nbn FTTP and HFC Speed Upgrades - Do You Notice a Difference?

Hi All,

My Aussie Broadband 100/20 plan just got upgraded to 500/50. I wasn't expecting a difference, but I'm suprised that I'm struggling to notice any change whatsoever. I'm just talking about browsing, streaming, usual work stuff etc. Not downloading large files as I rarely do that.

Is this the same for everyone else, has anyone noticed a difference in day to day usage?

I'm also using an older WiFi 5 router, could a newer router take more advantage of the speed upgrade in my use case?
To be clear my internet does not feel slow, I'm perfectly happy with it I'm just suprised how inconsequential this upgrade is.

Thanks!

Poll Options

  • 105
    Yes
  • 160
    No

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  • +23

    You need to make sure router and devices are capable of using the extra bandwidth speed. There's going to be a noticeably bigger difference when downloading large files like 100 GB games, than loading OzBargain pages.

    Streaming services have quite low bitrate. Netflix 4K only needs 25 Mbps, so it won't make a difference for one user. But 5 people streaming 4K each at same time, will make a difference.

    • How would you determine if your router can use the extra bandwidth?

      • +2

        If your devices are reasonably new, switch them to the 5GHz Wifi and consider turning off 2.4GHz (or put it in a different SSID). You can check peak speeds using services like fast.com or speed.cloudflare.net. If you can use ethernet, that's even better to check if the bottleneck is the wifi or the router.

        • +3

          also check the model of your router to see what kind of performance it can achieve in terms of raw bandwidth. A few of the cheaper routers out there even if their specs confirm 1GB ethernet ports and WIFI5 can't actually move data through at anywhere near the 1GB so replacing the router might be a good option if its one of the lower performance models.

          This website below gives some background on how to determine the routes throughput however its easier to see if someone else has already tested the model and published results (or similar model) as you have rather than doing this testing yourself

          https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-howto/how-…

          Unfortunately there is a lot to get right to get benefit of the higher speed including

          1) As mentioned need WIFI5 or better wifi router (and it needs to be actually connecting with good signal strength to all your devices)

          2) Your devices also have to support this!. If you haven't got wifi5 mobile devices such as tablets, phones you can't upgrade then. On the other hand laptops and desktops using wifi often can have their wifi cards swapped for a WIFI5/6/7 cards. (good brands at least can be)

          3) Tune the WIFI to ensure sufficient connection speed (consider using a mesh network if its a big home)

          4) Wired devices - could be restricted if your router isn't passing close to the full 1GB (also some routers and switches are 100MB rated not 1GB so need to remove anything using 100MB, e.g. any cheap switches under desks being used to expand your network?)

          5) If using a VPN, may want to switch to wireguard or ensure whatever is running the VPN can leverage CPU optimisation. VPN at these higher speeds needs more grunt so if your using a low powered router for VPN that could be a bottleneck.

          6) Finally.. assuming your speed testing shows your actually getting the faster speeds (or at least more than what you have before) most of the benefit will be in parallel transfers or bulk transfers.

          Note that often the cause of slowness is the target websites your accessing, amazing how many sites actually have poor performance even with bigger brands. Our favour ozbargain sites like TGG, JB, myer, coles actually really suck in terms of performance. In these cases modern web browsers can improve speed by running multiple threads to download images/content in parallel from websites but it may not make a big difference compare to the benefits you'll see in use cases such as concurrent streaming services, bulk upload/downloads (such as backing up to cloud) and so on.

          Good luck with it.. still waiting for my speed upgrade.

          oh final point… there is still the concern of the backbone your ISP uses to connect to the rest of the internet which is where many ISP's were taking massive shortcuts.. this mostly stopped during covid as the government stepped in however possible ISPs will restrict the backhaul speeds again.

          • @paulusjr: Say you got nbn 500 with old router

            If the wifi speed test for example get close to 500, like 480

            Does it mean likely your router is able to handle the nbn 500?

            • @ATTS: Of course, and could even higher.

              • @timhn: Cool thanks, looks like dont need to upgrade router yet.

                Whats the benefit of routers with the wifi 6 thing btw?

