Households with a fibre to the node (FTTN) NBN connection are more likely to experience underperforming download speeds than any other fixed-line connection type, the ACCC's latest Measuring Broadband Australia report has found.
FTTN connections with plan download speeds of 50 or 100 Mbps accounted for 86 per cent of all underperforming connections measured in the report during May 2025. Underperforming services very rarely, if ever, achieve at least 75 per cent of their plan download speed.
Nearly all of the underperforming FTTN connections measured in the report were also impaired. This means that the household cannot access their plan download speed because it exceeds the maximum attainable download speed that can be reached on their individual connection.
"We are concerned that there is a growing divide in the download speeds that Australians can access depending on their NBN connection type," ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
"There remains a cohort of households with FTTN connections that rarely, if ever, achieve download speeds close to their plan's download speed."
The report found that FTTN connections with a plan download speed of 100 Mbps achieved an average download speed of 88.2 Mbps, compared to 104.4 Mbps on fibre to the premises (FTTP) connections and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connections on the same plan.
Further, FTTN connections with a plan download speed of 50 Mbps achieved an average download speed of 47.6 Mbps, compared to 52.1 Mbps on FTTP connections and 52.3 Mbps on HFC connections.
However, the report found that FTTN connections with a plan download speed of 25 Mbps tend to deliver the plan speed, achieving an average download speed of 25.7 Mbps.
"Retailers must make customers aware if their NBN FTTN connection is not able to reach their chosen plan speed so that the customer can make an informed decision about which plan offers the best value for them," Ms Brakey said.
Figure 1. Average download speed per plan and fixed-line access technology
The number of households with FTTN and fibre to the curb (FTTC) connections is declining as more households become eligible to upgrade their connection type. NBN is currently carrying out an upgrade program that will transition all FTTC connections and 95 per cent of households still on an FTTN connection to FTTP by 2030.
"We encourage consumers experiencing slow internet speeds or frequent outages on FTTN and FTTC connections to contact their broadband provider to see if they are eligible for a NBN connection upgrade, or what other options may be available," Ms Brakey said.
Separately, the report found that HFC connections were the most prone to outages and were the most common connection type to record more than one outage per day on average.
Background
Data for the Measuring Broadband Australia program is provided by UK-based firm SamKnows using methodology based on speed testing programs delivered in the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand.
The report defines "Underperforming services" as those that reach above 75 per cent of plan speed in no more than 5 per cent of download tests. The report defines "Impaired services" as FTTN services where the maximum attainable download speed measured by NBN Co is below the plan download speed.
NBN services may exceed their maximum plan download speed due to overprovisioning. This is generally where NBN Co provides a slightly higher data rate than the wholesale plan download speed to accommodate for the portion of a connection's data rate lost in retrieving information that enables a download to occur. NBN Co does not currently overprovision the uplink for NBN fixed-line connections.
