Last updated: December 2023

Information for "This report" is based on measurement results collected in September 2023 and published in our most recent quarterly report. Information for the "Last report" is based on measurement results collected in May 2023.

Daily time series charts are based on measurement results from between August 2023 and October 2023.

NBN fixed-line services

About NBN fixed-line services

An NBN fixed-line connection utilises a physical line running to the household to connect it to the NBN network. There are a number of fixed-line technologies: fibre to the premises (FTTP), fibre to the building (FTTB), fibre to the curb (FTTC), fibre to the node (FTTN), and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC).

For further information, see Broadband speeds.

Average NBN plan speeds during busy hours and the busiest hour

The NBN fixed-line service providers featured in the report achieved an average download speed per service of 99.3% of the service's plan speed during busy hours in September 2023. On average, an RSP’s result could improve by 1.9% if the results excluded underperforming services unable to achieve maximum plan speeds.

Aussie Broadband -0.3%
Dodo & iPrimus +0.5%
Exetel -1.0%
iiNet +0.4%
Launtel -1.7%
Optus +0.4%
Superloop -0.6%
Telstra +0.6%
TPG -0.8%
Vodafone +2.0%

The NBN fixed-line busiest hour download speed results are lower than the busy hour download speeds. This indicates that there were periods of higher demand during September 2023 that affected the performance of NBN fixed-line services.

Aussie Broadband +2.3%
Dodo & iPrimus +1.7%
Exetel +0.3%
iiNet -0.1%
Launtel -3.3%
Optus 1.6%
Superloop -0.7%
Telstra +0.2%
TPG -1.4%
Vodafone +2.2%

The NBN fixed-line service providers featured in the report achieved an average upload speed per service of 87.9% of the service's plan speed during busy hours in September 2023. Upload results are usually lower than download results relative to plan speed as the upload component of NBN speed tiers is not overprovisioned like it is for the download component.

Aussie Broadband +0.6%
Dodo & iPrimus +2.3%
Exetel 3.8%
iiNet +1.2%
Launtel +1.2%
Optus -0.2%
Superloop +0.1%
Telstra +0.7%
TPG +2.3%
Vodafone -0.3%
  • Busy hours = 7.00pm to 11.00pm, Monday to Friday.
  • Busiest hour = Fifth lowest hourly average speed out of all the month's busy hours for each RSP (including weekends).
  • +- Percentage point changes compared with previous quarter's measurements.
  • Percent of maximum plan speed.
  • The shaded area indicates the boost to average speed if underperforming services not able to achieve maximum plan speeds were excluded from the overall results. If you are a customer on a service that does not deliver expected speeds, contact your provider to ask whether the problem can be fixed or about moving onto a cheaper plan
  • Note: This chart shows results for all fixed-line NBN plans, excluding the very high speed services featured separately on this dashboard.

Average NBN download speeds during busy hours by plan

On average, NBN fixed-line services on the NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans attained download speeds close to their plan speed during busy hours, while services on the NBN 25 plan exceeded their plan speed in September 2023.

Average plan download speeds during busy hours by technology

In September 2023, each NBN fixed-line access technology achieved an average download speed per service during busy hours exceeding the service's plan speed, except for FTTN which accounts for most of the underperforming services.

  • Note: This chart excludes services with a download plan speed exceeding 500 Mbps. NBN very high speed services are featured separately on this dashboard.

Distribution of download speed tests, by percentage of NBN plan speed

In September 2023, 84.9% of download speed tests recorded on NBN fixed-line services across all hours achieved at least 90% of the service’s plan speed, with only 1.6% of tests achieving less than half the plan speed.

  • Note: This chart shows the proportion of download speed test results for NBN plans that were above 90% of plan speed, between 50% and 90% of plan speed, and under 50% of plan speed.

Average NBN speeds by hour of day

During September 2023, services with a plan download speed of 25 Mbps achieved average hourly speeds throughout the day that exceeded their plan speed. Average hourly download speeds were also steady throughout the day for services with higher plan speeds, albeit slightly below the maximum plan speed which was more notable during increased user activity in the evening busy hours. Average hourly upload speeds were steady throughout the day, with negligible change during evening busy hours across plans.

Daily fixed-line NBN speeds by plan

Average daily download and upload performance on NBN fixed-line services was broadly stable for all plan speeds during all hours between August 2023 and October 2023. There was more variability in download performance during busy hours compared with all hours, particularly for services with the 100 Mbps plan speed.

  • Note: This chart plots the daily fixed-line average speed over the period for both all hours and busy hours (7-11pm), including the 25 Mbps, 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps NBN plans for download, and the 5 Mbps, 20 Mbps and 40 Mbps NBN plans for upload.
  • Monthly data presented should not be directly compared with corresponding data in the quarterly reports as the composition of sample sizes may vary between the quarterly and monthly report.
  • This chart excludes underperforming and impaired services. 12/1 Mbps services are also excluded from monthly reporting due to the limited sample size

Very high speed services

Average speeds for NBN very high speed services

The average download speed for NBN very high speed services in September 2023 was 823.7 Mbps during all hours and 746.0 Mbps during the busy hours. The average upload speed was 46.0 Mbps during all hours and 45.7 Mbps during the busy hours.

  • Note: Very high speed services are services where the underlying wholesale product sold by NBN Co has a download/upload speed range of 500-990/50Mbps (referred to by NBN Co as ‘Home Ultrafast’).

Average hourly speeds for NBN very high speed services

The average hourly download speeds for NBN very high speed services ranged from 686 Mbps to 851 Mbps during September 2023. Download speeds typically started to decrease during the evening and would recover to higher levels later at night. These charts indicate that download performance on very high speed services is more affected by congestion during busy periods than NBN fixed-line services on lower speed plans. Upload speeds for very high speed services showed little variation throughout the day.

