There are 659 internet service providers in Australia and for the first time, there is more than one mobile phone for every person in this country. ADSL is now available to 91% of Australia’s population. The data comes from ACMA’s Communications Report released yesterday.

A total of 21.26 million mobile phones are in operation in this country as of June last year, a 7.6% increase from the previous year. A significant increase in 3G mobile customer numbers helped drive that growth, indicating to radio stations that they can use more of the video and MMS features of 3G phones in their competitioning and talkback content.

Better broadband through most of the country also gives radio stations the opportunity to do more with their websites as consumers can stream and download audio faster and load graphics more easily with ADSL broadband.

The report lists a total of 274 commercial radio services available to Australians, 155 on FM and 106 on AM. There are also 12 off-band stations and 358 community radio stations.

In 2005–06, the commercial radio industry generated revenue of $1 billion, a 5.5 per cent increase since 2004–05. The FM sector generated $721.8 million in revenue and the AM sector generated revenue of $276 million.

For the full report, click below.