Netflix fail: More than half all Australians struggle to stream video due to slow connections

AUSTRALIA’S broadband connections are not good enough to meet today’s demands — and it is expected to affect your Netflix even further.

AUSTRALIA’S broadband connections are not even good enough to meet today’s demands as more than half of households struggle to stream video over services including Netflix.

And brace yourself because it could get worse over the Christmas period.

The research, released today, also revealed 13 per cent of Australians find accessing video on demand completely unreliable, and five per cent struggle to watch shows at night as networks fail to manage demand.

Streaming services, including Netflix, are increasing in popularity but connections to the services is suffering.

The news came as Netflix revealed Australian internet connection speeds to its services fell last month, right before the high-demand TV non-ratings period was set to begin.

Finder.com.au telco expert Alex Kidman said its survey of more than 2000 Australians showed 52 per cent suffered videostreaming dropouts, and only 17 per cent went without streaming problems.

Among the Australians struggling with streaming issues, eight per cent found Netflix and similar services “completely unreliable,” five per cent suffered “constant” issues with buffering and dropouts, and 34 per cent occasionally experienced buffering issues.

“There’s a reasonable expectation that people are going to use broadband for streaming Netflix and for streaming other video services,” Mr Kidman said.

“The fact it’s not up to scale now does not bode well for the future. It suggests significant quantities of work need to be done at the provision level, at the ISP level, to improve services.”

The survey also found five per cent of Australians suffered videostreaming problems only in the evening, which Mr Kidman said indicated their broadband network was overloaded and lacked sufficient capacity.

Some popular shows, such as Stranger Things, are only available on streaming services. Picture: Netflix via AP

“It’s congestion in the classic highway sense,” he said. “Everyone is trying to get home or, in this case, everyone is trying to watch Netflix.”

The streaming giant, accessed by 7.6 million Australians according to Roy Morgan, also revealed the average speed of Netflix connections dropped in October for its four top internet providers.

The fastest Netflix connection speed, delivered by Exetel, was just 3.54 megabits per second — below the recommended rate for streaming a high-definition movie — though a Netflix spokeswoman said the company rated Australia’s average download speed at just 2.88mbps one year ago.

Cox Media analyst Peter Cox said the issue could worsen over Christmas as free-to-air stations pulled their best known programs and TV lovers engaged in “an even higher level of video streaming”.

“Most analysts are predicting video streaming will become (an increasing drain on broadband) in the future,” Mr Cox said.

Australian video streamers who suffer regular connection issues should log their issues, Mr Kidman said, and complain to their internet provider to see if the connection could be improved.

“If your ISP doesn’t give you satisfaction, you could have a recourse with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman,” he said.

Originally published as Netflix fail: More than half all Australians struggle to stream video due to slow connections