  • Note: Very high speed services are services where the underlying wholesale product sold by NBN Co has a download/upload speed range of 500-990/50Mbps (referred to by NBN Co as ‘Home Ultrafast’).

Technical quality measures

Web page loading time: This chart shows the average time needed to load a website across test results from eight popular Australian-based webpages. The average web page loading times during all hours and busy hours in September 2023 were in line with results from previous reports.

Latency: Latency results from September 2023 were consistent with results from the previous report during all hours and busy hours. These values are low enough that their effect is unlikely to be noticed by a typical end user, even when using more latency-sensitive applications (such as video-conferencing services or online gaming).

Packet loss: During September 2023, the majority of packet loss tests had zero packet loss with a small minority recording a packet loss greater than 1%. At these higher levels, packet loss can cause issues for certain types of applications and disrupt user experience.

Web page loading time

Latency

Frequency of packet loss

  • High latency can impact online experiences such as video conferencing, media streaming and online gaming. Latency is the total time it takes a data packet to travel from one network node to another.
  • Packet losses can impact online experiences such as video conferencing, media streaming and online gaming. Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data travelling across a computer network fail to reach their destination.

Average daily outages per service lasting longer than 30 seconds

During September 2023, the average rate of outages per day on fixed-line NBN connections was 0.3 across service providers featured in the report. The average rate of outages per day was 0.24 for services on other superfast networks and 0.37 for NBN very high speed services. These outage rates are in line with results from previous reports.

  • Note: These charts exclude outages between midnight and 5am when maintenance and upgrades are usually carried out.

NBN fixed wireless services

About NBN fixed wireless services

NBN fixed-line connections and NBN fixed wireless connections utilise different technologies that are not directly comparable in terms of performance. An NBN fixed-line connection utilises a physical line running to the household to connect it to the NBN network. An NBN fixed wireless connection transmits data over radio signals to connect a household to the NBN network and uses similar technology to mobile networks. Around 4% of NBN consumers are served by NBN fixed wireless, typically in rural and regional areas, but it may also be used in outer metropolitan centres.

The quality and maximum speed of a fixed wireless connection is often more variable than fixed-line technology. The following factors may affect fixed wireless:

  • Environmental factors, including:
    • distance of the consumer’s premises to the fixed wireless tower,
    • whether there is a clear line of sight from the premises to the tower, and
    • weather conditions such as extreme heat or heavy rain.
  • Network congestion.

For further information, see Using NBN fixed wireless.

Average fixed wireless speeds during all hours and busy hours

During September 2023, users on NBN fixed wireless services attained an average download performance of 109.6% of plan speeds during all hours, decreasing to 89.5% during the busy hours. Average upload performance was 75.5% of plan speeds during all hours, decreasing to 62.9% during the busy hours. These results are all consistent with the May 2023 results.

Download

Upload

  • All hours
  • Busy hours
  • Note: We present results for two NBN fixed wireless plans: Fixed Wireless Plus and 25/5 Mbps. In this metric download and upload speeds for the Fixed Wireless Plus plan are calculated as percentages of respective benchmark speeds of 50 Mbps and 10 Mbps.

Average Fixed Wireless Plus speeds by hour of day

During September 2023, the average hourly download speeds for services on the Fixed Wireless Plus plan typically started to decrease during the evening, dipping to 24 Mbps below the day’s maximum speed by 8pm, before recovering to higher levels later at night. Upload speeds followed a similar pattern to download speeds and recorded lower values both during the busy hours and during the afternoon.

  • Note: This chart includes data from Fixed Wireless Plus plans only.

Average daily Fixed Wireless Plus speeds

Average daily download and upload performance on Fixed Wireless Plus services was relatively stable during all hours between August 2023 and October 2023, albeit with a level of variation expected for this technology. There was more variability across days during busy hours compared with all hours, particularly for download performance.

  • Note: This charts plots the daily average speed over the period for Fixed Wireless Plus plans, both for all hours and during busy hours.

Technical quality measures

Web page loading time: This chart shows the average time needed for NBN fixed wireless services to load a website across test results from eight popular Australian-based webpages in September 2023. The average web page loading times during all hours (3.1 seconds) and busy hours (3.2 seconds) were in line with results from previous reports.

Latency: This chart illustrates the average latency for NBN fixed wireless services observed in September 2023 during all hours (43.3 milliseconds) and busy hours (44.5 milliseconds). These results are in line with the previous report.

Packet loss: During September 2023, 80.9% of packet loss tests on NBN fixed wireless services had zero packet loss. 1.6% of packet loss tests had a packet loss greater than 1%. At these higher levels, packet loss can cause issues for certain types of applications and disrupt user experience.

Web page loading time

Latency

Frequency of packet loss

 

  • High latency can impact online experiences such as video conferencing, media streaming and online gaming. Latency is the total time it takes a data packet to travel from one network node to another.
  • Packet losses can impact online experiences such as video conferencing, media streaming and online gaming. Packet loss occurs when one or more packets of data travelling across a computer network fail to reach their destination.

Average daily outages lasting longer than 30 seconds per fixed wireless service

This chart shows the average rate of daily outages for fixed wireless services in this report compared with the previous report. The rate of outages observed in September 2023 on NBN fixed wireless services was in line with results from previous reports.

  • Note: These charts exclude outages between midnight and 5am when maintenance and upgrades are usually carried out.

Chart data tables

Data used in the charts are provided below.

For more information about the data we collect, see Broadband performance data explained.

Related media release

Is this page useful?