Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is a type of internet connection that uses fibre internet cables to deliver high-speed connectivity to your home or business.
FTTP is the best NBN connection type. It can access the fastest internet speeds, and is the most reliable. What's more, FTTP NBN plans don't cost any more than any other technology type. If you don't have FTTP, an upgrade program is currently rolling out. Over five million homes and businesses are able to upgrade to FTTP at no cost, across FTTB and FTTC tech types.
In this guide, we’ll explain what FTTP NBN is, how to pick a plan that is best for you, and how to get up and running.
Before we start, here are a few of the cheapest NBN plans available to FTTP addresses.
How fast is FTTP NBN?
FTTP NBN can provide speeds of up to 2Gbps, though your internet speeds will depend on your plan, provider and other factors. Many other NBN technology types can only hit 100Mbps, which is twenty times slower.
When you're ordering an FTTP NBN plan, you'll be able to pick from several different NBN speed tiers. There are now nine speed tiers, and FTTP customers can technically pick from all of them, including the fastest speed tiers like NBN 1000 and NBN 2000. HFC is the only other fixed-line NBN connection type that can get plans faster than 100Mbps.The speed options available to FTTP customers are as follows:
| Speed tier | Best for | Max. speeds |
|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 | Lone, low internet users | 12Mbps |
| NBN 25 | Budget pick for 1-2 people | 25Mbps |
| NBN 50 | All-rounder for small households of 2-4 people | 50Mbps |
| NBN 100 | For WFH and larger households | 100Mbps |
| NBN 250 | Faster speeds for WFH and larger households | 250Mbps |
| NBN 500 | Seamless internet experience when everyone is online | 500Mbps |
| NBN 750 | Even faster speeds for simultaneous use | 750Mbps |
| NBN 1000 | The fastest speeds you can get for less than $100 per month | 1000Mbps |
| NBN 2000 | The fastest speeds you can get right now, at a premium | 2000Mbps |
Regardless of which speed tier you select, it's important to remember you won't always achieve the maximum speed. That's why it's important to pay attention to typical evening speeds, which indicate the speeds you can expect when the NBN is at its most congested.
In reality, the actual speeds you get at home will still be dependent on:
- The NBN plan and provider you subscribe with
- Congestion during peak hours (this is what is meant by 'evening speeds')
In addition to speed, FTTP NBN drops out less than other technology types and has the lowest latency. It's also important to note that your NBN speed is a shared resource. If you subscribe to an NBN 50 plan, your 50Mbps is shared between every person and device in your household.
What equipment will I need for FTTP NBN?
To get you connected, NBN will install a few pieces of hardware inside and outside your house. These include a utility box on the outside wall of your house, a connection box inside, and a power supply. Your provider may also offer you an optional backup battery. NBN will install this equipment for free.
The only piece of equipment you'll need to get is a wireless router for a WiFi network so you can share your connection with the rest of the house. Most NBN providers will offer you a new NBN-ready router with your plan if you need it.
Just be aware that a router is different to a modem router, which also includes a modem component. Whereas for other connection types such as FTTN, you'll need a modem router, FTTP connections only need a router.
If you're looking to take advantage of the NBN speed upgrades, you'll want a WiFi 6 router at a minimum. If you're looking at NBN 2000 plans, you'll need a WiFi 7 router with a 2.5Gbps WAN port instead.
You'll use an Ethernet cable to connect your wireless router to your NTD. Almost every single router includes one of these in the box. Routers also require a dedicated power source, and as such, a spare electrical outlet.
How much does an FTTP NBN plan cost?
The price of NBN plans is always changing, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $60 and $190 per month for your connection. The cost of FTTP NBN will vary based on the speed you want and the provider you go with.
The higher the speed you're after, the more you'll pay, with NBN 2000 plans naturally costing the most. For many, we recommend an NBN 500 plan, as they provide a good balance between price and speed. On average, you're looking at between $80 and $95 per month, but discounts can make them cheaper for your first six months.
As a starting point, here's a look at the cheapest NBN 500 plans around:
How does FTTP NBN work?
The National Broadband Network is made up of fibre optic cables that run out across the country from major hubs and into your neighbourhood. These fibre internet cables are capable of delivering incredibly fast and reliable internet.
An FTTP connection differs from other NBN technology types in that fibre runs all the way up to your door, rather than to an exchange point where the connection is taken over by an inferior material, like copper.
This makes FTTP the fastest and most reliable type of NBN connection. While materials like copper can degrade internet speeds over long distances, this problem does not exist for fibre internet cables.

