
NBN Co has revealed a proposal to boost the three fastest speed tiers for residential customers by the end of the year.
The proposed changes would see NBN 100 plans with a maximum speed of 100Mbps boosted five times to 500Mbps. Speeds on the next fastest speed tier, NBN 250 would triple to 750Mbps while the faster speed tier NBN 1000 would go from 500-1000Mbps to 750-1000Mbps.
The boosts would only apply to customers on Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) connection types and those eligible to upgrade to FTTP.
Speed tier | Current speeds (download / upload) | Proposed changes |
---|---|---|
NBN 100 (Home Fast) | 100Mps / 20Mbps | 500Mps / 50Mbps |
NBN 250 (Home Superfast) | 250Mbps / 25 Mbps | 750Mbps / 50 Mbps |
NBN 1000 (Home Ultrafast) | 500-1000Mbps / 50Mbps | 750-1000 / 50-100Mbps |
As an example, NBN stated that a recent Fortnite patch which was around 25GB would take around 36 minutes to download over the current NBN 100 speed tier. It would only take around seven minutes once boosted to 500Mbps or around five minutes on the proposed 750Mbps speed tier.
These are the maximum possible connection speeds and not an indication of what typical evening speeds would look like. For example, while the current NBN 1000 plan caps out at 1Gbps most providers in WhistleOut's database report typical evening speeds between 600-700Mbps.
Importantly, the proposed changes would be carried out with no extra wholesale cost to retailers. Retailers are of course able to set their own pricing.
Here's what some current NBN 100, NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans look like:
Anna Perrin, NBN Chief Customer Officer said "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."
“Yet despite this explosion in data usage, many customers have remained on the same broadband plan for years. Our network monitoring suggests that some customers are potentially hitting their maximum speed on a regular basis. These customers may enjoy a better internet experience on a faster speed tier."
Phillip Britt, Aussie Broadband Group Managing Director said "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.
"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."
Relaxed eligibility requirements for NBN upgrades
As part of the same proposal, NBN indicated that it plans to relax the eligibility requirement for customers on a Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) connection to request an upgrade to FTTP.
Currently, FTTC customers are required to order at least an NBN 250 plan in order to be eligible to upgrade to full fibre. Under the change they would only be required to order an NBN 100 plan like customers on Fibre to the Node (FTTN).
Around 7,000 homes and businesses are upgrading on average to FTTP each week.
When will I be able to get even faster NBN?
NBN proposes to introduce the three "accelerated speed tiers" within the next 12 months. It estimates it would see around nine million homes and businesses upgraded by December 2024.
It has issued an industry consultation paper today seeking input from NBN providers. Feedback on the consultation paper is open until 5pm April 19.
Faster speeds mean potentially upgrading your hardware at home to be able to handle them. This includes updating to a new modem router.
NBN says it will work with retailers to ensure consumers' at-home equipment is up to par for handling the new speeds.