Australia's internet speed compared to Kenya and the rest of the world

nbn — NBN Co workers arrange fibre-optic cables used in the National Broadband Network in west Sydney, July 11, 2013. Reuters/Daniel Munoz

Australia has fallen to 50th place on a global ladder of internet speeds, behind Kenya and other developing nations. The country’s $49 billion broadband network was intended to lead a digital revolution, but customer complaints suggest otherwise.

According to the Akamai State of the Internet report, the average speed here was recorded at 10.01 mbps, seven megabits behind the USA. Research has found that Australian broadband speeds are slower compared to that in Africa and former Soviet nations. America ranked 13th with 17.2mbps.

Sydney-based former adviser to the United Nations on the social and economic benefits of digital development Paul Budde said that Australia is an example of what shouldn't be done. He added that the nation has ended up with the worst possible solution.

The findings comes following news that the NBN network cost taxpayers $49 billion since it was rolled out eight years ago, Bloomberg notes. Some customers who switched to the network have whined about slow download speeds. The nation’s internet speed is behind Kenya, and former Soviet nations like Latvia and Lithuania.

From June to December 2016, the telecommunication ombudsman got a total of 7,512 of complaints, which was double compared to the same corresponding period a year earlier. Some retailers complained paying higher fees when subscribing to the network.

The network has said that the rise of complaints was due to the increased number of people who use the service. An NBN spokesperson told the Daily Mail Australia that the citing of Kenya underlines how misleading the Akamai rankings can be, adding that Kenya has fixed broadband penetration to only around 10 percent of its population, principally served with fibre to the premises.

NBN, on the other hand, is providing broadband to 100 percent of the Australian population. "This means that a small number of people get very high speeds whilst others get nothing at all and yet their overall ranking is higher as only the small number of high speed lines get measured,” the spokesperson said.

The Australian parliamentary inquiry’s report into the NBN has called for an independent audit of the project’s business case. It also recommended that fibre be used where possible for the rest of the rollout.

“Australia risks missing the next wave of digital innovation as businesses that need faster web connections head overseas,” Matt Barrie, chief executive officer of Freelancer Ltd said, according to Bloomberg. The Sydney-based job-outsourcing company has about 25 million users worldwide.