We provide a range of speed tiers on our nbn™ plans. Your actual speed can differ from the maximum line speed for a range of reasons — here's an honest rundown of the tiers, and the factors that impact what you'll experience.
| Tier | Down speed up to | Well suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 12 Mbps | Email, web browsing and online banking for 1–2 light users. Comparable to a good ADSL2+ connection. |
| Boost | 25 Mbps | Everyday browsing and standard-definition streaming for smaller households. |
| Boost Up | 50 Mbps | HD streaming, video calls, gaming and working from home in busy households. |
| Boost Max | 100 Mbps | Large households streaming on several screens at once, and small business premises. |
You can add or remove a bandwidth booster, or change speed tiers, at any time. Fixed Wireless connections have their own speed characteristics; ask us what applies at your address.
During busy periods — typically 7pm to 11pm — broadband speeds can slow as more premises use the internet at the same time.
The quality and age of your modem affects performance. We recommend one of our latest pre-configured modems to get the most from your connection — contact us if yours is due for an upgrade.
Wi-Fi performance depends on where your modem sits, radio or electrical interference from nearby devices, and how many devices connect at once — every Wi-Fi modem has its limits. Our support team can help you tune it.
If the copper lines within your premises are damaged, corroded, badly connected or poorly configured, your nbn™ speed can drop significantly.
A slow connection on one device can point to malware, viruses, or hardware too old to support higher speeds. And when several devices download at once, your bandwidth is shared between them.
Downloads can slow when the content source itself is congested — say, everyone streaming the Grand Final at once. During congestion we may prioritise time-sensitive traffic like VoIP calls and video streaming over general downloads, and those over background file-sharing, so the things that need speed get it.
Tell us how many people are at your place and what you do online — we'll recommend the tier that fits, honestly.