Fastest NBN providers in Australia: According to the ACCC

Typical evening speeds are very similar these days, so it can be hard to pick out the fastest NBN providers in the country. Luckily, the ACCC has your back.

Every quarter, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) releases a report as part of its Measuring Broadband Australia program. This ACCC NBN report includes data for 11 Australian providers primarily offering insights into how NBN providers perform in terms of download and speeds during the internet’s nightly busy hours.

Performance is measured as a percentage of the maximum speed for a plan achieved. So if an NBN 100 plan is shown to achieve 98% of the plan speeds, then the average speed is 98Mbps, or 49Mbps for an NBN 50 plan.

The report also breaks down daily outages, average download speeds, as well as more granular details such as webpage loading times, latency and even packet loss. It can be quite dense, so we have compiled the most important data to help you find the fastest provider in Australia.

Telstra customers were noted to get 105.2% of the maximum attainable download speeds during peak periods, meaning you'll get around 105Mbps from an NBN 100 plan. Like most other things Telstra, the provider's plans are on the premium side of pricing, so you'll be paying for the privilege.

On the other hand, Telstra NBN's plans do come with a few perks that sweeten that price tag. The most eye-catching of these is Telstra Plus - the provider's reward points program. Every dollar spent with the provider contributed to a points balance which can be used to purchase various from the store.

If you're intrigued, you can find Telstra's NBN plans in the widget below.

Exetel is a frequent entrant to the top spots on the ACCC speed report - this time coming in at number two this time around With speeds hitting 105.1% of the max speeds, Exetel customers are likely to receive around 105Mbps line speed on an NBN 100 plan.

Exetel recently revamped its NBN lineup, condensing its offering down to a single NBN 500 plan. Although there's no promo pricing for new customers, this plan is priced competitively and comes with a few perks, including the ability to save up to $30 per month when you travel by toggling on a vacation mode for for your internet connection.

TPG came in at a respectable third place this time around, stealing that spot from Optus with 103.7% of maximum achievable speeds during overall hours. It doesn't hurt that this provider offers a Price Beat Guarantee for selected competitors, letting you better speeds at a cheaper price.

If you're intrigued, you can find TPG's NBN plans in the widget below.

Optus achieved 103.6% of maximum plan speeds during busy times in this ACCC report, putting it at number four.

Similar to Telstra, Optus is a premium provider and its prices reflect that. NBN plans start from $80/mth, which is around $20 dearer than many other telcos on this list. In exchange, customers that stay connected for 36-months get a free modem with 4G backup. If the plan is cancelled before then, the modem fee still needs to be paid out to a maximum of $306.

Customers also get access to SubHub - Optus' streaming service consolidation platform. From one platform users can control subscriptions, and track spending, and get a 10% total discount when enough eligible services are bundled in.

Superloop managed to win out over Dodo and iPrimus (which are both owned by Vocus) to take the fifth place spot in the ACCC's latest report. This provider sports 103.2% of maximum plans speeds, which is the equivalent of around 103Mbps on an NBN 100 plan.

In addition to competitive promo pricing for new customers, Superloop also offers the ability to bundle a mobile and internet service together to save $10 per month. You also get access to five Speed Boost days per month. These allow you to temporarily bump your connection speed up from what you usually get from Superloop’s NBN 50 plan to what you could be getting from its NBN 100 internet plan. Unused speed boost days roll over up to thirty days.

Sold? You can find Superloop's NBN plans in the widget below.

The ACCC also tracks plan speeds by their technology type. Some technology types are able to achieve faster speeds than others, but this data gives a solid indication of exactly how far behind certain technologies are. 

These numbers tend to stay relatively stable, undulating by 0.1-0.2%. FTTN however has made the most notable improvement. In any case, FTTP, FTTN, FTTC, and HFC are all measured and we have documented how they stack up in the table below.

The ACCC also tracks speeds for homes signed up to the source of the second-fastest internet in Australia: NBN 1000 plans. These plans have a max download speed range of between 500Mbps and 990Mbps as well as max upload speeds of 50Mbps. You can see the averages in the table below.

There are a few reasons why your internet may still be slow, even if you're with one of the fastest NBN providers. It could be one of three things;

1. Your NBN plan is too slow
2. There is a hardware issue
3. Your technology type is underperforming

The first issue is relatively easy to solve - upgrade to a faster plan. NBN 50 is the most popular speed tier, but it may not be enough to cater for your online needs. 

New updates to the CVC pricing structure has seen NBN 100 plans and faster drop in price, so it is worth comparing to see how much a quicker plan would cost you. Alternatively, you could shop around for a new provider with faster typical evening speeds.

If neither of these more popular speed tiers is quite cutting when it comes to connectivity thenyou might also want to consider an NBN 500 plan, NBN 750 plan or NBN 2000 plan instead. These new speed tiers launched in September 2025 and promise speeds many times faster than what you'll get out of an NBN 50 or NBN 100 connection.

Hardware - specifically modem - issues are one of the top causes of subpar NBN speeds. Some key problems you may experience with NBN modems are congestion, out of date firmware, and signal interference.

Finally, you may be stuck on an under-performing technology type. According to the ACCC, FTTN still performs worse than any other fixed line technology type - so it may be the root cause of your issues. NBN upgrades are slowly rolling out to FTTN and FTTC areas however, so keep an eye out for how you can upgrade your NBN for free.