NBN set to become five times faster ‘at no extra cost’

Broadband speeds are set to skyrocket for about 9 million Australians as NBN Co proposes to make its most popular plan five times faster at no extra cost as demand for data explodes.

In a move the company says is to meet unprecedented usage of high-definition streaming and remote work, NBN Co announced plans to raise its 100/20 Mbps Home Fast product to 500/50 Mbps, and triple its Home Superfast product from 250/25 Mbps to 750/50 Mbps.

NBN Co chief Stephen Rue. The company is in the midst of a multi-year project to eliminate ageing copper infrastructure and replace it with fibre.Credit: Edwina Pickles

The accelerated speeds would be available by the end of the year and apply to the 9 million broadband customers who have access to a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) NBN connection, which is most Australians. Customers served by other technologies would also have the ability to upgrade.

Critically, the accelerated speeds would come at no added wholesale cost to retailers, and probably no extra cost to consumers. The move could signal an end to the ongoing “price wars” between NBN Co and retailers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG, who have been at odds for years on pricing and access terms.

The NBN has also long served as a political football, with the Coalition government under former prime minister Tony Abbott scrapping Labor’s full-fibre rollout in 2013 in favour of a cheaper mix of technologies. Abbott said at the time: “[We] are absolutely confident that 25 megs is going to be enough, more than enough, for the average household.”

The network build is effectively complete, with the focus shifting towards speed upgrades. The company is in the midst of a multi-year project to eliminate ageing copper infrastructure and replace it with fibre.

Broadband retailers have until April 19 to comment on the proposals.

Data demand and usage has doubled in the last five years, with the average household now consuming 443 gigabytes per month across 22 devices, with the likes of Fortnite, Netflix and Stan fuelling demand. NBN Co expects the number of devices to grow to 40 per household by the end of the decade.

“Despite this explosion in data usage, many customers have remained on the same broadband plan for years,” NBN Co chief customer officer Anna Perrin said.

“Our network monitoring suggests that some customers are potentially hitting their maximum speed on a regular basis. These customers may enjoy a better internet experience on a faster speed tier.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says “reliable, quality, high-speed internet … is essential 21st century infrastructure”.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“And, most importantly, we are proposing to deliver these accelerated speeds at no extra wholesale cost to internet retailers. By working together with the industry, we hope to deliver these accelerated services to customers later this year or early next year,” Perrin said.

The company launched an industry consultation paper on Tuesday and said it is seeking input on introducing the changes sooner than planned, if possible.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said on Tuesday that: “Reliable, quality, high-speed internet is not a luxury or nice-to-have: it is essential 21st century infrastructure.

“The government expects NBN to consult closely with its retail partners and work with them to enable these speed enhancements to be available for consumers as soon as practical.”

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman called for more information from the government about who will pay for the upgrades.

“NBN says the upgrade would come at ‘no extra wholesale cost to retailers’ – but what about the cost to consumers?” he said.

“NBN sells its service to retailers, who then sell the product to consumers. The minister must explain, is the government saying there will be no increased costs to consumers, and that the planned upgrades will actually be ‘free’?

“Minister Rowland must explain the financial impact to taxpayers of this latest change to NBN’s plans.”

An NBN spokesman said the upgrades were possible thanks to nearly $7 billion worth of fibre upgrades from NBN Co and the federal government.

“Our existing investments in HFC and FTTP upgrades have laid a solid foundation for NBN to begin to unleash faster speeds and greater capacity, without NBN incurring or requiring any major additional capital investment,” the spokesman said.

“Critical to the success of the proposal will be internet retailers’ ability to transmit the higher wholesale speeds across their retail networks and ensure in-home equipment, such as modems and Wi-Fi routers, are capable of delivering the full benefits to customers. NBN Co will be seeking retailer feedback on what in-home equipment will be needed to bring the increased speeds to market.”

Retailers have largely welcomed the move. Phillip Britt, managing director of Aussie Broadband, said it could represent one of the most exciting steps in technology adoption for Australian households and businesses, but he also called for more investment in fixed broadband in regional areas.

A TPG spokesman said it’s critical that NBN Co not overlook customers who cannot afford pricier high-speed plans.

“If NBN was genuine about addressing affordability and high-speed access for all Australians, it would extend these benefits to the 70 per cent of NBN customers on its entry-level 12, 25, and 50Mbps plans,” the spokesman said. “In this cost-of-living crisis, it would be disappointing if only those with the financial means to access high-speed NBN plans reaped the benefits of these upgrades.”

As this masthead reported in February, a faster NBN is set to deliver a $400 billion boost to Australia’s economy by 2030, despite recent price rises for many customers and statistics showing thousands of Australians have dumped the network in recent months.

The economic modelling from consulting giant Accenture, commissioned by NBN Co, found that for every 1 megabit per second in average broadband speed Australia’s productivity-driven GDP rose by 0.04 per cent on average between 2012 and 2022, an uplift worth about $122 billion to the economy.

The network is facing unprecedented competition, however – particularly in regional Australia – as consumers increasingly switch to cheaper, or in some cases, more reliable options including mobile hotspots and Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system.

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