NBNCo boosted broadband speeds for hundreds of thousands of Australians on 14 September 2025. The NBN speed boost is great news but not everyone will feel the full benefit.
If your router and cabling aren’t reasonably current you may see all the speed increases delivered by NBNCo.
Which NBN plans have been upgraded?
NBNCo has been trying to encourage people to upgrade their services for some time. NBNCo has not upgraded lower speed plans that deliver up to 50Mbps.
Faster plans, starting at 100Mbps have received a significant speed increase.
- NBN 100/20 or 100/40 plans increase to 500/50Mbps
- NBN 250/25) plans increase to 750/50Mbps
- NBN 1000/50 plans increase to 1000/100Mbps
- NBN 2000/200 or 2000/100 plans increase to a new, faster speed tier
The upgrades have been automatically applied to homes with a FttP (Fibre to the Premises) or HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) NBN connection. But if you don’t have one of these connection types, you can upgrade at no charge.
Those speed increases sound great but to get their full benefit, your network needs to be up to scratch.
Step 1 – Check the connection between the NBN modem and your router
The first thing to check is the connection between your NBN box and your router.
If you look carefully at that ethernet cable you’ll see some text. The cable will be marked as:
- CAT 5
- CAT 5e
- Cat 6
- Cat 7
- Cat 8
Cat 5 cables are limited to a maximum speed of 100Mbps. Even if your NBN modem is receiving data at 500Mbps, it will only reach your network at 100Mbps. Upgrading to a Cat 5e or later cable will ensure you maximise the chance of the fastest possible connection on the devices connected to your network.
This is the lowest cost thing you’ll need to do to ensure your network can get the full benefit of your NBN speed boost.
Step 2 – Check what speed your wireless router is capable of
Since the late 1990s, wireless network speeds have markedly improved.
| Year | Name | Max Speed | Frequency |
| 1999 | Wi-Fi 1 (802.11b) | 54Mbps | 2.4Ghz |
| 1999 | Wi-Fi 2 (802.11a) | 54Mbps | 5GHz |
| 2002 | Wi-Fi 3 (802.11g) | 54Mbps | 2.4GHz |
| 2009 | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) | 600Mbps | 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
| 2013 | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | 1300Mbps | 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
| 2019 | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) | 10Gbps | 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
| 2024 | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) | 46Gbps | 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
There are several other wireless standards that weren’t commercialised into consumer products.
If you’re still holding on to an older wireless router, from before 2009, it’s time for an upgrade. For most people, a Wi-Fi 5 router will be perfectly adequate. If you need a new wireless router, you’ll probably fond Wi-Fi 6 models are less expensive than Wi-Fi 7 models and will give several years of reliable use.
Step 3 – If you have a mesh network
If you are using a mesh networking product, the position of the nodes can make a significant difference to their performance. Keeping nodes higher and not directly against walls can make a big difference.
If possible, connect your nodes to the centra node via ethernet (Cat 5e or better cable) as wireless backhaul between the nodes can be slower.
Step 4 – Cable fixed devices where possible
The network performance difference between a wired and wireless connection can be massive. I use an ethernet cable to connect my desktop Mac to the main node of my mesh network. It achieves network speeds in excess of the promised 500Mbps my service provider offers. My iPhone, which is sitting by my side on a Wi-Fi 6 connection, achieves about 18% of that speed.
If your main computer doesn’t move and you can connect it to your router with a cable – do it.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.