NBN technology is a bag of licorice allsorts. While everything is technically under the same banner head - licorice or NBN - what you grab out of the bag isn’t necessarily going to be the same as your mate down the road.
The first step to figuring out the best NBN plan for you is to check your NBN technology type. This will dictate what kind of plans and speeds are available to you.
NBN technology types
The NBN is made up of seven different technology types. Two are wireless; Sky Muster Satellite and Fixed Wireless, while the other five use wired technologies including fibre, copper, and cable to get you online.
These are the seven NBN technology types available. Click or tap on the names to read our full guide on these technologies.
- Fibre to the Premises (FTTP)
- Fibre to the Building (FTTB)
- Fibre to the Curb (FTTC)
- Fibre to the Node (FTTN)
- Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC)
- Fixed Wireless
- Sky Muster Satellite
Which technology type you have is entirely dependent on your type of dwelling, where you live, and how you fared in the NBN lottery.
Originally, the entire network was supposed to be fibre, or the equivalent of Fibre to the Premises, every household would be connected to underground fibre cables which allow for less interference and faster speeds than copper does. However, under the Abbott government, this was switched to save money and so a range of fixed-line options became available with varying maximum speeds, and satisfaction levels.
FTTP is the golden child, where the fibre goes directly to your premise and is capable of download speeds of up to 2,000Mbps.
If you can't get FTTP, HFC is the next-best thing. This technology type relies on a combination of fibre and coaxial cables and offers access to some of the fastest NBN speed tiers, including the new NBN 500 and NBN 2000 plans that are being introduced in September 2025.
FTTN, on the other hand, uses a combination of copper and fibre, and some connections may not even be able to achieve NBN 100 speeds. Fixed Wireless NBN can now achieve speeds of around 400Mbps thanks to upgrades, while Sky Muster Satellite maxes out at 100Mbps.
How to check your NBN technology type
An easy way to find out what NBN technology type you have (and whether NBN is available at your address, in case you're worried it might not be) is to check out the official NBN Australia site and input your address there.
Can you change NBN technology types?
For the most part, you're stuck with the NBN connection type your house is configured on. But if you're on FTTN or FTTC connection types, you can request a free upgrade to FTTP through NBN Co.
Thanks to an upgrade program, over four million FTTN and FTTC premises can already get a free upgrade to FTTP. This will rise to over five million by the end of the year, and all remaining FTTN addresses will be upgraded by the end of 2030.
You may already be able to upgrade, in which case we recommend looking up your address on the NBN Co website. The upgrade will be delivered free of charge for any FTTN or FTTC customer who orders an NBN 100 plan or better after the upgrades are live in their area.
Best plans for your NBN technology type
There will never be a one-size-fits-all NBN plan. The plan that will suit you and your budget will depend on your own unique circumstances.
NBN speed is the main decision you'll need to make. At the time of writing, fixed-line NBN has nine different speed tiers, while Fixed Wireless has five, and Satellite has four.
It is important to know that regardless of your connection type, your NBN speed is a shared resource - the download speeds will be used by every device, every user, and every activity connected to your internet.
In basic terms, an NBN 100 plan split between four people accounts for around 25Mbps per person at once. This is enough for each person to stream Netflix in HD on five screens simultaneously, but this doesn’t take into account typical evening speeds or congestion on the network.
Learn more about why your NBN may be slower than expected.
Fixed-line NBN speeds
| Max download speed | Max upload speed | Available on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | 12Mbps | 1Mbps | FTTP, FTTB, FTTC, FTTN, HFC |
| NBN 25 | 25Mbps | 5Mbps | FTTP, FTTB, FTTC, FTTN, HFC |
| NBN 50 | 50Mbps | 20Mbps | FTTP, FTTB, FTTC, FTTN, HFC |
| NBN 100 | 100Mbps | 20Mbps or 40Mbps | FTTP, FTTB, FTTC, FTTN (dwellings 400m from the node or less), HFC |
| NBN 250 | 250Mbps | 25Mbps | FTTP, HFC |
| NBN 500 | 500Mbps | 50Mbps | FTTP, HFC |
| NBN 750 | 750Mbps | 50Mbps | FTTP, HFC |
| NBN 1000 | 1000Mbps | 100Mbps | FTTP, HFC |
| NBN 2000 | 2000Mbps | 200Mbps (FTTP) or 100Mbps (HFC) | FTTP, HFC |
Here are a few of the cheapest NBN plans for fixed-line NBN connections in our database.
Fixed Wireless NBN speeds
| Max download speed | Max upload speed | |
|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | 12Mbps | 1Mbps |
| NBN 25 | 25Mbps | 5Mbps |
| Fixed Wireless Plus | 100Mbps | 20Mbps |
| Fixed Wireless Fast | 250Mbps | 20Mbps |
| Fixed Wireless Superfast | 400Mbps | 40Mbps |
Here are several NBN plans offered on fixed wireless across each of the available speed tiers.
Note: We've set Fixed Wireless plans to show as default as they're available to the greatest number of people.
Satellite NBN speeds
| Max download speeds | Max upload speeds | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | 12Mbps | 1Mbps | |
| NBN 25 | 25Mbps | 5Mbps | |
| NBN 50 | 50Mbps | 10Mbps | |
| NBN 100 | 100Mbps | 10Mbps |
Here are a few examples of Sky Muster NBN plans:
NBN technology type FAQs
How do I check how fast my internet is?
To find out what internet speeds you're currently achieving, we recommend using our Internet Speed Test Tool for fast, accurate results. This will give you an idea of what you're producing now and will help you decide if you should upgrade or downgrade your speed tier.
How do I know how much data I need?
Most NBN plans now have unlimited data. It's pretty hard to find an NBN plan that isn't unlimited these days. As a result, we recommend using other measures of performance like typical evening speeds when comparing NBN and other internet plans.
Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
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