tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/adsl-25008/articlesADSL – The Conversation2017-04-11T00:59:22Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/757802017-04-11T00:59:22Z2017-04-11T00:59:22ZThree charts on Australia’s growing appetite for fast broadband<p><em>This piece is part of our new Three Charts series, in which we aim to highlight interesting trends in three simple charts.</em></p>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest figures on <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8153.0Main+Features1December%202016?OpenDocument">internet activity in Australia</a> show a huge jump in the number of people with advertised speeds of greater than 24 Mbps (that’s megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed).</p>
<p>That trend is significant because it suggests that Australia’s appetite for faster broadband is growing apace, and that the NBN may be helping to drive adoption of higher speed internet.</p>
<p>Starting from Dec 2014, the number of subscribers in Australia with internet advertised as being capable of 24 Mbps or greater <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/subscriber.nsf/log?openagent&81530do001_201612.xls&8153.0&Data%20Cubes&C835E0DF404B850ECA2580F8001DEB95&0&December%202016&05.04.2017&Latest">rose from 2.3 million to 7.8 million.</a> Or, expressed another way, from 19% of all internet subscribers to 58% of all subscribers. </p>
<p>(It’s worth noting that the growth is in people who have signed up to packages that advertised internet speeds <em>capable</em> of reaching 24 Mbps. That’s not to say that speed is <em>actually</em> delivered all of the time; there is variation and one doesn’t always get the advertised speeds.)</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/XPR45/4/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="582"></iframe>
<p>This increase is due, in part, to the roll-out of the national broadband network (NBN) and access to broadband at higher speeds – but that’s not the whole story.</p>
<p>True, the number of NBN subscribers over the same period rose rapidly from 322,000 to 1.7 million but that doesn’t explain the other 5.5 million subscribers who moved to faster broadband in that time. </p>
<p>Looking at the types of connection, there was an increase in the number of subscribers using internet delivered by fibre and fixed wireless. This tallies with what NBN data show.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dEIOw/6/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>It’s likely that with the advent of the NBN and its standardised speed tiers, internet service providers started offering services that were on a par or better than those being offered on the NBN. Competition may be at work, and the technology itself is improving. </p>
<p>However, data reported by cloud computing services firm Akamai in their <a href="https://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/">State of the Internet</a> reports – frequently <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-21/fact-check-australias-internet-speed-rank/7509352">cited</a> by the press – showed Australia’s broadband to be woefully behind most other developed countries. </p>
<p>Indeed, in the same time that Australia saw a huge increase in subscribers on internet speeds of 24 Mbps and above, Akamai was reporting that average internet download speeds had increased by a mere 27%, an increase to an underwhelming 10.1 Mbps. That puts Australia down the list in terms of average speeds.</p>
<p>With ABS data showing that 58% of the population is now on plans capable of delivering speeds of 24 Mbps and above, such a paltry rise in the average internet speed is somewhat surprising. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Lziw4/4/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="535"></iframe>
<p>It is, of course, possible that the advertised speeds of Australian internet plans are, too often, misrepresenting the true speeds available.</p>
<p>The way that Akamai calculates its figures is not spelled out in its report – it <a href="https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/q4-2016-state-of-the-internet-connectivity-report.pdf">says</a> that it “includes data gathered from across the Akamai Intelligent Platform”. So perhaps it would be wise to take claims about Australia’s rank in the world on internet speeds with a hefty grain of salt. Things may be better than we are being told. </p>
<p>More data is needed to make sense of the impact of the shift of subscribers to higher speed internet. Projects like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-to-monitor-australias-broadband-performance">plan</a> to “test and report on the typical speed and performance of broadband plans provided over the NBN” will help build a more accurate picture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>ABS figures show that Australia’s appetite for faster broadband is growing apace.David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716762017-03-06T02:14:44Z2017-03-06T02:14:44ZAmerica’s broadband market needs more competition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158608/original/image-20170227-26326-15wvoq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How many people are trying to connect America's cities?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/technicians-connecting-network-cable-connection-concept-88451932">Network workers via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United States is home to some of the most creative people and businesses on the planet. Our filmmakers, artists, software engineers and scientists entertain the world and expand the boundaries of human knowledge. Their creative process is often a mystery, but their tools are not. Among these tools, few are more critical than the internet, which fosters creativity and innovation by facilitating access to information and supporting collaborative work. It is the enzyme that accelerates the creative economy, much like waterways, railroads and roads fueled the industrial era.</p>
<p>But there is a catch: Our world-class creators live in communities where internet access services are far from world-class. Take the example of Los Angeles, a major creativity hub: Using data from the California Public Utilities Commission, <a href="http://usc-annenberg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8f4cee8ba8fa478396e947cb595674f3">we mapped</a> the availability of different home internet services across Los Angeles County. We then combined the results with demographic data, which allowed us to analyze the interplay between internet infrastructure and community demographics in close geographical detail.</p>