As you can see in the image above:
- The NBN has major hubs (known as Points of Interconnect) located all around the country
- Fibre optic cable connects the hub to a smaller connection point (known as a Node) near your home
- Fibre optic cable then connects the Node to your house
How do I upgrade to FTTP NBN?
If you're on FTTN or FTTC and want to upgrade to FTTP, you may be eligible for a free NBN upgrade. You'll first need to check whether the FTTP upgrades are already available in your area. You can do this by visiting the NBN Co website and entering your address. Most FTTN and all FTTC addresses should already be able to upgrade.
If you find out you're eligible, the next step will be to contact your internet service provider and place an order for a plan. Once you've chosen a new plan, an NBN Co technician will come to your property for a pre-installation visit. They'll assess your needs, identify any obstacles to installation and may do some light prep work. They'll then schedule a time to install your NBN equipment.
During installation, they'll also run fibre optic cable from the street to your property, which could involve digging a trench or drilling a hole through your wall.
Once the upgrades are finished, you'll need to cancel your old NBN plan. You'll need to stay with the provider who facilitated your upgrade for 12 months, or you may end up paying a fee.
If you're not eligible for a free upgrade, you can still apply for an upgrade to FTTP. Be aware that these can be extremely costly. We've seen quotes of over $10,000 to upgrade from FTTB to FTTP, for example.
Thanks to a $3.5 billion upgrade program, over 90% of Australians are now able to get gigabit NBN plans. A key part of the program was taking fibre internet deeper into the FTTN and FTTC neighbourhoods. As of the end of 2025, over five million addresses will be able to upgrade to FTTP.
Looking forward, a further 622,000 FTTN premises will become eligible for a free upgrade by 2030. Most of these will be able to upgrade to FTTP, but 5% of these remaining premises may be upgraded to a different technology type.
What is the difference between FTTP and private fibre internet?
FTTP and private fibre are both types of fibre internet. They work on similar principles where your home or business has a direct fibre connection to the internet, which allows for very fast speeds. FTTP specifically refers to the NBN technology type, whereas private fibre refers to when a non-NBN entity sells fibre internet plans. That's because NBN Co is a government-owned public company, rather than a private one.
Opticomm is the largest seller of fibre internet in Australia, and Opticomm's fibre internet plans are available through major providers like Telstra, Aussie Broadband, iiNet, iPrimus, Launtel, Leaptel, Origin Internet, Superloop, and Swoop.
Here are some Opticomm fibre internet plans with speeds over 90Mbps in the WhistleOut database:
Opticomm fibre internet isn't as widely available as NBN, however. You'll find it in some housing estates and new developments. Some apartment blocks are also serviced by Opticomm. LBNCo - another private fibre internet provider - was acquired by Opticomm in late 2023, and premises that previously had LBN can now get plans from any Opticomm provider.
Some providers such as Aussie Broadband and TPG also sell business-grade private fibre internet connections, with speeds starting at 250Mbps - for both upload and download. As such, private fibre internet connections are often a lot more expensive.
Fibre to the Premises NBN FAQs
What happens to FTTP NBN in a power outage?
If you're connected to the NBN over FTTP and have a backup battery, you'll get up to five hours of connectivity during a power outage. However, if there's an outage in the network itself, the backup battery won't do anything.
If you don't have a backup battery, you won't be able to make phone calls or use your NBN during a power outage.
Are there any good FTTP NBN alternatives worth considering?
If you've got an FTTP NBN connection, there's very little reason to consider alternatives. You already have the fastest technology type available.
How does FTTP compare?
As aforementioned, FTTP is considered the best NBN connection type. Here's a little more detail on why.
- FTTP vs. HFC: Both FTTP and HFC are able to achieve the fastest possible download speeds on the NBN - up to 2Gbps -, but HFC is has slower upload speeds. While some business-grade plans have upload speeds of as fast as 500Mbps on FTTP, this simply isn't possible on HFC.
- FTTP vs. FTTN: FTTN is widely considered the worst NBN connection type due to its reliance on copper. FTTN users may struggle to even get speeds of 100Mbps. FTTP is ten times faster, and far less prone to dropouts.
- FTTP vs. FTTC: FTTC is a more reliable version of FTTN thanks to less copper being used to deliver the final connection, but it is still limited to speeds of 100Mbps. That's ten times slower than what FTTP is capable of.
- FTTP vs. FTTB: FTTB is like FTTN, but with less copper. Fibre is typically laid directly to a building, and then copper connects individual apartments. There is still a 100Mbps limit on FTTC, however, making it much slower than FTTP's maximum speeds.
Alex Choros
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