of 2010, nearly 175,000 terabytes of data were downloaded via fixed-line services in Australia, compared to less than nine per cent of data downloads occurring via mobile wireless services and just two per cent via mobile phone handset services.
Nearly 15.1 million (83%) persons aged 14 years and over went online during the December quarter of 2010, up from 14.2 million during the same period in 2009. At December 2010, 71% of internet users went online at least once a day, compared to 67% at December 2009 and 63% at December 2008. On average, 18.8 gigabytes of data was downloaded per internet subscriber in Australia during the December quarter of 2010, roughly equivalent to 120 hours of streaming video content on YouTube. This compared to 14.6 gigabytes downloaded during the December quarter of 2009. This is in part a reflection of increasing activity relating to downloading or streaming video content. During December 2010, 5.5 million persons accessed video streaming sites such as YouTube and Google Video from home, compared to 5.1 million during March 2010.That is reflected in a shift to higher speed internet services, with 46% of internet subscribers in the households sector subscribing to internet services with an advertised maximum download speed of 8Mbps or more, up from 30% cent at December 2009.
ACMA again notes that "mobile phone handset internet is developing as a complementary service" -
While most Australians who accessed the internet did so via a computer (96% during December 2010), increasing numbers of consumers are doing so via their mobile phone handsets. Approximately 3.1 million Australians aged 14 years and over accessed the internet via their mobile phone handset during December 2010, compared to 1.9 million during December 2009. However, mobile handset internet is developing as a complement to the traditional computer, with 98% of these internet users also using the internet via a computer. This is also reflected in the lower levels of handset internet users undertaking activities like e-commerce online via their mobile phones, compared to online activities undertaken via their computers. Consumers appear to be utilising each access device according to a specific need and lifestyle requirement.ACMA concludes - surprise - that "the internet is challenging traditional business models" -
Australians continue to value the internet as an important communication channel but the manner in which internet users communicate online is changing, with increased use of alternative online communications channels such as internet telephony (VoIP) and social networking. The use of these services appears to be affecting traditional online communications via email.
During December 2010, 2.3 million Australians aged 14 years and over went online to make a VoIP call via their computer, 2.3 million used instant messaging and 5. million undertook activities relating to blogging and online communities. The number of persons who used such media as a substitute to traditional email usage almost doubled in the twelve months to December 2010 (1.4 million persons, compared to 736,000 persons during December 2009).
Australians are also increasingly using the internet to transact online and use the internet to source and compare services across businesses. For example, approximately 7.4 million Australians accessed retail and auction web sites from home during December 2010, compared to 6.8 million during March 2010 and 2.2 million persons purchased a good or service directly via the internet during December 2010, compared to nearly 2 million during December 2009. The increasing importance of e-commerce is further reflected in latest ABS figures which show that just under $143 billion worth of internet orders were received by Australian businesses in the 12 months to June 2010, an increase of 15 per cent since June 2009.
Convergence is also enabling the exploitation of a wider range of consumer electronic devices to access the internet in addition to the mobile phone handset, with more recent developments centred on the entry of internet-enabled TV sets into the Australian market place. These developments are generating significant consumer interest in accessing a wider range of interactive services via the TV. For example, at December 2010, 3.4 million and 2.5 million persons respectively were estimated to be interested in accessing the internet and making a video call via their TV.