<p>Our results show that <a href="http://arnicusc.org/publications/c2ig-policy-brief-1/">nearly two-thirds of Angelenos live in areas served by just one internet provider</a> that offers speeds meeting the Federal Communications Commission’s current definition of “broadband” service – <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2016-broadband-progress-report">25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload</a>. Competition is slightly stronger in the wealthier areas of the county, along the coast and in the San Fernando Valley.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158609/original/image-20170227-26298-1x7hu6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Only one-third of Los Angeles County residents have more than one option for internet service that meets the FCC’s broadband standard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hernán Galperin</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Weak competition yields high prices for consumers and little pressure for companies to upgrade their networks to offer better service. For example, in LA County, fiber-based services (capable of delivering speeds far faster than legacy technologies like cable or DSL) are available in less than a quarter of census blocks. By comparison, fiber coverage in cities like Stockholm and Paris (where residents have a choice of at least <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/04/01/16998/us-internet-users-pay-more-and-have-fewer-choices-europeans">six providers</a>) is approaching <a href="https://observatoire.francethd.fr/">100 percent</a>. Further, the speeds offered in monopoly areas are 35 percent lower than those offered in areas with three or more competitors. This suggests that increasing competition in America’s broadband market would offer a better on-ramp to the creative lifeline of the internet.</p>
<h2>Little head-to-head competition</h2>
<p>The situation in LA County reflects two major trends in U.S. broadband markets:</p>
<p>1) The ongoing <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/22/498996253/timeline-at-ts-merger-with-time-warner-follows-decades-of-industry-deals">industry consolidation</a> in the telecom and cable TV markets;</p>
<p>2) <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/04/01/16933/how-broadband-providers-seem-avoid-competition">Weak competition</a> between DSL (which uses existing landline telephone wires to deliver broadband) and cable-internet services.</p>
<p>One of our key findings is that there is almost no geographical overlap between competitors with the same technology. Of the more than 73,000 census blocks in LA County – the smallest unit of geography government data can be broken into – only about 2,500 (3 percent) are served by more than one DSL provider. Likewise, only 850 blocks (about 1 percent) are served by more than one cable-internet provider. Alas, most households have to choose between one cable provider and one DSL provider; often, one of them fails to meet the FCC’s broadband speed threshold.</p>
<p>Competition has reached such lows that recent mergers aren’t making much difference. Take, for example, Charter Communications’ acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016, a mega-merger of cable rivals that was <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-spectrum-cable-bills-20161004-snap-story.html">expected</a> to reduce competition and increase prices throughout LA County. But fewer than 1 percent of Angelenos lived in areas previously served by both operators. The merger couldn’t reduce competition because there was so little tto begin with, as companies divvy up territory to avoid competition.</p>
<p>The most recent <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2016-broadband-progress-report">FCC Broadband Report</a> finds that the situation in Los Angeles is typical of other large metro areas. And it is worse in rural America, where 40 percent of residents lack access to broadband services.</p>
<h2>Communities stand up for themselves</h2>
<p>A key barrier to more competition is the expense of installing wired networks across large areas. In the past, federal policies required the few companies with existing networks to allow competing providers to serve customers over those same wires. But <a href="http://scrawford.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/The-communications-crisis-in-America-final.pdf">those days are gone</a>, largely because the incumbent cable and phone companies successfully fought them in court.</p>
<p>As a result, many local governments have <a href="https://theconversation.com/municipal-broadband-offers-hope-for-lagging-us-internet-36473">taken matters into their own hands</a>. In 2014, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti launched <a href="http://citylinkla.org/">CityLinkLA</a> seeking to secure private investments in high-speed internet networks that would provide every resident with a basic level of internet service for free, or at very low cost. The system Garcetti envisioned would also be able to offer much faster speeds than today’s commercial service – 1 Gbps or more – at competitive rates.</p>
<p>So far, however, CityLinkLA has not attracted large investments in new broadband infrastructure, particularly for gigabit-speed services. Moreover, our analysis shows that fiber-optic investments have been concentrated in wealthier communities, exacerbating the <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/">growing divide</a> between those with lightning-speed home connections and a digital underclass forced to rely on their smartphones and mobile data plans.</p>
<p>Geography and demographics present numerous challenges to the roll-out of advanced network infrastructure in many U.S. cities, including Los Angeles. However, an <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/04/01/16998/us-internet-users-pay-more-and-have-fewer-choices-europeans">analysis</a> by the Center for Public Integrity shows that, when comparing US and French cities with similar population densities (such as Nice and Columbus, OH), Americans paid more and had less choice in broadband. If our people and businesses are to continue thriving in a knowledge-based economy, and if we seek to build new opportunities for struggling communities, we must do better. </p>