                I dont think i have any devices that uses wifi 6 yet though

      • +2

        Download ookla speedtest app, or speedtest.net.
        With Wi-Fi 5 you not going to get much more than 100Mbps on a basic router

      • Great, thank you both

    • Those of us stuck on FTTC (mostly apartments) wont see any speed upgrade and so wont notice any difference unfortunately, regardless of how good our router is.

  • +15

    Honestly what were you even expecting?

    The point of faster speeds is to download things faster and stream things better/More users at the same time.

    • +1

      Exactly, for just browsing and minor stuff you are not going to notice a difference at all really.

  • +3

    Do You Notice a Difference?

    My upload speeds increased slightly.

    • +7

      So we get to see your onlyfans videos in 4K now? ;)

  • error 404 poll missing

  • Too early to tell. We are on ABB 1000/50.

    • My ABB 750/50 is producing 600/50 at best … I have emailed support and no reply

      • Tried all the usual troubleshooting methods like restarting your service, plugging directly into the access point or even connecting directly into the NTD?

        • Yes, with the exception of direct connection to the ntd… might try that tomorrow… otherwise might downgrade to 500/50 an save $24 a month.

          • @chops: Well hopefully it's just a router issue. Anything else makes it a potential pain to troubleshoot when you have to get the ISP involved.

      • +1

        I get about 750 to 850 depending on the day. I guess that it's the maximum speed achievable. We are at end of the chain from the box, so 750 is I think a good result.

  • Time to upgrade to ABB 10000/10000mbps to see if there's a difference.

    • +3

      $1000 a month take it or leave it $990 for black friday sales - ABB probably

      • I put in my address for ABB and it came back as I'm in the area for ABB fibre, which is surprising because I'm in a residential area.

        I really should try and find out how much installation would be.

  • For your usage you'd likely be fine on a 25/10 plan or a 50/20 at most so of course you're not going to notice a difference.

  • +1

    Not much different for me. I am now supposed to be on a 500 plan but the max speed I have seen is 250 and that was once. If I'm lucky and right next to my modem I might get 180 but when I am using my work laptop in a room directly above where the modem is downstairs I usually get around 30.

    • +2

      reboot your NBN and router boxes, mine needed that to get full speeds.

      • I did restart my router, will maybe try the nbn box and see if that works. Not sure if my router is the best one for these high speeds too.

    • 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz Wifi? I previously had my router set up as 2.4Ghz as I only had 100/20. Upgraded to 500/50, was only getting around 200/40. Turned on 5Ghz Wifi, immediately 500/50.

    • What device are you using? What wireless network 5GHz?

      • My router is a tp link vx220-g2v and then I have tp link deco ac1300 mesh.

        I just changed the mesh to 5GHz which has made some difference but still only around 250-300 download. When I checked my speed through the tp link app it said my download speed was 534.

        • You may need to replace your old Deco's with a TP-Link Deco that has Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.

          Do you use a VoIP phone from the TP-Link VX220?

          • @Twix: They're only a year old, don't really want to spend money upgrading them.

            I don't have a phone other than my mobile.

            • +1

              @onetwothreefour: AC1300 Deco's are from 2017 and 300Mbps Wi-Fi is normal with those.

              Plug in the new Deco to the nbn NTD box when you upgrade in the future.

    • Same and reboots have done nothing … it’s at ABB end

  • At typical user, even one working from home and watching 4K TV, only needs 50/20.

    A person who uploads large video files, or a larger family who all use the internet at the same time, may benefit from a better plan.

  • +5

    Downloading large files is part of normal usage.
    A majority of people under 40 play video games, and hitting a 60gb download from steam in the middle of a teams call sucks.
    Of course, you are moving from already fast and pretty reliable to a bit faster. Try moving the other way and I think you will see these upgrades are about trying to stay a bit ahead of the curve for once.
    But If you have modest internet needs, Tony Abbot was your guy! 12mbps all the way.

    • +2

      I factored in playing games, which I rarely do. But it is normal when I turn the xbox on once a month that it or the games installed need an update. So I'm glad that will get quicker.

      • +2

        Exactly this, it will only be noticeable downloading large files, big updates, uploads or multiuser streaming.

