Lucky households will receive a massive NBN speed boost beginning September, with some plans set to be five times faster for no extra cost. But these free speed upgrades won’t be available to all NBN customers.
NBN Co is making the change to help future-proof the network and help Australia catch up to countries with established gigabit-speed services. But while the updates are a huge positive for eligible households, what’s changing (and who can benefit) is confusing. We’ve broken down what you need to know about NBN Co’s accelerated speed tiers.
How NBN speed tiers are changing for Aussie households
In short: NBN Co is supercharging its three fastest residential wholesale speeds, and launching an all-new 2 Gigabit (Gbps) option.
If your current NBN plan includes download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or higher, you may get a free, automatic bump to a much faster speed from September 14. You may also be able to move to the new 2Gbps plan by request.
Here’s what’s changing in September for each wholesale residential NBN speed tier.
- Home Basic I (NBN 12/1): No change
- Home Basic I (NBN 25/5 or 25/10): No change
- Home Standard (NBN 50/20): No change
- Home Fast (NBN 100/20 or 100/40): Increases to 500/50Mbps
- Home Superfast (NBN 250/25): Increases to 750/50Mbps
- Home Ultrafast (NBN 1000/50): Increases to 1000/100Mbps
- Home Hyperfast (NBN 2000/200 or 2000/100): New speed tier
The changes will come from NBN Co at a wholesale level, but it’s up to each internet service provider to decide when and how to offer the new speeds. Several telcos, including Telstra, Aussie Broadband, Optus and Superloop, have confirmed that eligible customers with the right connection type on plans of NBN 100 or faster will receive an automatic upgrade to the new speeds.
Households that aren’t eligible will remain on the same speed, as their connection isn’t compatible with superfast broadband.
How does connection type affect your NBN speed?
The speed tiers and potential upgrades available to you will depend on the type of NBN technology used to service your address. NBN Co uses seven different connection types, including five fibre and two satellite/wireless options:
- Fibre to the Premises (FTTP)
- Fibre to the Node (FTTN)
- Fibre to the Curb (FTTC)
- Fibre to the Building (FTTB)
- Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC)
- NBN satellite
- NBN fixed wireless
Homes in metro and populated areas are typically connected by fibre. Satellite and fixed wireless connections are primarily used in regional locations where fibre networks aren’t available.
NBN Co’s speed upgrades are available on fibre only – but not every household will be eligible. Unfortunately, only homes with FTTP or HFC connections will have access to faster speeds, but there’s good news: many FTTN and FTTC-connected addresses now have the option of upgrading to FTTP for free.
If you’re not sure which connection type you have, you can use NBN Co’s address checker to identify the technology used at your home.
FTTP and HFC customers
If you have an FTTP or HFC connection and are already on an NBN 100, NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plan, you’re eligible for a free speed upgrade. However, when this becomes available will depend on the NBN provider you’re currently with. If you’re pencilled in for a speed upgrade, your NBN provider will most likely notify you of the change in advance.
Several telcos have confirmed that they won’t be charging customers more for these automatic speed boosts: unless you decide to change plan or provider, you’ll still pay the same monthly plan price. However, you may need to upgrade your modem if it’s an older or more basic model. Ideally, superfast NBN requires hardware that supports gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 6 technology.
NBN Co is also preparing to replace the current Network Termination Device (also known as the NBN connection box) for FTTP and HFC customers. An NBN Co technician will organise and install the new device if required.
FTTC and FTTN customers
Households with FTTN or FTTC connections won’t receive the speed upgrade, even if you’re on an NBN 100 plan, as these kinds of fibre connections can’t support extra-fast speeds. However, NBN Co is currently rolling out free FTTP upgrades for selected FTTN and FTTC addresses, which, when complete, will give you access to the fastest plans on the network.
You can check your home’s eligibility with NBN Co. If your address has the green light, you can trigger the fibre upgrade process by ordering a high-speed plan through a participating NBN provider. For FTTN, you’ll need to order an NBN Home Fast or higher plan; for FTTC, you’ll need NBN Superfast or higher. Once your order is finalised, your NBN provider will organise FTTP installation at your address.
FTTB, satellite and fixed wireless customers
Customers with FTTB, as well as regional NBN users who don’t have a fibre connection at all, are currently unable to access these faster speeds.
