Internet speeds in Australia are now five times faster, with NBN Co announcing upgrades that will significantly increase the capacity of its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) networks. Under the national “Accelerate Great” program, millions of households will gain access to substantially faster wholesale speeds, enabling retail providers to offer higher-performance plans at lower prices.
NBN says 9.8 million households are already eligible for these upgrades, with the network on track to reach 10 million dwellings (homes and apartments) by the end of 2025. Eligibility for the upgrade depends on your connection type, but the move reflects the increasing demand for high-speed, reliable home internet access across Australia.
“The Accelerate Great program is about more than faster speeds. It’s about empowering Australians to thrive in a digital world,” said NBN chief customer officer Anna Perrin.
“Faster broadband means better access to online education, virtual healthcare, cloud-based business tools and emerging technologies. Reliable, high-speed connectivity is essential for the digital experiences that shape our modern lives.”
Australia has long ranked below the global average for fixed broadband speed. Data from Speedtest.net shows that as of June 2024, global fixed broadband averaged 93.93 Mbps, compared to Australia’s 66.58 Mbps, placing the country 82nd in the world. But it’s not all bad news for Australian internet speeds. We’re 22nd in the world for mobile speeds, beating the average of 56.43Mbps with 94.28Mbps.
It comes as demand for data rises nationwide, with average monthly data usage increasing from 460GB in June 2024 to 508 GB in June 2025, a rise of more than 10 per cent in a year. NBN anticipates this figure will exceed 1.1 terabytes per month within the next decade, driven by more connected devices and increasing use of data-intensive services such as telehealth, video streaming, cloud gaming and remote work.
The new upgrades are expected to improve Australia’s broadband ranking over time, although measurable impacts will not be clear until future reporting periods. Consumers can check their address on the NBN website to see whether their home is eligible.
How Fast are the New Speeds?
The Accelerate Great program enhances several existing high-speed NBN tiers: Home Fast II, Home Superfast and Home Ultrafast, alongside the introduction of two new plans, Home Hyperfast and Business 2000 Pro, aimed at households and businesses with heavy data requirements.
Even with the upgrades, it’s worth reminding customers that wholesale speeds represent the connection’s full potential. When you’re using the internet, real-world performance can be affected by a variety of factors, including network congestion, household devices and provider configurations.
So remember to always check the typical evening speeds measure.
Accelerated Wholesale NBN include:
- nbn Home Fast II: Wholesale speeds will increase from 100/20 Mbps to 500/50 Mbps, offering download speeds 5 times faster and upload speeds more than double.
- nbn Home Superfast: Wholesale speeds will increase from 250/25 Mbps to 750/50 Mbps, offering download speeds 3x faster and upload speeds 2x faster.
- nbn Home Ultrafast: Wholesale speeds will increase from 500 to ~1000/50 Mbps to ~1000/100 Mbps, offering double the upload speed.
- nbn Home Hyperfast: A new wholesale plan that will provide 2000/200 Mbps for those with FTTP connections and 2000/100 Mbps for HFC connections.
- nbn Business 2000 Pro2: A new wholesale plan that will offer 2000/500 Mbps for those with FTTP connections.
How Do I Get Access to Faster Internet?
The upgrades are being rolled out automatically across eligible parts of the network. Households with qualifying connection types (FTTP and HFC) may already see improvements, but activation depends on your individual internet provider, which must decide how to implement the expanded bandwidth.
If you haven’t already received an email from your ISP about the upcoming upgrade, you may want to find out when the changes will be implemented at your home.
“We’ve worked closely with phone and internet providers to help ensure customers can access these upgrades easily over the coming weeks and months,” Perrin said. She added that NBN Co will continue educating customers on improving in-home setup and selecting appropriate plans to make the most of faster speeds.
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