Find the right NBN modem for your high speed NBN

By Nathan Lawrence

Last updated 26 July 2022

Maybe you're fortunate enough to be in a Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) home. Perhaps you're luckier and live in a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) abode or have upgraded to the speedy future-proofed technology. Either way, the great news is you may be eligible to sign up for plans beyond NBN 100.

Congratulations! That means you can choose between NBN 250, NBN 500 and NBN 1000 plans. But before you pop the champagne, it's important to flag that there are some essential gear considerations to ensure you're capable of reaching the max download speed potential of your connection.

Contents

In this guide:

NBN Modern Minimums
NBN Modem Specifics
Compatible NBN modems for high-speed plans

If you're in an HFC or FTTP home, check out the popular NBN 250 plans from our comparison engine:

#1	Dodo Editor's Pick	Dodo Editor's Pick nbn Home Superfast Plan nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data 12mths Deal: Incl. $15/mth discount for 12 months based on the standard price $98.90/mth. Ends 29.04.25. T&Cs apply $83.90/mth Min. cost $83.90 Go to Site*	$83.90/mth Min. cost $83.90	Go to Site
#2	SpinTel	SpinTel NBN Unlimited 250 nbn® 240/22 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $9.95/mth off for the life of the plan while you stay connected to this plan. T&Cs apply $80/mth Min. cost $80 Go to Site	$80/mth Min. cost $80	Go to Site
#3	TPG	TPG nbn Home Superfast Unlimited Plan nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Get Price Beat Guarantee + $84.99/mth for first 6 months, then $99.99/mth. T&Cs apply. $84.99/mth Min. cost $84.99 Go to Site	$84.99/mth Min. cost $84.99	Go to Site
#4	Exetel	Exetel Superfast nbn250 nbn® 220/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $18/mth off for first 6 months - $80.99/mth for first 6 months, then $98.99/mth. $80.99/mth Min. cost $80.99 Go to Site	$80.99/mth Min. cost $80.99	Go to Site
#5	Superloop	Superloop Superfast nbn250/25 nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $14/mth off for 6 months! $85/mth for 6 mths, then $99/mth + Free Amazon eero 6+ if you stay connected for 24 mths $85/mth Min. cost $85 Go to Site	$85/mth Min. cost $85	Go to Site
#6	iiNet	iiNet nbn Home Superfast Liimitless nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $15/mth off for 6 mths - $84.99/mth for first 6 months, then $99.99/mth. Use code SAVE15FOR6. Ends 06.05.25 $84.99/mth Min. cost $84.99 Go to Site	$84.99/mth Min. cost $84.99	Go to Site
#7	Tangerine Telecom	Tangerine Telecom SuperSpeedy NBN nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $20/mth off for the first 6 mths, $84.90/month for first 6 months, then $104.90/month + 3 months BINGE. Ends 30.06.25 $84.90/mth Min. cost $84.90 Go to Site	$84.90/mth Min. cost $84.90	Go to Site
#8	Optus	Optus Optus Plus Everyday Superfast nbn® nbn® 245/22 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Intro Offer - $99/mth for first 6 mths on Optus Plus Everyday Superfast nbn plan (normally $119/mth). T&Cs apply. $99/mth Min. cost $99 Link not supplied	$99/mth Min. cost $99	Link not supplied
#9	Telstra	Telstra Upfront Internet Plan Ultimate nbn® 250/22 Mbps Unlimited Data $130/mth Min. cost $130 Link not supplied	$130/mth Min. cost $130	Link not supplied
#10	Kogan Internet	Kogan Internet nbn250 Platinum Unlimited nbn® 250/21 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $84.90/mth for first 6 months and revert back to $94.90/mth thereafter. Offer ends 30.05.25 $84.90/mth Min. cost $84.90 Go to Site	$84.90/mth Min. cost $84.90	Go to Site

And here's a look at the NBN 500 and NBN 1000 plans from our database:

