About 75 per cent or 6.2 million households in Australia have broadband access, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday said.

It is a big jump by more than one million households with broadband access from two years ago.

By state or territory, the Australian Capital Territory had the largest proportion of residents with broadband access at 83 per cent, while on the opposite end was Tasmania with 65 per cent.

Accessing social networking sites were among the most popular uses of Aussies with broadband connection, primarily among young people. About 88 per cent of Australians in the age ranges 15 to 17 use the Internet for social networking, followed by those 18 to 24 at 86 per cent.

Another popular use was ecommerce with 68 per cent having purchased goods and services over the Internet in 2010/11, such as travel tickets, accommodation, compact discs, DVDs, books and magazines.

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