The proportion of Australians living in non-urban regions who now have a home broadband connection has significantly increased says the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
The ACMA's Regional Australians Online is an update to the Regional Australia In The Digital Economy snapshot, released by the Authority in 2014.
Over the four years to June 2015, home broadband adoption jumped 19% in non-urban regions; the largest rise of any geographic area. Home broadband connection levels in non-urban areas (80%) are now similar to those in urban (79%) and major urban areas (82%). In capital cities, the adoption rate at June 2015 was 89%, up from 71% in 2011. Nationally, adoption levels hit 86%.
Australians living in the major capital cities were more likely to access digital content than those in other areas, with larger differences when it came to video content. ACMA says that aside from demographic differences, this may be due to differences in internet plan data allowances. A point not mentioned is connection speed - accessing video content over a slow connection is a special type of hell.
The most common activities while online (all regions combined) were:
- communication - 88%
- research and information - 83%
- banking and finance - 76%
- entertainment - 70%
- general browsing and surfing - 67%
- buying and selling - 61%
It appears the digital divide is still very much alive and well. Even up until the middle of last year, there was still significant chunk of Australia's population who have never accessed the Internet. Approximately 9 per cent of Australians in urban and non-urban areas had never been online, compared to just 4% in major capital cities. The prevalence of lack of engagement is closely tied to age, income and employment status.
For the majority of us, the Internet is increasingly weaving itself into our daily lives. With regard to frequency of use, 74 per cent of Australians living in major capital cities access the internet three or more times a day according to the report.
Sixty per cent of Australians living in major capital cities used their mobile phones to go online in the previous year, compared to just 37% per cent of their non-urban counterparts.
The full Regional Australians Online report can be viewed here. The report was based on responses to a survey of 15,241 Australians aged 18 and over.
