Online but outpaced: Australia’s digital drift

Australia may be online, but the widening gap in speed, skills and strategy shows we are losing pace with global digital leaders. Paul Budde reports.

new international telecommunications union Facts and Figures 2025 The report was widely welcomed as it highlighted a watershed moment: Six billion people, roughly three-quarters of the global population, are now online.

But while the world celebrates a major step forward, the report also reveals a more complex story about the changing nature of the digital divide. This is a story Australia needs to pay close attention to.

For years, Australia has relied on near-universal access to achieve digital success. But ITU makes clear that the old distinction based on access has been replaced by a new distinction based on quality, affordability, speed and skills.

On these metrics, Australia is drifting rather than leading. A few weeks ago I reported on Australia’s innovation paralysis and the need for further research. CSIROThis situation seems to be getting worse rather than getting better.

The new distinction: quality over access

Australia is in the ITU high income category, where internet usage is over 90 percent. However, this classification hides the fact that countries in this group do not perform equally. South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Scandinavian countries continue to push forward with strong fiber networks, near-universal 5G, high affordability and coordinated digital skills programmes.

Meanwhile, Australia is still grappling with the consequences of the multi-technology mix shaping its National Broadband Network (NBN) and created persistent disparities in speed and reliability. In an earlier article about Telstra’s reconceptualization of infrastructure, I argued that Australia’s telecommunications system was built on short-term compromises rather than long-term strategies.

ITU’s global comparison reinforces this point. Nearly everyone here is online, but the system they rely on is increasingly looking like a mid-range system rather than a premium one.

Usage is not the same as talent

One of the most striking findings of the ITU report is the difference in data use between countries. Average mobile data consumption in high-income countries is almost eight times higher than in low-income countries. This reflects greater use of cloud services, online management, remote working tools, high-bandwidth content and AI-powered platforms.

Australians are heavy users, but our digital infrastructure is not keeping pace with the global economy. High usage can mask underlying weaknesses: inconsistent stable network quality, growing network congestion, and an affordability environment that continues to put pressure on low-income households. As I noted in my last article on energy and digital resilience, key infrastructure systems now reinforce each other. When telecommunications policy stalls, the consequences are reflected in productivity, economic opportunity, and long-term competitiveness.

Affordability pressures are real

The ITU reports that mobile data is unaffordable in most low- and middle-income countries. Australia is not in this category, but affordability issues are becoming more visible. Broadband prices remain high compared to other OECD economies, and the costs of mobile plans are rising steadily. Digital exclusion persists among older Australians, people with disabilities, Indigenous communities and low-income households.

Affordability is not just a matter of price. It shapes the population’s ability to fully participate in the digital society. Access to education, healthcare, government services, and secure online activities all depends on quality, affordable connectivity. Australia still lacks the policy coherence to achieve this. The latest 000 outages point to access issues, a combination of failing infrastructure and telephony issues. Add satellites to this and the whole access situation becomes even more complicated.

Progress in mobile leadership is slowing

Globally, 5G coverage now reaches more than half of the world’s population and more than 80 percent of people in high-income countries. While Australia has extensive 5G deployment in major cities, rural and regional coverage is inconsistent. Internationally, Australia is no longer at the top. Countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe have already moved beyond the first wave of 5G deployments and are integrating fiber and 5G into unified national strategies.

Our slower progress is due to structural problems long identified in previous I.A. articles: concentrated market power, regulatory warnings, limited infrastructure competition and the long shadow of the NBN rollout. The risk today is not that Australia will fall behind, but that the distance between us and global leaders will widen.

Skills gap widening

The ITU highlights another divide that doesn’t show up in connectivity statistics: digital skills. While basic skills are common around the world, more advanced skills such as cybersecurity awareness, digital content creation and online problem solving are lagging behind. This mirrors the situation in Australia, where AI literacy remains low, cybersecurity capacity is inadequate, and the education system is slow to integrate digital skills into curriculum reform.

In my article on moral reasoning and digital societies, I argued that adopting technology without talent creates a false sense of progress. ITU’s findings also point in the same direction.

What does this mean for Australia?

Australia is one of the most connected countries in the world, but connectivity alone no longer defines digital leadership. ITU’s global benchmarks point to several areas where Australia needs renewed ambition: a coherent national digital strategy, integrated fiber and 5G planning, investment in digital skills, stronger digital sovereignty policies and better affordability. Without these, Australia risks becoming a country that is online but not fully equipped for the next phase of the digital age.

The world is moving towards high-quality, durable and intelligent digital systems. Australia may still choose to lead, but this will require policy decisions that go beyond the convenience of simply connecting.

Paul Budde IA is a columnist and managing director of independent telecommunications research and consultancy. Paul Budde Consulting. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PaulBudde.

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