        The critical factor for general web browsing and noticeable speed increases is your ISP ping and dns resolver speed, if those are fast going from 25mbps to 1000mbps would almost be unnoticeable. I live in rural WA and finally got to upgrade from fttn to fttp a couple months ago, on the same speed tier but ping dropped from 100+ms to 16-20ms on fibre, along with changing from the ISP’s DNS to cloudflare, web page loads and browsing is very noticeable more snappy. Once your on full fibre and sub 20ms pings, speed increases will become almost unnoticeable except for the use cases above where they can be dramatic.

        If you haven’t changed your DNS resolver on your router, it’s highly recommended as not all ISP’s are as fast as the good ones. Some of the best to try are Cloudflare (privacy focused, no logs, fast globally), OpenDNS (privacy, fast, parental controls), GoogleDNS (fast, global network, not as private as your searches can be logged for advertising) or Quad 9 (reliable, fast - tiny speed hit but privacy and security focused, blocks malicious sites). Try each one, ping an assortment of sites you usually visit, see what gives you the best performance and tradeoffs. Enjoy fast browsing!

        • +1

          excellent advise, the DNS resolution speed has a major impact on single user experience.

        • +1

          Thanks for that. Just changed to CloudFlare and it made a noticeable difference, including higher download speed… Unless that's just coincidence

  • +2

    Getting around 540/47 on Exetel

  • Didn’t notice which was disappointing but then going through mesh settings app realised I’d had it set to 100 so it was limiting
    Once rectified my HFC was firing at 460+

  • +20

    My Teams meetings now finish in half the time. Impressed.

  • my pc still shows the 50mbps limit but my phone goes to 300mbps??

    • You might have a bottleneck somewhere on your PC.

  • I wasn't expecting a difference, but I'm suprised that I'm struggling to notice any change whatsoever

    What a strange thing to say. You were surprised that you were correct to not expect a difference?

    • I should have said I wasn't expecting a big difference, then was surprised that I noticed nothing at all.

  • My provider didn't even pass it on…..

    • What? Are you sure? Or you mean “you” are still getting the same speed? Two different things.

    • Optus hasn't passed mine on, they reckon it's up to NBN to activate. They are absolutely terrible to deal with, OK once everything works.

  • yeap, i noticed my movie & TV shows downloading at 20mb/s, very nice and fast for sailing the high seas with a skull and bone flag hoisted over my ship. im on the 500/50mb speed increase, the uploads are still around 20-30mb but download wow nice and fast.

  • What were you expecting? Pages loading slow is more likely the DNS that you are using. Could swap to something else. I use AdGuard home but it goes through quad 9 and cloudflare.

    Perhaps you’d actually be better off with a 50/20 plan if you aren’t downloading content…

  • +1

    This is the reason why I stick to legacy plans 100/20 for $79.

    Download speed is irrelevent because websites won't provide max speed. And large downloads are done asymmetrical, you schedule them or load them over night.

    On demand never goes over 40Mbps. Netflix 4K caps at 20. Youtube even throttles or gives fake HD streams so again the speed is pointless.

    • Carbon Comms will give you 500/50Mbps for $1 more - $80 on-going - a nice jump in upload speed?

      https://carboncomms.com.au/pages/carbon-comms-nbn-plans

      Carbon Comms are fairly new so currently still working with Aussie Broadband to get IPv6 up and running (static IPv4 comes as standard) and having POPS in every state but these features are coming in the near future.

      • +1

        Ongoing $80 price and no CGNAT sounds good to me. Might be where i go after my superloop BFD deal ends.

  • Ookla speed test definitely shows the speed increase, but the only time I notice is when I'm on video streaming sites (YouTube, Rumble, Xvideos, etc). But the only improvements are the videos loading maybe 0.5 sec quicker. Game downloads should be faster, but I still need to try that.

  • 50/20 is normally good enough for my family of 4. There is no difference between 50/20 to 100/20 or 500/50 unless someone is downloading a very large file which is rare.

    Right now, I am just happy to be pay the same price for 50/20 and getting 500/50 for another 9 more months. Happy to be paying $10 extra for 500/50 but if the premium is $20-$30 extra I think I am going to switch back to 50/20.

