Strewth! Even Bruce has better broadband than Britain

Broadband down under has hit new highs - with almost nine per cent of home internet users in Australia boasting a broadband connection.

The latest figures from Nielsen//NetRatings show a recent surge in the numbers of Australian households signing up for broadband connections. During May, June and July 150,000 users signed up for high-speed net access in the home.

This dramatic boost took the total number of broadband connected homes to 500,000 - or 8.6 per cent of total internet users - pushing Australia ahead of the UK which boast a figure nearer to seven per cent (see http://www.silicon.com/a54279 for more).

A spokesman for Nielsen//NetRatings said: "Based on the assumption [take-up] will continue to grow at this rate you're looking at reaching 50 per cent penetration within five years."

He added that growth depends on marketing by ISPs and availability of content.

Andrew Reid, senior analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said: "People are always going to question how much they pay for a service, but price is also a function of the value you get from a service."

Reid said people are prepared to pay for the added value of an always-on connection, faster speed and more content. "There's no doubt about it."

Reid explained the surge in broadband uptake by citing advertising expenditure that shows the boost in broadband take-up correlates with an increase in marketing and advertising by the major ISPs.

According to advertising information figures provided by Nielsen AdEx, spending on advertising in the broadband ISP category went from $265,000 in January this year to $2,313,000 in March - an increase of over 800 per cent."

James Pearce writes for ZDNet Australia