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Ready or not, nbn® is about to get a whole lot faster.
From 14 September 2025, millions of nbn® customers around the country will begin receiving free speed upgrades. These automatic speed bestowals – provided for free by the nbn® – signal a major shift in the Australian broadband market.
For nbn® Retail Service Providers (RSPs), this presents both an opportunity and a risk.
The speed upgrades are an opportunity to engage with new and existing customers. For example, you could offer a very simple nbn health check– and quickly explain what speeds are available at the address. You may find this opens the door for re-contract, upsell, or a modem upgrade.
It is important that you defend your base too. If you already sell nbn, it’s critical you get in front of your customers with detailed information about this change. Because if you don’t, your competitors will.
End-customers with eligible nbn® services will enjoy speeds up to 5X faster. A summary of the speed changes is shown below:
The upgrades are available to residential and business customers on Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) or Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) services.
For those customers who don’t yet have a full Fibre connection, it may be possible to upgrade to an FTTP connection. The nbn ®is offering free FTTP upgrades for customers with Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) and Fibre to the Node (FTTN) in selected regions. Check eligibility here.
We strongly recommend that you educate your customers about this free offer. Full fibre services offer greater reliability and open the door to these high-speed upgrades. It is a double win for your customers, and an easy way to build goodwill.
Customers with a Fibre to the Basement (FTTB) connection are not eligible. At the time of writing, the highest speed they can access is100/40 Mbps.
Regional customers with a Fixed Wireless (FW) connection are not eligible. The nbn® is undertaking separate work to improve wireless speeds. At the time of writing the highest speed they can access is 400/40 Mbps.
The nbn® speed upgrades are only available to customers on the most popular speed plans: 100/20, 250/25 and 1000/50. Customers on other speed plans will not be upgraded.
Customers with slower speed plans (25/10 or 50/20 Mbps) may have to move to a more expensive plan before they’re eligible.
Equally, customers on some higher speed plans (250/100,500/200 and 1000/400 Mbps) would need to accept a lower upload speed. This may not sit well with all customers.
A summary of the eligible and ineligible plans is set out below:
Not all locations or addresses will be immediately upgraded on September 14. This date is the starter pistol. The upgrades will roll-out progressively to different regions across the country.
Telcoinabox customers have an advantage in this regard. We are in close contact with the nbn® and provide our RSPs with a breakdown of eligible customers as this data is made available.
Customers already on eligible plans, or who upgrade to FTTP in the future, will receive the higher speeds from September 14, 2025. Eligible customers cannot opt-out.
The September speed upgrades are free, automatic, and will be completed by nbn® without the direct involvement of RSPs.
The nbn® speed upgrade is a moment of truth for ISP, MSPs and IT resellers. If managed proactively, it’s a chance to retain customers, grow ARPU, and position yourself as a trusted advisor. If ignored, it’s a churn risk waiting to happen.
The nbn® upgrades are still a few months away and will take some time to fully roll out. But as word spreads, expect increased support questions like:
“Will I get faster speeds?” or “Why did my neighbour’s internet get upgraded but mine didn’t?”
Make sure you’re prepared with accurate eligibility information and guidance. You’ll need to train your team to:
Many older modem/routers may not support higher speeds. We strongly recommend that modems are compatible with Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7. Customers with older devices might not benefit unless their modems/router is upgraded.
Once again, you may be flooded with questions about why speeds have not changed. This is a great opportunity to show your expertise, and offer a modem refresh or upsell. You could also consider bundling an upgraded modem with your higher-tier plans.
Not all nbn® plans or connection types are eligible. These details can be confusing: customers may not understand the nuances of why they did not receive a speed upgrade. They may be lured away by competitors promising the world.
To defend your customer base, it is critical that you can quickly and clearly explain their best option to access a higher speed. If you do not proactively do this – your competitors will.
In many cases you may need to move customers to a new connection type (FTTP). The fibre upgrade process is fast and free – this conversation should be straightforward. Also consider offering a Wi-Fi 6compatible modem/router to set your customers up for success.
In other situations, you will need to upsell to a higher pan. These conversations can be difficult, but they are very important. If customers discover they are not getting the best value or speed, they will move to another provider that can.
Even if you’ve never sold high speed plans before, now’s the time to look at offering these nbn® plans. We’re in the high-speed era. Customers will begin expecting 500/50 Mbps as a standard, especially on FTTP and HFC connections.
The nbn® speed upgrades are a significant market shift. If you're not offering higher speed plans, or don't alert customers about the ease of fibre upgrade, your customer base will be at risk.
Don't wait until customers ask, get ahead of the change today.
Start by auditing your customers and their eligibility, prepare your messaging, and create a plan for offering modem upgrades and speed-tier upselling.
If you need help getting started: we’re here to help. Contact us to access the resources and information you need to manage the nbn® Speed Upgrades.
