Popular activities on the Next Gen NBN include email access, video streaming, music downloads, as well as online calls and conferencing.

More than one in five households are now using fibre connections for Internet access, IPTV and other bandwidth-intensive applications, according to the findings of the latest Fibre Index Survey commissioned by OpenNet. The survey, which was carried out by Acorn Marketing & Research Consultants, also showed an uptrend in user satisfaction with fibre broadband connectivity.

“We found a greater satisfaction with fibre services among existing customers and an increasing demand for hassle-free online experiences among non-fibre users,” said Mr Mark Blake, Chief Executive Officer, OpenNet.

The number of requests for optical fibre broadband connections has been growing consistently, with seasonal spikes during local IT shows such as the recently-concluded Sitex 2012, noted Mr Blake. To meet the seasonal uptick in demand, more than 4,400 installation slots were added.

Overall, OpenNet’s subscriber base grew from 100,000 at the start of 2012 to 250,000 in November. “While the penetration of home internet remains the same, the Fibre Index shows an increase in the frequency of Internet usage in the average household. There is also a significant jump in the number of users accessing the Internet for music and video downloads, online file storage and online conferencing,” said Mr Blake.

While the broadband penetration rate in Singapore stayed at 93 per cent, the survey indicated that the use of the Internet was becoming more important with the number of respondents reporting daily usage increasing from 76 per cent in 2011 to 87 per cent in 2012.

Email access (84 per cent) and video streaming (72 per cent) remained the most popular online activities. About 49 per cent of respondents reported using their connection for video downloads. This was a 45 per cent increase over the number of respondents for 2011. Other popular activities included music downloads (48 per cent of respondents), video content uploads (45 per cent), online calls and conferencing (40 per cent) and online file storage (29 per cent).

Interesting trends were also observed in the preferred online activities among different age groups. “While the younger set spends the most time on entertainment applications such as music and gaming, the older users go for more practical applications such as online banking and trading,” noted Mr Blake.

The 15-24 year olds were more likely to spend their time downloading music, uploading photos and gaming, the 25-34 year olds spent more time streaming videos and purchasing tickets or other items online, and the 35 and older age group spent more time engaging in online banking, trading, accessing work files and emails, and blogging.

Customers also reported higher satisfaction levels with their fibre installation and usage experiences, compared with a year ago.

The number of respondents who were satisfied with the terminal point (TP) installations went up from 68 per cent in 2011 to 84 per cent in 2012. Among fibre broadband users, 74 per cent said they were satisfied with their connection, with 27 per cent indicating that they were extremely satisfied.

The survey also found that fibre users were less likely to face problems with their connection compared with non-fibre users – by up to almost 20 per cent depending on the issues concerned. Most notably, fibre broadband services fared much better than non-fibre services in terms of performance, with multiple users able to engage in online activities at the same time. Performance during peak hours, and file download and page load speeds were also significantly better with the fibre connection.

The OpenNet Fibre Index survey was carried out between August and September, and covered a representative sample of 500 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 15 and above.