Revealed: The best states to live in for NBN speeds if you’re a gamer

For the first time, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed data around how internet performance across Australia impacts gamers. This data comes as part of the ACCC’s quarterly Measuring Broadband report, which typically tracks the speed and performance of popular NBN providers across the country.

The report found that games with Australian-based servers experienced lower latency, and where you live in the country can also impact any lag you may experience. Gamers living in NSW and the ACT experienced the lowest latency, as most game servers are located in Sydney, while gamers in WA experienced the highest lag.

When it comes to general NBN performance, the ACCC found that download speed performance is generally steady when compared to the previous quarterly report, with included providers meeting between 88% and 98% of the advertised speeds during busy hours in December 2022.

“This is a positive result for consumers as it means they can have confidence that they will enjoy the speeds that they pay for when selecting a fixed-line broadband plan,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

After taking out the top spot in the December report, smaller provider Launtel has once again been ranked fastest for NBN speeds, closely followed by Exetel, with Optus and Telstra hot on their tails. Launtel achieved a download speed of 103.1% of the advertised maximum plan speeds during busy hours, while it achieved 97.8% of the plan speed during the busiest hour.

NBN performance is generally reliable for online gaming

The ACCC report found that gamers with home broadband experienced typically fast online gaming connections, with those in NSW and the ACT enjoying the lowest lag with 13 milliseconds (ms) and 14ms respectively. Victoria experienced an average lag of 23ms, followed by Qld with 26ms, Tasmania with 29ms, the NT and SA with 34ms and then WA with 56ms.

“It’s easy to stereotype gaming as an activity for kids, but it’s actually one of the most popular hobbies for children and adults in Australia, with many of us turning to online games for entertainment during the 2020 lockdowns. But a great gaming experience relies on good internet, and latency can make or break your session,” Canstar Blue Utilities Editor Tara Donnelly said.

“Streaming performance was first added to the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband report back in 2020, so a similar analysis of gaming services is well overdue. Looking at download speeds and latency for popular titles on a technology type and state-by-state basis gives us another metric with which to measure the NBN’s performance, and hopefully track future improvements.”

Predictably, the report also found that fixed-line connections, such as FTTP and HFC NBN connections, performed better with lower average latency when compared to NBN fixed wireless connections with an average 62ms.

“While fibre to the premises and fibre to the curb connections generally had the lowest latency, all fixed-line access technologies had relatively low latency for games hosted in Australia. Consumers on fixed wireless connections experienced higher latency than those using fixed-line technologies. This is expected given the nature of fixed wireless technology,” Ms Brakey said.

Interestingly, the report also showed that NBN speed tiers had little to no difference between them in terms of latency performance. For example, NBN 25 speeds experienced an average latency of 25ms, while NBN 250 experienced an average latency of 20ms. This means that a good online gaming experience is not exclusive to the faster — and often more expensive — speed tiers such as NBN 100, 250 and 1000.

“We encourage consumers to consider the cost and quality of the various retail plans available and choose the plan that represents the best value to them,” Ms Brakey said.

If you’re unhappy with your online gaming experience with your current NBN provider, and you’ve not been able to pinpoint the issue, you may wish to switch to a different NBN provider. The below table compares a range of NBN plans across different speed tiers.

Games with Australian-based servers experience the lowest latency

The report also showed the latency experienced connecting to various popular online game servers. Games with servers located in Australia experienced much lower latency (from 22ms to 27ms) compared to games with servers based in Asia, North America and both Asia and North America.

Popular games with Aussie-based servers Apex Legends, Fortnite, League of Legends, PUBG (non-mobile), Rocket League, Starcraft 2 and Valorant all experienced the lowest lag with 22ms average latency. Diablo 3, Dota 2, FIFA, Rainbow Six Siege and World of Warcraft, all with Australian-based servers, recorded average latency between 24ms and 27ms. Compared to the 163ms average latency of popular multiplayer game Among Us — which has servers in Asia and North America — the Aussie gaming experience is generally a smooth one.

Related: More Aussies are choosing smaller NBN providers — should you make the switch?

NBN speed performance continues to measure up in latest report

The report also measures the performance of NBN providers, showing the percentage of the plan’s maximum attainable speed across thousands of fixed-line fibre NBN connections. The higher the percentage, the faster (on average) an NBN provider’s performance was across this testing period. Although it’s worth noting that NBN Co over-provisions bandwidth on popular speed tiers, meaning that some providers may reach over 100%.

During the evening busy hours of 7pm to 11pm — when more of us are using our internet all at once — Launtel proved to be the most consistently fast provider, reaching 103.1% of its maximum attainable speed, followed by Exetel with 102.9% and Optus with 99.9%. Here is how the popular NBN providers measured up in the latest report.

1. Launtel: 103.1%
2. Exetel: 102.9%
3. Optus: 99.9%
4. Telstra: 99.0%
5. Superloop: 98.5%
6. TPG: 97.0%
7. Dodo & iPrimus: 97.9%
8. Aussie Broadband: 96.5%
9. Vodafone: 96.1%
10. iiNet: 95.1%
11. MyRepublic: 94.4%

It’s worth noting that as this report was completed in December 2022, it included results from MyRepublic. Since then, MyRepublic has exited the Australian NBN market, and has transferred its customers to Superloop services.

If you’re keen to compare plans from some of the above ranked providers, the following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 50 plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our NBN comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.