If your NBN plan still says 50 or 100, you are probably paying too much, or stuck on old technology. NBN quietly ran a huge wave of free speed upgrades, and most Australian households on eligible connections were bumped to much faster plans at no extra cost. Here is what changed and what to check.
The big change: free upgrades to NBN 500
NBN has been pushing everyone onto faster tiers. Households on NBN 100 plans were mostly bumped to NBN 500 automatically, and plans below that have largely been replaced. For a lot of people, the speed doubled or quintupled overnight without them asking for it or paying more.
So if you have not looked at your plan in a while, do it now: log into your provider’s account page or check a recent bill. If it still says 25, 50, or even 100, that is a red flag worth a phone call.
Still on a slower plan? You are probably on Fibre to the Node
Here is the catch with the free upgrades: they mostly went to homes on the newer connection types, fibre to the premises (FTTP), hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC, the old pay-TV cables), and fibre to the curb (FTTC). The connection type matters because it determines how much speed can physically reach your house.
Fibre to the Node (FTTN) is the one that got left behind. On FTTN, fibre runs to a cabinet in your street, but the last stretch to your house travels over the old copper phone lines. That copper leg caps your speed and degrades with distance and corrosion, which is why the house at the far end of the street often gets worse speeds than the one near the node.
If your plan still tops out at 50 or 100 Mbps while everyone else got bumped to 500, FTTN is the likely reason. The physical line to your house simply cannot carry more.
The good news: free fibre upgrades are a thing
NBN Co has been running a program offering free upgrades from FTTN (and FTTC) to full Fibre to the Premises for addresses that order a faster plan. If you are on an eligible address, you can get a fibre line run to your house at no cost, and then the 500-and-faster tiers open up to you.
How to check: most providers have an address checker on their site, or call them and ask directly “am I eligible for the free FTTP upgrade?” If yes, it is worth doing; faster speeds at similar prices, plus a more reliable line that does not corrode in our salty coastal air.
What to check on your bill
Pull up your current plan and compare it to what is on offer now:
- Your plan speed. If it says 50 or 100, ask whether you have been upgraded, or whether you should be.
- Your monthly price. Providers have quietly re-priced plans. You may be paying the old price for a slower speed than new customers get for less.
- Typical evening speed. This is the honest number, what you actually get between 7pm and 11pm when the network is busiest. An NBN 500 plan should be delivering close to it in the evening.
- Your connection type. Ask the provider what technology your address uses, and whether you are on the fibre upgrade list.
When the problem is not the NBN at all
One thing that has not changed: half the “my internet is slow” calls we take are actually Wi-Fi problems, not NBN problems. A fast new 500 connection into your house can still crawl if the router is old, hidden behind the TV in a corner, or fighting thick brick walls. The speed reaching your modem and the speed reaching your back bedroom are different things.
Run a speed test on a computer plugged into the modem with a cable. If that is fast but the Wi-Fi in other rooms is not, the fix is your network setup, not your plan.