#1	SpinTel	SpinTel NBN Unlimited 1000 nbn® 750/42 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $10.95/mth off for the life of the plan while you stay connected to this plan. T&Cs apply $90/mth Min. cost $90 Go to Site	$90/mth Min. cost $90	Go to Site
#2	Flip	Flip Unlimited Ultra Speed nbn1000 nbn® 900/50 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Promotional pricing - $94/mth for first 4 months then $104.90/mth. Offer ends 30.04.25 $104.90/mth Min. cost $94 Go to Site	$104.90/mth Min. cost $94	Go to Site
#3	iiNet	iiNet nbn Home Ultrafast Liimitless nbn® 800/40 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $15/mth off for 6 mths - $94.99/mth for first 6 months, then $109.99/mth. Use code SAVE15FOR6. Ends 06.05.25 $94.99/mth Min. cost $94.99 Go to Site	$94.99/mth Min. cost $94.99	Go to Site
#4	TPG	TPG nbn Home Ultrafast Unlimited Plan nbn® 800/40 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Get Price Beat Guarantee + $94.99/mth for first 6 months, then $109.99/mth. T&Cs apply. $94.99/mth Min. cost $94.99 Go to Site	$94.99/mth Min. cost $94.99	Go to Site
#5	Buddy Telco	Buddy Telco Zoomy nbn - Unlimited nbn® 875/42 Mbps Unlimited Data $99/mth Min. cost $99 Go to Site	$99/mth Min. cost $99	Go to Site
#6	Superloop	Superloop Lightspeed nbn1000/50 nbn® 860/42 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $10/mth off for 6 mths! $99/mth for 6 mths, then $109/mth + Free Amazon eero 6+ if you stay connected for 24 mths $99/mth Min. cost $99 Go to Site	$99/mth Min. cost $99	Go to Site
#7	Optus	Optus Optus Plus Everyday Ultrafast nbn® nbn® 780/40 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Intro Offer - $109/mth for first 6 mths on Optus Plus Everyday Ultrafast nbn plan (normally $129/mth). T&Cs apply. $109/mth Min. cost $109 Link not supplied	$109/mth Min. cost $109	Link not supplied
#8	Tangerine Telecom	Tangerine Telecom UltraSpeedy NBN nbn® 700/42 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $25/mth off for the first 6 mths, $99.90/month for first 6 months, then $124.90/month + 3 months BINGE. Ends 30.06.25 $99.90/mth Min. cost $99.90 Go to Site	$99.90/mth Min. cost $99.90	Go to Site
#9	Telstra	Telstra Upfront Internet Plan Ultrafast nbn® 700/40 Mbps Unlimited Data $150/mth Min. cost $150 Link not supplied	$150/mth Min. cost $150	Link not supplied
#10	Kogan Internet	Kogan Internet nbn1000 Diamond Unlimited nbn® 800/42.5 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $98.90/mth for first 6 months and revert back to $108.90/mth thereafter. Offer ends 30.05.25 $98.90/mth Min. cost $98.90 Go to Site	$98.90/mth Min. cost $98.90	Go to Site

NBN modem minimums

If your home has a technology type that can, at best, only sign up to NBN 100 plans, you don't need to worry too much about hardware requirements. That's because entry-level networking equipment does a decent job of getting you close to download speeds of up to 100 Mbps. So you don't have to scrutinise the potentially daunting specs of a generic NBN modem, router or modem router sent out by or purchased from your NBN provider or the old-faithful one you've been using for years.

This starts to change when you sign up for an NBN plan that can reach download speeds beyond 100Mbps. At beyond-100Mbps speeds, a weak link in your home network's connectivity chain can impact the achievable speeds on a specific device or every device connected to the network.

The challenges can potentially start with cabling. Using an older ethernet cable between an NBN connection box and a router may result in speeds capped at 100Mbps because that's the maximum throughput speed of the cable. Even with this ethernet cable wrinkle sorted, the same problem may occur for any older ethernet cables used between router (or modem router) and devices in the home.

For starters, the router/gateway/modem router that connects to the NBN connection box needs to be at least semi-recent with gigabit ethernet ports, both for its WAN port that links to the NBN connection box and the additional ports used to connect devices. In terms of wireless connections, you want at least a dual-band router/gateway/modem router (2.4GHz and 5GHz) with at least WiFi 5 (802.11ac) or, ideally, WiFi 6 (802.11ax).

NBN modem specifics

Regardless of the NBN speed tier you are signed up to, the best way to test the maximum achievable speeds is by running an ethernet cable (Cat 5e or newer) from an NBN connection box to a computer with an ethernet port. While other devices in your home won't be able to connect to the internet, running an internet speed test with a single computer connected to your NBN connection box gives you the best idea of the max download and upload speeds, as well as best-case latency.

Though less accurate, you can achieve similar results with a computer connected to your router/gateway/modem router via ethernet. Just ensure other devices aren't using your home internet when you test. Even less accurate is a test over WiFi—again, when other devices aren't using your home internet—which should be performed over the 5GHz band and, ideally, within a few metres of your router/gateway/modem router.

The point of these kinds of tests is to determine the maximum download and upload speeds you should expect to be sharing around the household. It's a great foundation for comparison if you feel speeds aren't up to snuff for parts of your home or for specific devices.

