Data from an internet speed testing service shows that Perth has the slowest broadband speeds among Australia's capital cities.

Test My Net reported the average download speed for metropolitan Perth was 7.1 megabits per second (Mbps).

The highest speed was in Canberra, which averages 39Mbps, followed by Hobart on 19Mbps.

Across Australia, average download speeds were 8.8Mbps.

Mark Gregory, a senior lecturer in network engineering at Melbourne's RMIT University, told 720 ABC Perth he believed the figures from Test My Net were accurate.

"It is the only indication of the connectivity speeds that we have," Dr Gregory said.

"The best way to do it is to actually do performance monitoring, and the ACCC has been calling for performance monitoring of broadband for several years now.

"The telecommunications industry and the Government have been staunchly against doing that."

WA 'dudded' by fibre to the node

Mark Gregory from Melbourne's RMIT University said the fibre to the node NBN service was inferior. ( ABC News: Freya Michie )

Dr Gregory said Australia ranked 48 out of 180 countries for broadband speeds and warned it would continue to get worse.

He blamed the Federal Government's switch from fibre to the premises — a policy of the previous Labor government — to fibre to the node following the 2013 election.

"If we continue down this pathway with this Government's version of the NBN, then Australia will be a first-world country with a third-world broadband network."

He said many people erroneously believed their homes were in a particular blackspot and that slow speeds were an isolated issue.

"I think that is the story that is being spun, because it doesn't give us the clearest indication of the underlying problem, which is that broadband in Western Australia is terrible," Dr Gregory said.

"Metropolitan Perth has been dudded because it is only going to get fibre to the node.

"We have already been seeing horror stories about fibre to the node in the eastern states, and Perth is going to get that throughout."

Listeners measure their speed

720 ABC Perth shared their stories of the ups and downs of home broadband speeds.

"I tried speed test twice last night. 0.1-0.16 before it gave up and couldn't complete the tests. Not enough internet to even run a speed test."

"We have cable in Ocean Reef, which they can take from my cold dead hands! 30Mbps."

"Here in Mt Lawley we would love to get 7.1Mbps. Our average is 5Mbps down to 2Mbps."

"When it rains the underground connections in our area get wet and the net grinds to a near halt. My teenager goes into a fibre optic political rant."

"I'm lucky enough to have the Labor NBN. 100Mbps download speed. I am an IT consultant and this helps me enormously to work more from home."

Upload speeds even worse

Dr Gregory said upload speeds were worse than download speeds in Perth and that it could be having an economic impact.

"Perth's average upload speed is 1Mbps," he said.

"I would suggest that many people who rely on their broadband for business have connection speeds that are far worse than that.

"In terms of Australia competing in the global digital economy, business is struggling to compete.

"Many businesses look at places like Singapore or Hong Kong with much better connection speeds and think maybe they should move their business out of Australia."