New report predicts connected devices in the home set to triple by 2020

Aussie homes are set to enter a new ‘app age’ of super connectivity spurred by our insatiable appetite for devices and universal access to fast broadband, according to new research released today.

Developed by Telsyte and commissioned by nbn, the ‘Internet Uninterrupted: Australian Households of the Connected Future’ report forecasts that the average household will go from using nine connected devices in the home to 29. At peak times, households are predicted to have 12 simultaneous applications connecting to the Internet over multiple devices in 2020, up from the current eight.

With everything from smoke detectors to hot water systems converting to the smart age, Australian households will increasingly rely on faster, more reliable broadband delivered by the nbn™ network to operate multiple devices and apps.

Managing Director of Telsyte, Foad Fadaghi said:

“As Australian households embrace high-definition streaming video, online games and working from home with the help of cloud-based applications, the need for fast and reliable broadband will increase, especially during peak times when multiple applications are accessing the Internet at once."

"Telsyte research predicts the average household will see a 50 per cent increase in the number of peak simultaneous applications connecting to the Internet by 2020 as more personal devices, white goods, health monitoring equipment and many more ordinary devices in the home get connected."

The report reveals five typical Aussie households of today and predicts their status in 2020:

• The Hectic Household: Aussie parents who are career focused and have children living at home. They own many of the lounge room entertainment devices that inevitably bringing the household together. They consume and own technology that contributes to their home and work life alike, with dedicated spaces and devices for their work and heavy usage of cloud storage and related services.  In 2020, Hectic Households will have an average of 19 applications running simultaneously at peak times, up from 12 today.
• The City Living Household: Highly social Aussie couples who do not have children, and have embraced technology to support their active and untethered lifestyles. With potentially two incomes and no children, they are in a good position to invest in new devices and are very reliant on mobile technology, which they access not only when they are out and about but also when they are at home. In 2020, City Living Households will have an average of 15 applications running simultaneously at peak times, up from 11 today.
• The Shared Household: Aussies who co-habit with friends, family and other people who are heavy users of the Internet, but on a budget. They tend to own fewer devices than other Australians. However, what they lack in number of devices, they make up for in terms of Internet usage — especially their consumption of catch-up TV and streaming video. In 2020, Shared Households will have an average of 12 applications running simultaneously at peak times, up from eight today.
• Suburban Dreamer Household: Parents with children living at home and who tend to leave work at the workplace. The few short hours between the time everyone gets and the time the children go to bed are the busiest for internet usage, with everyone often online for learning and play at the same time. In 2020, Suburban Dreamer Households will have an average of 13 applications running simultaneously, up from seven in 2015.
• Empty Nester Household: Older Aussie couples or families without children in the home. They have embraced technology to get things done – although not always with the latest devices. While they may be the last to take up technology, this doesn’t mean they avoid it, and in fact they embrace it. The range of technologies they use is narrower than other households; however their use of the technology they do have is high. In 2020, Empty Nester Households will have an average of nine applications running simultaneously, up from six in 2015.

nbn recently announced a plan to start or complete construction to build the nbn™ network for more than 7.5 million homes and business in the next three years. The company aims to connect 8 million homes and businesses to the network by 2020.

Media enquiries

Melody Chew
Phone: 02 6656 3045
Mobile: 0438 139 713
Email: melodychew@nbnco.com.au

nbn Media Hotline
Phone: 02 9927 4200
Email: media@nbnco.com.au

Resources

Visit the special nbn blog series to learn more about how Australia’s digital future will impact households.

Click here to download the research paper, access infographics, images and radio grabs.

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