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Australia’s fixed broadband "speed" (25.88 Mbps) continues its sad decline in the rankings, which sees it placed just one spot behind Kazakhstan. According to the Ookla Speed Test Global Index, Australia came in at 55th in the world for fixed broadband in December; Kazakhstan came in 54th.Other countries with faster broadband than Australia include Bermuda, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Bulgaria, and New Zealand (which came in 20th). The country with the fastest fixed broadband was Singapore, with average downloads of 161.21 Mbps.Australia's mobile speeds are less depressing: the average download speed was 48.47 Mbps, putting us seventh in the world. Singapore ranked fourth for mobile speed; the top place taken out by Norway, which ranked 14th for fixed broadband.
According to The Age, Australia’s ranking fell for mobile and fixed broadband can be attributed to rapid advances in speeds overseas rather than slower internet over the month. (The world's internet speeds increased by 30 percent in 2017 alone, according to Ookla.)Joseph Hanlon, a spokesperson for telecommunications comparison site WhistleOut, told The Age that the average speed in Australia has increased by 25 per cent since the start of 2017.
“Speeds of about 25Mbps are suitable for average sized households, of two to four people, where several people are likely to use the internet at the same time,” he said, adding that he’d be “surprised if the average speed in Australia doesn't sit at about the global average of 40 Mbps by year's end”.
In December last year, the national broadband network announced it would offer cheap wholesale bundles to encourage Australians to opt for faster speed connections. However, it's not known if retailers will pass on these savings to consumers.