While NBN Co is offering a full FTTP upgrade to millions of FTTN and FTTC users, this hasn’t yet been rolled out to FTTB, as this connection type is primarily used for apartments and multi-dwelling buildings. This means that individual premises can’t be upgraded to FTTP without changing the entire building’s connection type.
So for now, FTTB and satellite connections are limited to a maximum download speed of about 100Mbps, while the fastest fixed wireless plans can hit about 400Mbps.
Maximum speeds for each NBN connection type
Here’s a breakdown of the new speeds that will be available to each connection type. For speed options available at your specific address, consult NBN Co’s address checker.
| FTTP | FTTN | FTTC | FTTB | HFC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBN Basic I | 12/1Mbps | 12/1Mbps | 12/1Mbps | 12/1Mbps | 12/1Mbps |
| NBN Basic II | 25/5 or 25/10Mbps | 25/5 or 25/10Mbps | 25/5 or 25/10Mbps | 25/5 or 25/10Mbps | 25/5 or 25/10Mbps |
| NBN Standard | 50/20Mbps | 50/20Mbps | 50/20Mbps | 50/20Mbps | 50/20Mbps |
| NBN Home Fast | 500/50Mbps | 100/20 or 100/40Mbps | 100/20 or 100/40Mbps | 100/20 or 100/40Mbps | 500/50Mbps |
| NBN Home Superfast | 750/50Mbps | 750/50Mbps | |||
| NNBN Home Ultrafast | 1000/100Mbps | 1000/100Mbps | |||
| NBN Home Hyperfast | 2000/200Mbps | 2000/100Mbps |
How do I know which NBN speed I have now?
Your current NBN plan and speed should be listed on your NBN bill. If you use your provider’s app or web portal to monitor your service or account, you should also be able to check your plan details there.
To see your plan’s real-time NBN download and upload speeds, you can also run a free NBN speed test. If you’re still not sure, contact your NBN provider.
Why should I upgrade my NBN speed?
The faster your broadband speed, the more you can do with your plan – and the less likely you are to experience buffering, slow load times, or interrupted streams and calls. If you’re not sure which speed tier is best suited for your home, you can compare how fast each tier will be post-upgrades in the below table.
| Speeds | Recommended household size | Recommended use | Approx. time to download 50GB game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Basic I | 12/1Mbps: 12Mbps download, 1Mbps upload | 1-2 people, light users | Light web browsing, emails and home phone | 10 hours |
| Home Basic II | 25/5Mbps or 25/10Mbps: 25Mbps download, 5Mbps or 10Mbps upload | 2-3 people, light to moderate users | Moderate web browsing, social media browsing, sending emails, SD video streaming, music streaming | 5 hours |
| Home Standard | 50/20Mbps: 50Mbps download, 20Mbps upload | 3-4 people, moderate to heavy users | HD video streaming, music streaming, online gaming, sharing/uploading photos, video calling | 2 ½ hours |
| Home Fast (FTTB, FTTC, FTTN connections) | 100/40Mbps or 100/20: 100Mbps download, 40Mbps upload or 20Mbps upload | 5+ people, heavy users | 4K video streaming, downloading large files (faster uploading with 100/40 speeds), online gaming, heavy internet use over multiple devices simultaneously | 1 ¼ hour |
| Home Fast (FTTP, HFC connections) | 500/50Mbps: 500Mbps download, 50Mbps upload | 6+ people, heavy users | Concurrent 4K video streaming, downloading large files, online gaming, heavy internet use over multiple devices simultaneously, uninterrupted video calls | <14 mins |
| Home Superfast | 750/50Mbps: 250Mbps download, 50Mbps upload | 6+ people, heavy users | Concurrent 4K video streaming, downloading large files, online gaming, heavy internet use over multiple devices simultaneously, uninterrupted video calls | <9 mins |
| Home Ultrafast | 1000/100Mbps: 1000Mbps download, 100Mbps upload | 6+ people, heavy users | Concurrent 4K video streaming, uploading/downloading large files, online gaming, heavy internet use over multiple devices simultaneously, seamless high-quality video calls | <7 mins |
| Home Hyperfast | 2000/100Mbps or 2000/200: 2000Mbps download, 100Mbps or 200Mbps upload | 6+ people, heavy users | Concurrent 4K video streaming, uploading/downloading large files, online gaming, heavy internet use over multiple devices simultaneously, seamless high-quality video calls | <4 mins |
All times are approximate and are dependent on your internet provider, connection, plan and time of day.
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