2025 was an exciting year for NBN Co – well, as exciting as it can possibly get for our government-run broadband supplier – as it brought with it a series of NBN speed upgrades that now allow millions of Australians to achieve home internet download speeds that would’ve been unimaginable just a couple of years ago.
And it seems Aussies are clearly seeing the benefits of the faster plans as NBN Co has said that, “Since launching on September 14 [2025], customers across Australia have been ordering higher speed plans at the fastest rate we’ve ever seen – more than 12,300 orders per week.”
For context, in the same period in 2024, NBN Co recorded an average of 8,200 orders per week. In short, Australians are clearly seeing the benefits a faster NBN plan can bring, and are either upgrading their plan or taking advantage of the free fibre upgrade to get them the necessary technology required for the faster plans.
Wait, what speed upgrades?
For the uninitiated, the speed upgrades arrived in mid-September, boosting NBN 100 plans to NBN 500 with 5x increased download speeds, NBN 250 to NBN 750 (a 3x speed increase) and a speed bump to the existing NBN 1000 plans, giving them a guaranteed minimum speed of 750Mbps.
NBN Co also unleashed a new NBN 2000 speed tier with theoretical maximum download speeds of 2Gbps, although so far only a handful of providers are offering it. That being said, the broadband wholesaler claims it has received 9,500 orders for an NBN 2000 plan since they went live.
Do the upgrades deliver on their promise?
Evidence suggests that yes, they do! I’ve previously reported on speed data recorded by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), which found that customers on the best NBN 500 plans were actually achieving even faster speeds – the average recorded speed was 503.9 Mbps.
How can I get involved?
If you want to get faster internet at home, there are a couple of things you need to check first. The main one to be aware of is the specific connection type you have at your premises – you will need either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). If you don’t have either, then you can request a free fibre upgrade that will see a technician coming to your home to install FTTP equipment. This upgrade is available to premises that currently connect via FTTN or FTTC technology. If you connect via FTTB, then unfortunately there’s no upgrade path available to you.
NBN Co says 90% of the fixed-line network is now eligible to connect via full fibre and adds that it “expects to provide upgrade paths to all remaining Fibre to the Node (FTTN) premises by the end of 2030”.
What NBN plan should I get?
If you want to join the 12,300 Australians ordering a new high-speed NBN plan each week, the good news is you have plenty of choice. I regularly check prices of the best NBN plans and lately, there is excellent value to be found.
I ultimately recommend the most affordable plans, or those with the best discounts or any extra perks that are thrown in. Internet service providers (ISPs) list typical evening speed (TES) figures – the download speed you can realistically expect to achieve during the busier evening hours of 7pm – 11pm. All of the ISPs I monitor quote the maximum 500Mbps for NBN 500 plans, while many quote close-to maximum on NBN 1000 plans.
For me, an NBN 500 plan is the best option for most people and considering you should achieve maximum speeds all hours of the day, the most affordable plans are your best bet.
Here are my top 3 choices:
Exetel One | 500Mbps | AU$80p/m
Exetel was first to market with an NBN 500 plan, way ahead of the wider September rollout. This is the only plan the telco offers, and in the most recent ACCC speed reporting data, it came in second place (behind Optus) and was found to overdeliver on its promise. And, while it doesn’t offer an introductory discount, I love its simple plan pricing and the fixed price means it’s the most affordable provider from year two.
• AU$80 minimum cost
• AU$960 yearly costView Deal
Flip Fast Speed | 500Mbps | AU$69p/m (first 8 months, then AU$83.90p/m)
Flip is another of my favourite providers, and its NBN 500 plan is also good value. You’ll pay just AU$69 a month for the first 8 months of service (most providers only offer a 6-month discount) followed by a good ongoing cost of AU$83.90, which is well under the current average of AU$93p/m.
• AU$69 minimum cost
• AU$887.60 first year cost
• AU$1,006.80 ongoing yearly costView Deal
Dodo nbn500 | 500Mbps | AU$72.99p/m (first 12 months, then AU$92.99p/m)
Dodo is the only provider of those I monitor to offer a full 12-month discount on its NBN 500 plan. As a result, it’s the cheapest provider of those I monitor right now, but you’ll need to be quick to lock in this discounted price, as it’s set to end on February 24, 2026.
• AU$72.99 minimum cost
• AU$875.88 first year cost
• AU$1,115.88 ongoing costView Deal
