The latest broadband statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD )clearly show that Australia is still paying the price for the political footballing around the NBN led by the Coalition during the 2000s. This mismanagement caused a significant delay in progress, and as shown in the statistics we still facing a long road ahead to eliminate the backlog. This situation mirrors the Coalition’s obstructive policies towards developing a smart energy industry, but that is another story.
This is what the OECD has to say about broadband.
Australia sees modest improvements in fibre and fixed wireless broadband adoption, but still trails New Zealand significantly in OECD’s 2023 statistics. The OECD’s latest broadband statistics for 2024 reveal notable differences in fibre and fixed wireless broadband adoption between Australia and New Zealand. Fibre broadband subscriptions in Australia increased from 23.3% in 2021 to 26.4% in 2023, with fibre connections now constituting a substantial portion of the market. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is also expanding rapidly, becoming an essential component of the broadband infrastructure, especially in areas where traditional fibre deployment is challenging.
In contrast, New Zealand ranks significantly higher in both fibre and fixed wireless broadband adoption. As of 2023, New Zealand ranks ninth among the 38 OECD members for full fibre penetration, with 70.1% penetration, up from 66% in 2021. Australia hold a distant 30th place on the international ladder. In further contrast New Zealand also ranks third for fixed wireless penetration, trailing only Czechia and the Slovak Republic. This makes New Zealand one of the top adopters of fixed wireless technology within the OECD, with the technology accounting for 19% of connections, compared to just 5% OECD-wide.
The statistics indicate a broader trend towards high-speed internet infrastructure within the OECD. Fibre accounted for 42% of all fixed broadband subscriptions by the end of 2023, with a 14% growth in fibre connections during the year. Australia, however, remains well below this average, with fibre connections accounting for 9.1 per 100 inhabitants in 2023. Comparatively, New Zealand boasts 21.6 fibre connections per 100 inhabitants, demonstrating a significantly higher adoption rate.
The mobile segment also highlights differences between the two countries. Australia had 111.4 data and voice subscriptions per 100 inhabitants and 16.1 data-only subscriptions, ranking ninth in the OECD for mobile adoption. New Zealand, with 103.7 data and voice subscriptions and 5.6 data-only subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, ranks 20th. Australians use more mobile data on average, with 12.2GB per mobile broadband subscription per month, compared to 6.7GB in New Zealand.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication is another area of divergence. New Zealand had approximately 3 million M2M cards in operation in 2023, representing 57.1 per 100 inhabitants, while Australia had 8 million, or 30 per 100 inhabitants. This indicates a higher per capita adoption of M2M technology in New Zealand compared to Australia.
Overall, the OECD’s broadband statistics illustrate the advancements and disparities in broadband technology adoption between Australia and New Zealand. While both countries are making strides in improving their broadband infrastructure, New Zealand leads in fibre and fixed wireless adoption, contributing to its higher overall broadband penetration rates.
Paul Budde