NBN alternatives: Your best Non-NBN internet options

Now that the NBN rollout is complete, there’s a very good chance your home can sign up for an NBN plan to get online. But while the NBN is the main source of broadband in Australia these days, it’s not the only option anymore. 

These days, those looking for an NBN alternative in Australia have about half a dozen to choose from. With that in mind, let’s look at the other non-NBN broadband options in Australia that might want to consider.

5G Home Internet is currently the most obvious option if you're looking for an alternative to the NBN. 

This NBN alternative is basically a combination of typical home internet and mobile internet, which combines a mobile data connection with a dedicated modem router to give you fast wireless internet in your home.

Depending on your circumstances, a 5G home wireless internet connection can technically hit speeds of up to 1000Mbps. However, some plans are speed-capped at 50Mbps or 100Mbps and performance can vary depending on your location and network provider. So long as you’ve got decent 5G reception in your area, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to sign up for a home wireless broadband plan that uses the technology without too much fuss.

For a snapshot of your options, check out the daily updating list of the cheapest uncapped 5G home internet plans from our comparison engine.

If the 5G Home Internet plans in the widget above are a little too costly for comfort, it might be worth considering a speed-capped 5G plan instead. Check out the widget below for a round-up of the cheapest 5G Home Internet plans with a 100Mbps speed cap.

Still looking to save some money? A 5G Home Internet connection with a 50Mbps speed limit isn't as compelling an NBN Alternative but it might still work for you if you aren't all that attached to the idea of faster internet speeds. Check out the widget below for a round-up of the cheapest 5G Home Internet plans with a 50Mbps speed cap.

Of course, one of the biggest caveats to 5G Home Internet as an NBN alternative is that it isn't available everywhere. To check if your area is covered by a given 5G provider, check out the 5G coverage map below.

If you don't have 5G connectivity in your local area just yet or don't need the faster speeds it offers, chances are you might be able to get by with 4G Home Internet as an NBN alternative instead. As with 5G home internet, this form of broadband is basically a combination of typical home internet and mobile internet, which uses mobile data to connect to a dedicated modem router.

The main differences here are price and speed. 4G home internet plans are cheaper than their 5G counterparts. Unfortunately, they're also slower. 4G home wireless internet connections can offer speeds of up to 100Mbps, but most are capped out by providers at around 25Mbps. This means they're a good internet option for households of one or two people but a bad fit for bigger homes or more demanding consumers.

If you're sold, check out the daily updating list of home wireless internet plans from our comparison engine sorted by price.

Although it can work as an NBN alternative in a pinch, mobile broadband isn't really built for home internet use. It's biggest advantage is that it can travel with you via SIM-capable devices like tablets and laptops.

When you sign up for a mobile broadband plan in Australia, sometimes all you're getting is a SIM card. However, certain providers may throw in a dongle modem to connect to a computer or a pocket WiFi modem router to make it little easier to stay connected while you're out and about.

As with their home internet counterparts, 5G Mobile broadband plans vary in speeds. Some plans cap out at 150Mbps or 250Mbps but a few providers like Belong offer an uncapped connection that let you go as fast as your network will allow. Below is a daily updated list of 5G mobile broadband plans from our comparison engine, sorted by price.

4G mobile broadband isn't all that different from 5G mobile broadband in terms of the way it works or the niche it occupies as an NBN alternative. As you might expect though, it's a little slower when it comes to download speeds.

It's also worth remembering that 5G mobile broadband still work on 4G networks if you don't have 5G connectivity or a 5G device.

It's worth noting that mobile broadband plans come with relatively small data allowance, which may make them a challenging fit as an NBN alternative. The largest you'll find is 400GB, but many providers max out at 200GB or less. 

Sky Muster satellite NBN is no longer the only option for remote and rural areas where a fixed-line NBN connection isn't available. A few years back, Starlink entered the scene. Originally, Elon Musk's satellite internet service was only available to rural homes but it’s now available for most homes in Australia.

If the prospect of download speeds up to 100Mbps (and, reportedly, up to 300Mbps in the future) and no data caps sounds like a solid NBN alternative to you, that enthusiasm will likely be tempered by the asking price-involved. Starlink's standard consumer plan comes in at $139 per month, which is a lot higher than most satellite NBN plans will cost you. In addition, once you’re connected, you’ll typically have to pay a $924 fee for the hardware plus a $115 shipping and handling fee on top of that. 

Telstra also offers Starlink plans for a slightly more modest $129 per month, though its version of the service does cap out at 50Mbps. In either case though, it should be clear that this particular NBN alternative isn't exactly looking to undercut the competition when it comes to price.

For a sense of how Starlink compares, check out the round-up of the most popular satellite NBN plans below.

It's easy to forget but the NBN isn't the only provider of fibre internet in Australia. If you're living in the right parts of Australia, you might also be able to get a comparable internet connection powered by an alternative provider instead. It might even be faster.

If you're stuck with an older technology-type, the best you can usually get is NBN 100. However, if you opt for a TPG Fibre-To-The-Basement connection instead you could be looking at speeds of as much as five times that.

TPG's private fibre plans are offered via the Vision Network. According to the official website, the Vision Network reaches a total of 400,000 homes and is the largest fixed-broadband network outside of the NBN according to the official website.

This private infrastructure is the backbone of both TPG and iiNet's FTTB internet plans and offers speeds of up to 1Gbps. If you're keen, be sure to check out some examples of high-speed non-NBN fibre plans from our comparison engine below:

Opticomm isn't available everywhere but if you live at an eligible address and are in the market for an NBN alternative that it's too different but doesn't skimp on speed it's definitely worth taking a look at. The company has been rolling out its own fibre network across Australia in much the same way that NBN Co has with the NBN, albeit more selectively.

As of 2022, Opticomm claims to service more than 600,000 premises across the country. Like the NBN, Opticomm doesn't sell internet plans directly to consumers. Instead, it's a wholesaler that works with partners to offer internet service plans that operate on the privately-owned network. Many of these partners also sell NBN and other internet plans.

Opticomm also offers VDSL as a hybrid fibre-copper alternative, though this option may not be available through every Opticomm retailer out there. Still, if you’re in the market for an Opticomm internet plan, you'll want to check out this selection of popular picks from our comparison engine below.

Cable internet was the speedier successor to ADSL, though its availability wasn’t as widespread as the copper-based internet tech. It uses a separate cable modem that then connects to a router via Ethernet cable. A coaxial cable is screwed into the back of the cable modem from a coaxial wall outlet in the home, while a compatible router will usually have multiple Ethernet ports and WiFi to share the cable internet around the home.

With cable internet, plans can reach download speeds of up to 800Mbps, which is faster than the second-fastest NBN plan (NBN 250). These speeds are achieved by using the extra bandwidth in the coaxial cable network, which is used to deliver pay TV services like Foxtel.

For a snapshot of your options when it comes to cable internet in Australia, check out the widget below.