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The Fastest NBN Provider, According to the ACCC

The Fastest NBN Provider, According to the ACCC

So the NBN has arrived at your house. Nervous? I wouldn’t blame you. With all the rumours flying around about bad connections and slow speeds, anyone would be feeling a bit hesitant to sign up for a brand new NBN plan.

But don’t worry. The ACCC is well aware of Australians’ concerns about NBN speeds and throughout 2018 have been running speed tests in volunteer homes across the network. The results of the latest test, run during August, have just been published. Six NBN providers have been named in the results, along with the percentage of max download speeds they achieved for their customers, on average:

  • TPG - 88.7%
  • Aussie Broadband - 87%
  • iiNet - 85.9%
  • Optus - 84.9%
  • Telstra - 83.9%
  • MyRepublic - 83.5%

TPG looks like clear winner in terms of fastest. But in actual fact, all results shown here are respectable and most light to moderate users of the internet would have a hard time telling the difference between a connection offered by any of these providers.

How to choose a plan

The NBN providers named in the results of the ACCC’s testing offer plans across multiple NBN speeds. But no matter which speed you choose with which provider, you should be able to expect a good experience.

Here’s the cheat’s guide to choosing the right NBN speed for you:

  • NBN 25 speed: For households of 1-2 light to medium internet users
  • NBN 50 speed: For households of 2-4 medium to heavy users
  • NBN 100 speed: For households of 5+ medium to heavy users

Here are some plans from these providers with at least 100GB. Note that not all providers offer every speed.

NBN 25 plans

NBN 50 plans

 

 

NBN 100 plans

 

 

More about the ACCC’s speed testing

The ACCC's speed testing was conducted across 950 households receiving service from 15 providers. Of those households, only 790 were connected to the NBN. That is only about 0.00017% of NBN subscribers, according to NBN Co's September progress report. However, the ACCC says the results are statistically significant.

Of course, because of the small sample sizes, you should take the ACCC’s results with a grain of salt and pay close attention to the speeds a provider advertises with plans. The speeds TPG, Aussie Broadband, iiNet, Optus and Telstra advertise with their plans do differ a little from the ACCC’s findings, although they are all still more than satisfactory*.

It’s also important to note as well that the exact speed any provider can achieve for your home connection is dependant on a range of factors including the type of NBN connection you have and your home equipment.

You might have noticed that the percentage speeds we listed for each provider are speeds overall, rather than evening speeds (a term the industry has started using to account for slower speeds during peak times for the network). This is because the ACCC found very little difference between the speeds each provider could achieve during on and off peak times. Connections became about 1% slower between the hours of 7pm - 11pm, at worst. In other words, whichever provider you pick, you should be able to expect similar performance no matter the time of day.

*At the time of writing, MyRepublic is not advertising typical evening speeds on its plans.

 

Jacqui Dent is associate editor at WhistleOut, Australia's largest mobile phone and internet comparison site.

As a result of services provided by us, WhistleOut Pty Ltd may pay The FiftyUp Club a portion of any fee of that they receive from their providers. These fees may be based on either referrals to third parties or on application or approval for products from third party providers.

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Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

When is the deadline that everyone has to be connected to a NBN provider? Peter 

Robin
Robin from ACT commented:

Funny TPG being the fastest. Must have tested at 4am. For anyone with a fibre to the node install performance is a crap shoot. It's the last bit of copper from the node that kills you. Thank you Malcolm, not!. On top of distance from node, there is how many wire connections you have between you and the node. Each connection contributes to signal degradation. As does the quality of the connection. Therein lies the problem for most people. NBN Co don't care and the service provider is not responsible for that last bit of copper. Being in Canberra I have been on a fibre to the node setup for many years as it was rolled out by Transact around turn of the century. Does not use phone lines all separate cabling to the house. Was good until TPG took over. But I still average 33-34Mbps over a 1.2Km copper run so not too bad. May look at NBN for a comparison as its here but with phone lines put in 40 years ago not expecting much. 

Ken
Ken from NSW commented:

Ha ha very funny Todd, doens't take much to make you happy does it? You're obviously still on dial up. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Speeds are more consistent and reliable when using Ethernet cable, instead of Wifi 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

I have iiNet NBN50 Liimitless. We only have fiber to the node connection and the speed is ridiculous. I'm lucky to get 25mbs. Often while watching Netflix it stops and buffers. When I complained they told me to turn off and then turn back on my modem. 

Bruce
Bruce from QLD commented:

Iinet customers in Geelong, Ballarat, and Mildura are getting a minimum of 450 mbs download - Most get around 540 - 560 mbs The NBN can provide the same if you are on HFC coax cable 

Bruce
Bruce from QLD replied to Bruce:

80 mbs upload 

Andy
Andy from SA commented:

Well I can tell you, that my providor gives me 92mbps plus max at any time of the day - and you dont even have it on your list. Hint - it has often been voted best and name starts with i - best isp ever and always has been - for speeds but especially for service. 

Bruce
Bruce from QLD replied to Andy:

Iinet customers in Geelong, Ballarat, and Mildura are getting a minimum of 450 mbs download - Most get around 540 - 560 mbs The NBN can provide the same if you are on HFC coax cable 

Bruce
Bruce from QLD replied to Andy:

80 mbs upload 

Anthony
Anthony from NSW replied to Andy:

Who is your provider? 

Valerie
Valerie from QLD commented:

Would be good to know, are these speeds fibre to the house or fibre to the node. We are 1.3 Klm from the node and speeds are barely minimum standard, drops out constantly. Very frustrating. 

Ken
Ken from NSW commented:

I wish the ACCC had conducted their testing at my place. I have been receiving only 14Mbps of the promised 40Mbps since I signed up for with Telstra. I have taken Telstra and the NBN to task over this as well as bring in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. This has dragged on for 5 months without any success. I'm still stuck with 14Mbps. 

Todd
Todd from WA replied to Ken:

Ken I remember downloading data at 33kbps and being happy with it. Now you are downloading at 14000kbps so stop whinging and go iron your wifes undies. 

Janet
Janet from QLD commented:

The ACCC should also run speed tests in homes with NBN Wireless Broadband too. 

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