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Australia’s internet speed has just been turbo charged—if you’re already on the National Broadband Network (NBN), that is. The ‘Accelerate Great’ program has delivered a massive boost to the bandwidth of its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid-Fibre Coaxial (HFC) networks, allowing Aussie internet providers the capacity to make already existing internet plans far faster.
9.8 million households are already eligible for these improved speeds, nbn said, with the plan to hit 10 million dwellings by the end of 2025. It’ll all depend on what type of connection you have, of course, but the change reflects the ongoing pick-up of connected households, as well as the increasing need for fast, reliable internet at home.
“The Accelerate Great program is about more than faster speeds. It’s about empowering Australians to thrive in a digital world,” said nbn’s 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.”
Until now, Australia has consistently ranked below the global average when it comes to our average internet speed. According to Speedtest.net, a website dedicated to testing its global users’ internet speeds, the global average for fixed broadband internet was 93.93mbps as of June 2024, while Australian internet speed sat at an average of 66.58mbps—putting us in 82nd place. We did fare better in mobile internet speeds, however, landing at 22nd place with 94.28mbps, far better than the global average mobile speed of 56.43mbps.
The Accelerate Great program should, in theory, boost our broadband numbers in subsequent rankings, though that’s something we’ll have to wait and see on. If you want to see if your home qualifies for faster internet, you can check your address’ eligibility on nbn’s website.
So, what are the improved speeds, and how do you get them?
How Fast are the New Speeds?
Nbn’s newly unlocked speeds affect three of its previously available plans (Home Fast II, Home Superfast, and Home Ultrafast), meaning anyone using these connection types should soon see a boost to potential speed. It’s worth noting that word ‘potential’, as anyone signed up to fast internet has likely experienced far slower speeds than what is advertised during peak times, or due to network congestion.
Nbn is also launching two new plans, Home Hyperfast, and Business 2000 Pro, with the goal of delivering far faster speeds to more data-hungry households or businesses.
Here are the accelerated plans:
- nbn Home Fast II: Wholesale speeds will increase from 100/20 Mbps to 500/50 Mbps, offering five times faster download speeds and more than double the upload speed.
- nbn Home Superfast: Wholesale speeds will increase from 250/25 Mbps to 750/50 Mbps, offering three times faster download speed and double the upload speed.
- 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 offer 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 Accelerate Great program is an automatic upgrade, meaning if you’re using particular types of connection to the nbn you may already be seeing faster downloads and uploads without an increase to your plan. It’s worth nothing, though, that activating the increased speeds will actually done by your internet provider, so it’s worth checking what your provider plans to do with the newly unlocked bandwidth.
“We’ve worked closely with phone and internet providers to help ensure customers can access these upgrades easily over the coming weeks and months and we will continue to educate homes and businesses get the most out of these accelerated speeds through better in-home set-up and choosing the right plan,” Perrin said.
According to nbn, internet usage is growing across Australia: average monthly data consumption per premises on the nbn network has risen by more than 10 per cent in the past year, from 460 gb in June 2024 to 508 gb in June 2025, and that trend is expected to continue. Over the next decade, nbn expects monthly download usage to surpass 1.1 terrabyte (that’s 1,110 gb), all while more devices are connected to home internet each year, and data-hungry services such as telehealth and video, music and game streaming take off.
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