Internet Myth Number 1 11/05/2009

Nearly everyone has broadband these days?

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in relation to broadband take-up in Australia suggest around 78% of Australian Internet users have adopted broadband. (2007-08)

At first glance this statistic appears to be a fairly compelling argument for web marketers assuming almost universal broadband access, and hence developing with minimal regard to page weight. After all the above statistics are a year old and you would expect that the numbers using broadband would have increased in the intervening twelve months. This no doubt is true, however these figures are a little bit misleading.

“Broadband” is one of those all encompassing terms that describe a range of plans, modems and access mediums. The reality is that very few Australian’s, (and the case is similar for most of the world), access the web at the kind of speeds where loading times due to content become irrelevant. The vast majority have a compromised experience due to data caps or variations in the speed due to shared connections or the actual connection technology.

Most household broadband plans are sold with monthly caps on downloads. Young Jimmy downloads a couple of movies early in the August and the rest of the family is on dial up speed till September. The business environment is often not much better with one or two connections having to struggle under the weight of multiple users. When you factor in wireless Internet the situation just gets worse.

The lesson in all this is that you should not believe the hype. The web is not television, (at least not yet), and as a consequence rich media delivery needs to be rationed according to specific need.