Test your broadband: Oz now on 5.5Mbps average

Australia's broadband may be better than you think -- according to a survey of over 50,000 users in the country, the average connection speed is now around 5.5Mbps.

The results, discovered by ZDNet Australia's Broadband Speed Test, saw Australia's average broadband download speed rated as 18th overall in the world, from among over 100 countries.

Finland took the number one spot with over 15Mbps, followed by Sweden and the Republic of Korea.

Users from around the world can test their broadband connection using ZDNet Australia's Broadband Speed Challenge application, available to Facebook users here.

A recent study by the ACCC analysing the communications market in 2006 found the country plagued by slow broadband speeds.

The report reveals that 33 percent of government and business users are on connections slower than 256kbps, 21 percent are between 256kbps and 512kbps, 512kbps to 1.5Mbps makes up 25 percent of business connections with the remaining 21 percent boasting speeds of 1.5Mbps or greater.

While Australians may be surprised by the average speed of 5.5Mbps, the country has yet to up its ranking among its economic partners in the developed world.

A separate report from the Organisation for Economic Development found Australia is one of the world's slowest and most expensive broadband markets. In that report, Australia was rated 29th for download speed -- below the 18th place it rated in the ZDNet Australia test -- comparing the fastest speed offered by the incumbent telco.

To test your connection, click here for the Facebook application. For the full results so far, click here.