  • +11

    Did a game patch last night on xbox and I usually set it to update and walk to the fridge to get a drink and it was literlly done downloading by the time I got out of the chair…

    I have a wooden leg and an eye patch on a lot of the time, and while some of my "sailing" has netted me some extra "knots" with the new "trade winds", I still find that the other "ships" I am trying to "transfer cargo" with, still have "small planks" on which to "transfer cargo" across… There is no noticeable increase in their "transfer of cargo", but some of the larger "ports" I deal with for "larger shipments", I have noticed a considerable upgrade to their ability to "load my ship" mush faster…

  • I am in Melb Vic northern suburbs on Optus 100/40 FTTP, NO speed upgrade as yet. Have just rebooted both modems.

  • +1

    For me it is most noticeable when downloading games over Steam. Uploading files to Google Drive or Onedrive should be much faster too.

  • +2

    I found the increased upload speed much more noticeable and useful. Daily backups are much faster and accessing security cameras, servers etc appears to be more responsive.
    Download speed/bandwidth seems to have made everything connected at home just run somewhat 'smoother'. (as well as the added benefit that the eyepatch doesn't need to be on for quite as long).

  • +1

    When was your last Lance Vance Dance?

    • +1

      A while! Haven't driven the white Inferno for years.

  • My upload speed doubled which was nice when I'm transferring files for work and I'm noticing it when I do it. Had to reboot my firewall to kick the upgrade in though.

  • +1

    Sure do. Family of 5. Gives us 100Mb of speed each if we are all using it at the same time. Great for gaming, streaming, downloading big files all at the same time. Huge benefit for me will be school holidays and I’m on my zoom calls (wfh).

    The upload speed still needs to be increased. 50Mb is poor

  • I had gigabit a few years ago and it's night and day. Things download at gigabit speeds from Apple/Microsoft/Sony servers too.

  • It mostly comes down to the servers you are downloading from. The only speed increase I have noticed is downloading anything from Apple. That is heaps faster (for example updating apps on MacOS). But yeah even when I was 100 down there was rarely anything that would hit that speed.

  • -2

    Uploading all the police state surveillance camera footage, and internet of things data, and internet of bodies data to the AI overlords is now much faster. Now that's smart.

  • +1

    Yes, enormous difference - having jumped from 100/20 to 500/50.

    I can now watch 80Gb Remux movies on Stremio/Torrentio/RD, as opposed to previously having to look for <20Gb files.

    I am extremely happy.

    • Nice, I'm on Stremio too will try it out.

  • +1

    Guess it's a bit like the highway, if it's not already congested, widening it is not going to move traffic faster.

    Similarly, if your household is not already maxing out the bandwidth, more bandwidth is not going to transfer data faster.

  • Who's gonna notice much of a difference just form browsing? As if 100mbps isn't already fast enough for basic browsing. Unless you have a flooded network with multiple users streaming or you are downloading large files, you obviously won't notice much if anything.

  • +1

    Downloading games on steam and playstation? Sure, massive difference, but normal website browsing and youtube watching? Nah.

  • Yes and no. Yes I get close to the speeds and better uploads, but I've mistakenly gone with spintel while being in Melbourne so at peak times it drops right down below 20mbps instead of getting 500. But locked in now for 12 months for the free fibre upgrade

  • No communications from Superloop, other than speed boost will be disabled over the weekend and that there may be some outages.

    I'm on superloop 100/40 and nothing changed for me.

    Apparently, you only get an upgrade to 500/50 if you were on 100/20.

    So now I am worse off than someone who was on 100/20 before the weekend change.

    After having a Winge, they have said I will likely be moved to 250/100 but can't give a date when that will be, or move me to 500/50 in the meantime.

    • log into the portal and you can change it yourself

      • I'm still on an intro deal at a cheaper rate, which I'm pretty sure would be cancelled if I changed plans myself.

        I'd be happy with the 250/100 as I upload a lot which is why I was on the 100/40 instead of the 100/20 in the first place.

        I'm waiting to see what they do for me, they promised to get back to me, though it's been a few days now.

        If they don't come to the party soon, I'll just churn to a new deal with someone else.

  • was on 250/xx now at 750/50 … cant really notice difference…

    maybe with torrents but web/daily to day its same same but improvement is still improvement

  • Anyway, it depends on how you use the internet.

  • You will notice if you download or stream large media files. I use stremio and now it's possible to stream extremely large content.

