Slow Speeds and Slow Response: Australia’s Internet Falls Behind
Australians are putting up with slow internet with the latest data showing our broadband is worse than many third world countries, yet many can rectify this by changing providers.
According to Speed Test Global* Australia has dropped to 81 in the world for fixed broadband performance below countries like Nicaragua, Uzbekistan and El Salvador.
Slow internet and drop outs tops the list of complaints made to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman with a 13% increase in complaints during the last quarter of 2024.
“Australians deserve and should expect better when it comes to their internet,” says Philip Luo, CEO of Australian internet service provider Occom which prides itself on having a 4.9/5 star customer satisfaction rating.
“For too long Australian consumers have been accepting slow connections, poor customer service and delayed response times and in many cases it’s compounded by them not actively switching from their current providers and looking for a better option,” says Mr Luo.
“Many Australians can actually solve their internet issues by switching to a better service provider,” he adds.
“I remember when I first came to Australia 12 years ago and I had to wait 3 weeks for an ADSL connection. I was shocked how long things take here and I couldn’t believe people accepted that as being a normal service,” he says.
“We’re definitely starting to see more consumers waking up to the fact that they deserve and can get better service with providers outside the big players in the market.”
“My goal of setting up Occom was to provide all Australian customers with faster setup, faster internet speed and faster response times.”
In 2025, 80% of customer calls are picked up within 19 seconds at Occom.
The company has doubled its customer base since 2022 with a growing number of Australians ditching the major telcos and choosing smaller internet service providers that can provide better customer service and reliability.
The percentage of high-speed plans (100Mbps or above) has increased by 54% in the last 18 months alone.
Occom connects with small footprint fibre carriers to deliver extensive geographic coverage beyond what most internet service providers offer and uses smart routing to maintain optimal connections.
“We meticulously select and adopt multiple suppliers and focus on adjusting our network over time based on the best customer experience as opposed to the lowest cost,” says Mr Luo.
The latest data from the NBN shows the average Australian household is downloading 10 times more than it did a decade ago and that number is expected to double again by 2029.
The average number of internet-connected devices in broadband households globally has reached 25 and is expected to top 44 by the end of the decade.
“When it comes to improving NBN infrastructure that’s something that will take time, but Australian consumers do have the ability to act now and choose providers with a better focus on reliability and speed.”
