THE WEB - FRIEND OR FOE?
Thanks to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census conducted last year, we have some up-to-the-minute figures for internet usage, particularly Broadband access:
In 2005-2006, 60% of Australian households had home Internet access and 70% had access to a home computer.
Of the 4.7million households with home Internet access in 2005-2006 50% had dial-up access and 48% had broadband Internet access. In 2005-2006, the number of households with broadband Internet connection ALMOST DOUBLED to 2.3million households.
The uptake of broadband Internet access varied across states and territories with the ACT reporting the highest proportion of households (55%) using Broadband. In terms of region, both household and personal access to broadband was more prevalent in metropolitan areas than in ex-metropolitan areas.
At the personal level, 52% of people accessing the Internet at home used a broadband connection.
Overall, 57% of people aged 15 years + accessed the Internet at home during 2005-2006.
*http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/acc2d18cc958bc7bca2568a9001393ae?OpenDocument
Broadband access means CONSUMERS ARE ONLINE 24/7
If you look at Australia compared to the rest of the world in the table below, we're way behind, but just look at the growth!
INTERNET USERS AND POPULATION STATISTICS FOR OCEANIA |
||||||
SOUTH PACIFIC REGION |
Population |
% Pop. |
Internet Users, |
Penetration |
Usage % |
Use Growth |
Total for Oceania |
34,468,443 |
0.5 % |
18,796,490 |
54.5 % |
1.6 % |
146.7 % |
Rest of the World |
6,540,197,974 |
99.5 % |
1,154,313,435 |
17.6 % |
98.4 % |
226.7 % |
WORLD TOTAL |
6,574,666,417 |
100.0 % |
1,173,109,925 |
17.8 % |
100.0 % |
225.0 % |
In summary , if you have something to sell or information to pass on, the Internet is the tool to sell it! With the increases in use of the internet, if you don't have a presence, you are not reaching the majority of consumers.