  • My connection on a speed test is locked at 845/95 for Superloop. I'll take it. Definitely better on the upload.

  • I'm on a 1000/100 plan and if I were to drop down to 50/20, even I wouldn't notice the difference with web browsing, online gaming, video meetings etc.

    Except for downloading Steam games of course.

    You'll only really notice the difference with big downloads/transfers and other users on your network consciously saturating the home network bandwidth.

    Even with streaming, the technology has gotten so good with compression algorithms and whatnot that 50/20 to stream a 4K YouTube or Netflix video is more than enough.

    Just a side note here. A lot of people think a faster internet plan will automatically fix their gaming lag, but that's not really the case. Unless you have a ton of devices hogging your bandwidth, a faster plan probably won't do much. You'll get way more out of your connection by plugging in with an Ethernet cable and tweaking your router's settings, like Quality of Service (QoS) to prioritise the gaming traffic.

  • I enjoy downloading large files from mega and having them finish quickly. Having been on 1000 for a few years now, if I were to drop, I'd definitely notice. Don't notice the upload rate going to 100 from 50 though.

  • +1

    Honestly more likely to downgrade to a lower plan and save some money each month rather than enjoy the new speed

    In that I suspect I am probably not alone

  • Increasing your bandwidth increases your Max throughput. You won't notice any difference unless you are already bandwidth limited or saturating your current link.

    A better way to look at it is capacity rather than speed. You won't notice unless you're always near your link's capacity.

    Think of bandwidth like increasing the lanes on the road or highway. If you're traveling 20mins to work on a 2 lane road, increasing it to 10 lanes won't improve your commute time unless those roads are congested.

    Large file transfers are usually the only way to saturate a link as they are traffic that will fill those lanes.

  • Isn’t the upgrade happening over 3 weeks? Has does everyone know the upgrade has already occurred? You’re seeing much faster speeds on speed tests but not noticing much of a difference?
    I’m with Optus and supposed to be getting 100 pre the nbn upgrade but usually get between 40 and 80 and nothings changed

  • I went up to 750mb, 5g WiFi hasn't really changed much get about 300mb, direct connected speed test in browser shows around 150mb, speed test on app shows 800mb on the shield. PS5 is 800mb.

    I was on the phone to the isp as I was only getting 100mb, but forgot to turn off my VPN which was the problem

  • Let me guess, your computer isn't like very high end spec.
    Also, you are still using HDD instead of SSD?
    The internet can only run as fast your computer can process, so maybe think about upgrading your computer.

  • Day to day usage it makes little difference in my case. But when occasionally downloading or uploading larger files, there's a huge difference.

  • Do a speed test, download a large file. You should see the difference.

  • Just got the 500/50 upgrade on Leaptel and all the devices are connected on 5GHz. I can get around 460-500 Mbps right next to the main router (ASUS XD4S) but as soon as I'm not within 10m it drops back to less than 150 Mbps. Any recommendations for a router/Mesh setup that can sustain close to 500 through out the house? (not a huge house)

  • Only when downloading large files (1gb and larger). Streaming, browsing, etc all the same (250 to 750).

  • How do you know when you have been upgraded? Do they tell you or do you just have to keep doing speed tests and hope for the best?

  • As someone that works from home and does a lot of uploading and file transfers and cloud backups, 100Mbps up feels transformative after a decade or so at 40 or 50.

    If I had FTTP I’d take 1000/400 over 2000/200 in a heartbeat.

  • Went from 100/20 to 500/40, and have measured the speeds to make sure. I've noticed videos load slightly faster and downloads reach about 300Mbps briefly. Overall not a significant difference, hardly ever max out a download connection anyway. I feel I've got way too much spare bandwidth now, and am paying for something I'm not using.
    If the ISPs priced the plans proportionally to the download speeds I'd go back to 100Mbps.

  • I’ve got the free upgrade from 100/20 to 550/40 and running the latest WiFi 7 router.

    The Speedtest says I reach those speeds but honestly I do not notice any significant difference when browsing and often have to reload the page anyway. I’m not sure what makes a real world difference?

  • +1

    Ya all need low latency not high bandwidth for those who are not downloading big stuff.

    • But bigger numbers on the speedtest must be 'better' yeah? lol

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