Labor MP slams Turnbull’s NBN as Aussie broadband speeds fall behind

Shadow Communications Minister, Jason Clare, has slammed the Liberal Party’s takeover of the National Broadband Network following new research showing a substantial drop in world rankings for average peak connection speed.

Clare said on Thursday that Australia has crashed in the global broadband rankings, citing new research from Akamai showing our average peak connection speed has dropped from 30^th place to 60^th in just three years.

The drop comes despite year-on-year growth in internet speeds and broadband connectivity in Australia, with average connection speeds recorded at 8.2 megabits per second (Mbps) – an 11 per cent increase since last quarter.

Akamai’s report revealed also revealed that Australia’s overall broadband ranking has fallen 14 points on the global internet speed and broadband connectivity report since last quarter, despite a national increase in take up of broadband overall.

In Q4 2015, Australia’s average peak connection speed was 39.3Mbps, giving it a global rank of 60. This follows Australia’s drop from its rank of 46 in Q3.

“Malcolm Turnbull’s second rate NBN is a complete failure,” Clare said.

“Under Malcolm Turnbull’s second rate copper NBN, Australia’s international broadband competitiveness has crashed against every broadband metric that has a measure.”

Despite progress, Australia’s internet speeds and broadband connectivity levels now rank behind most of Asia and Europe, the US and Canada, as well as Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Poland, Clare noted.

The current government’s NBN has received criticism in the past for its long-term roll-out and high cost of implementation compared to previous estimates.

“Australia cannot afford another three years of Malcolm Turnbull’s failures,” Clare said. “Australian businesses need reliable, fast broadband to compete in the global digital economy.”