NBN Co has unveiled plans to offer even more value to customers jumping on its free fibre upgrade program. The company is proposing to boost download speeds by up to five times faster on selected plans, without increasing wholesale pricing for NBN providers.
The changes would apply to NBN Co’s three fastest residential speed tiers, and would be available to existing and upgrading NBN customers. However, those customers would need to be on a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) or Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) NBN connection type to qualify.
How much faster will NBN speeds be?
Under the proposal, download speed upgrades would be applied to the following speed tiers:
- Home Fast (NBN 100/20 ): Currently offers download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and uploads up to 20 Mbps — would increase to 500Mbps/50Mbps.
- Home Superfast (NBN 250/25 ): Currently offers download speeds of 250 megabits per second (Mbps) and uploads up to 25 Mbps — would increase to 750Mbps/50Mbps.
- Home Ultrafast (NBN 1000/50): Currently offers download speeds of 500-1000Mbps and uploads up to 50Mbps — would increase to 750-1000Mbps/50-100Mbps.
The faster speeds would be available to customers on FTTP and HFC connections, or those with current Fibre to the Node (FTTN) or Fibre to Curb (FTTC) connections who are eligible to upgrade to FTTP.
As NBN Co’s proposal includes offering faster speeds for the same wholesale price as the currently-available speed tiers, NBN providers won’t need to pay more to sell these plans to customers. Ideally, this means customers also won’t pay more for a faster and more reliable performance (unless moving from a slower and cheaper plan to one of the new, high-speed options).
Anna Perrin, Chief Cusotmer Officer at NBN Co, said that the proposed changes were sparked by the increasing demands for data from Aussie NBN users.
“Ten years ago, the average Australian home had seven internet-connected devices and consumed around 40 gigabytes per month. Today, some people would use that much data in a day,” she said.
“The average household now consumes 443 gigabytes per month across 22 internet-connected devices. We predict that average will grow to 33 connected devices by 2026 and 40 by the end of the decade.”
NBN Co said it hopes to introduce the faster speeds within the next 12 months, depending on feedback from retailers. NBN providers will need to ensure their own networks are equipped to transmit and support these faster speeds.
One of these providers, Aussie Broadband, responded to the proposal via a statement from Managing Director Phillip Britt.
“Aussie Broadband is still understanding the detail of NBN Co’s speed proposal, but on the face of it could represent one of the most exciting steps in technology adoption for Australian households and businesses,” he said.
“At Aussie we’re incredibly proud of the great investments in our retail network to improve the experience for customers adopting FTTP, and NBN Co’s announcement has made that early investment all the more essential as Australians take the next step into a high speed future.
“It’s essential, however, that these announcements are paired with more investment in fixed broadband for regional Australians so the digital inclusion gap isn’t widened further.”
Compare super-fast and ultra-fast NBN plans
The following tables show a selection of unlimited Home Superfast (NBN 250) plans on Canstar Blue’s database listed in order of standard monthly cost, from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
The following tables show a selection of unlimited Home Ultrafast (NBN 1000) plans on Canstar Blue’s database listed in order of standard monthly cost, from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
NBN Co: Time to upgrade your plan
NBN Co’s announcement follows the December launch of the company’s new wholesale pricing agreement, which outlines how NBN Co will charge internet providers for network access from now until 2040. The new deal saw wholesale prices for NBN 100, NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans decrease, but led to slightly higher costs for the popular NBN 50 speed tier.
Between changed pricing and the ongoing fibre upgrade program on track to be offered to nine million addresses by December 2024, NBN Co is urging customers to shop around for a plan and speed suitable for their home internet needs.
Millions of customers are now eligible to upgrade to fast FTTP technology, which will enable them to access Home Fast, Home Superfast and Home Ultrafast plans. The speeds available across these tiers offer excellent support for big households, serious downloaders or homes with heavy streaming and multi-tasking needs.
NB Co cites a recently-released Fortnite patch as an example of how your experience can be upgraded by increasing your NBN speed. The 25-gigabyte patch takes around 73 minutes to download on a standard NBN 50 plans, but about half the time — 36 minutes — on NBN 100.
If the proposed speed tier increases are accepted, the same patch will download in seven minutes at 500Mbps speeds, and in as little as five minutes on 750-1000Mbps plans.
Customers can check if a free fibre upgrade is available at their address at NBN Co’s website. To request a fibre upgrade, you’ll need to order an eligible fast NBN plan from a participating NBN provider.
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