<p>Help is unlikely to come from Washington, where the newly appointed FCC chairman has <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/fcc-makes-it-harder-for-poor-people-to-get-subsidized-broadband/">consistently voted</a> against federal subsidies for broadband expansion projects. Rather, we should look at the example of communities across America, large and small, that are building upon existing city assets to accelerate the equitable deployment of next-generation internet infrastructure. For example, the city of Los Angeles already owns over 800 miles of fiber optic cable, and there is <a href="http://citylinkla.org/rfp/RFP-CityLinkLA-6-16-15-c2.pdf">significant spare capacity</a>. This and other locally owned assets can be leveraged to offer Angelenos, and Americans, the world-class internet service they deserve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>World-class fiber-based internet service is available in less than a quarter of Los Angeles County. By contrast, it’s almost ubiquitous in Stockholm and Paris.Hernán Galperin, Research Associate Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismAnnette M. Kim, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Southern CaliforniaFrançois Bar, Professor of Communication and Spatial Sciences, USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/543922016-02-22T19:09:24Z2016-02-22T19:09:24ZInfographic: how fast is the NBN?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112290/original/image-20160222-25879-13xfqrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>There has been a lot of talk about the National Broadband Network (<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/nbn">NBN</a>) in its various guises under the Labor and now Liberal governments.</em> </p>
<p><em>But how fast really is it in its current form? How does it compare to today’s ADSL and broadband internationally? And, crucially, how long will it take to download an episode of Parks and Recreation? You’ll find the answers here.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Broadband before the NBN</h2>
<p>ADSL2+ is the most common broadband technology used in Australia today. ADSL2+ speeds depend on the distance from the premises to the local telephone exchange. </p>
<p>This is because imperfections in the copper wires connecting the premises to the exchange can degrade the signal. So the longer the wire, the lower the speed. </p>
<p>A typical ADSL2+ download speed in Melbourne or Sydney is around 15 Mb/s, but many housholds have much lower speeds than this. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111876/original/image-20160218-1248-pydkkj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>International comparison</h2>
<p>This chart shows the <a href="http://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/rtucker/talks/files/Lecture_Tucker.pdf">average peak download speeds</a> (an indication of the upper range of speeds) reported by <a href="https://www.akamai.com/">Akamai</a> for a number of countries in 2015, when Australia’s download speeds were ranked 49th in the world. </p>
<p>The graph also shows projected download speeds in those countries in 2020 and 2025, based on continuing exponential growth of download speeds. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112092/original/image-20160219-1261-j6d2a8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>Speed comparison</h2>
<p>The wired part of the NBN will have three components: </p>
<ul>
<li>Fibre-to-the-node (FTTN)</li>
<li>Fibre to the premises (FTTP) and </li>
<li>Hybrid fibre coax (HFC) networks, which are upgraded version of the existing Telstra and Optus services. </li>
</ul>
<p>FTTN will provide download speeds of 50 Mb/s to 100 Mb/s, and like ASDL, the speed will depend on the distance between the premises and the nearest node in the street. It will not be possible to upgrade FTTN services to higher speeds. </p>
<p>Premises connected to the FTTP and HFC networks will be able to download at at least 100 Mb/s, upgradeable to 1,000 Mb/s (i.e. 1 gigabit per second or Gb/s) and even 10,000 Mb/s (i.e. 10 Gb/s) in the future.</p>
<p>This animation gives an idea of the different download speeds of ADSL, FTTN, and FTTP in 2016, 2021 and 2026, based on expected technology improvements. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=32&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=32&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=32&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110910/original/image-20160210-3274-1pew6qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-242" class="tc-infographic" height="860" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/242/7b676b29f5f42577ebd58bf1a4fde2377d4ca0df/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<h2>Bandwidth capacity</h2>
<p>The speed of a broadband connection is not just about download speeds, but also the capacity for multiple streams through a single connection.</p>
<p>For example, a typical ADSL2+ connection could handle up to three <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television">high-definition</a> (HD, or 1,920 × 1,080) video streams simultaneously.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112093/original/image-20160219-1240-pd45is.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Faster connection will be able to handle more simultaneous streams and at higher resolutions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/112094/original/image-20160219-1264-fqkgf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>What your future household will require</h2>
<p>This graphic shows the download requirements of a typical household in 2020 and 2025. </p>
<p>By then, 4K <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-definition_television">ultra-high-definition</a> (3,840 x 2,160) video streaming will be common, and 4K TVs will be readily available. By 2020, a typical Australian home will have two of these devices. </p>
<p>In 2025, 8K (7,680 x 4,320) TVs will be readily available and there could well be an 8k TV in every home as well as two or three 4k TVs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1255&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111887/original/image-20160218-1269-1tt956q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1255&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54392/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Tucker has received funding from the ARC and a number of telecommunications companies. He was a member of the Panel of Experts that advised the Labor Government on the establishment of the original FTTP-based NBN.</span></em></p>How fast is the NBN in its current form? Is it really that much faster than ADSL? And, crucially, how long will it take to download an episode of Parks and Recreation? You’ll find the answers here.Rod Tucker, Laureate Emeritus Professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.