If you're in a larger home or an abode with wireless black spots, consider a dual-band mesh WiFi system with WiFi 5 as a minimum and gigabit ethernet capabilities to help achieve download speeds over 100Mbps. Place the mesh WiFi satellites tactically around your home to boost the wireless signal throughout, increasing overall speeds the farther you are away from the mesh router.

Compatible NBN modems for high-speed plans

Telstra recently released the latest version of its NBN modem router, the Telstra Smart Modem 3, which has dual-band WiFi 6, as well as gigabit WAN and four gigabit LAN Ethernet ports. This means Telstra customers signing up for NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plans have a good chance of reaching max speeds.

Note that the farther away you are from the Telstra Smart Modem 3 (or any router/gateway/modem router, for that matter), the more likely you are to have to fall back on 2.4GHz networks, and the slower your overall speeds will be. In terms of WiFi bands, 2.4GHz is great for distance but less so for speed, while 5GHz is awesome for speeds but not great at distance. Basically, the farther you are from a router/gateway/modem router or mesh satellite, even ones capable of gigabit speeds, the slower your speeds become.

Telstra Smart Modem 3 vs the competition

To coincide with the launch of the Smart Modem 3, Telstra claims it conducted an independently supervised test with its latest NBN modem and pitted it against the main options from Optus, TPG, Vodafone, Aussie Broadband, TPG and iiNet (the latter two have the same device) in a four-bedroom house.

The results highlight the 250Mbps range of the Telstra Smart Modem 3 in comparison to its peers, but the bigger takeaway for us is the speed degradation that occurs when a WiFi signal passes through multiple rooms. It's worth noting that NBN Co advises that your router/gateway/modem router should be placed as close to the centre of the house as possible to minimise potential black spots.

The Optus Ultra WiFi Modem also has five-gigabit ethernet ports (1x WAN, 4x LAN), while its WiFi 5 supports max speeds up to 2200Mbps, which is more than enough for gigabit internet. TPG, iiNet, Mate and Internode all use the TP-Link Archer VR1600v modem router, which has the familiar five-gigabit ethernet ports, as well as 2.4GHz WiFi 4 and 5GHz WiFi 5. Note that while 5GHz connections have 1300Mbps of bandwidth, 2.4GHz wireless connections are limited to 300Mbps.

Aussie Broadband, Tangerine and Origin offer the NetComm NF18Mesh modem router, which has gigabit ethernet ports and WiFi 5. Southern Phone sells the newer NetComm NF20Mesh to its customers (paid off monthly or upfront), which boasts the familiar five-gigabit ethernet ports and dual-band WiFi 6: 2.4GHz speeds up to 574Mbps and 5GHZ up to 1801Mbps. Alternatively, Aussie Broadband users can opt for Google Nest WiFi, which boosts wireless range, but gigabit ethernet is restricted to the mesh router (not the mesh satellites) so you're reliant on dual-band WiFi 5 throughout the home (450Mbps for 2.4GHz; 1733Mbps for 5GHz).

Vodafone bundles the Vodafone Wi-Fi Hub 2.0 with its NBN plans, which has the common five-gigabit ethernet setup, plus dual-band WiFi: WiFi 4 for 2.4GHz and WiFi 5 for 5GHz. Kogan offers the Kogan Internet Modem to its customers, which has the typical five-gigabit ethernet ports and dual-band WiFi 5, with combined wireless speeds up to 1.2Gbs.

Superloop and Exetel let users buy the ZTE H1600, which has the typical five-gigabit ethernet port configuration, as well as dual-band WiFi 6 for 2.4GHz and 5GHz (speeds up to 1800Mbps). Exetel also offers a ZTE WiFi Extender. Both Superloop and Southern Phone also sell the Amazon Eero 6, which has two-gigabit ethernet ports on the router (effectively one for devices) and dual-band WiFi 6. Amazon notes that the Eero 6 is best for internet speeds up to 500Mbps.

Moose NBN and iPrimus customers after an NBN 250 plan can buy the Netcomm NL 1901ACV, which has the usual five-gigabit ethernet configuration as well as dual-band WiFi 5. That's one of a few varying options offered by iPrimus. There's also the TP-Link VX220, which has the typical five-gigabit ethernet ports and dual-band WiFi: up to 300Mbps for 2.4GHz and up to 1201Mbps for the WiFi 6 5GHz band. The Huawei HG659 has the standard ethernet gigabit port configuration, plus dual-band WiFi—up to 1300Mbps for 5GHz and up to 300Mbps or 2.4GHz—and identical ethernet ports for the Huawei DN8245V, plus dual-band WiFi.