ACCC says NBN performing above expectations in peak hours

New data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says that fixed-line NBN services from Telstra, Optus, iiNet, and TPG are now delivering over 80% of their maximum speeds during peak usage hours. 

These figures come from the ACCC's broadband speed testing program, where the Commission provides volunteer households across Australia with devices used to monitor internet connections.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims attributes the results to significant market changes, such as the recent discounts NBN applied to select wholesale plans and network capacity.

"These first test results are better than expected, and indicate the majority of internet service providers are now delivering very close to their maximum plan speeds," said Sims.

"The relatively high average speeds during peak periods indicate to us that retailers are now providing enough network capacity to meet demand in peak usage periods, including on the top speed plans."

"It is highly likely that just a few months ago these results would not have been anywhere near as good."

While these results are promising, the result only encompass 400 individual NBN and ADSL services. Even if you assume that the majority of these services are NBN connections, the results aren't exactly statistically significant. In its latest progress report, NBN Co said there were 3,600,000 homes and businesses connected to the network in February. In the best-case scenario, these results represent approximately 0.0001% of NBN subscribers.

The ACCC does however plan to expand its sample size; testing will cover 2,000 services by the end of the year, and 4,000 services by the end of 2021.

This data follows NBN Co's claims that the subscribers now just experience an average 12 minutes of congestion a week, down from almost five hours a year ago.

While the ACCC's report was mostly positive (if not quite statistically significant), it did however note that 5% of speed tests conducted during the initial monitoring period failed to reach 50% of the plan's maximum speed.

The ACCC will publish its next internet speed report in the second half of 2018.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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