|
#1
|
Flip
Unlimited Premium nbn25
$57.90/mth
Min. cost $39
|
|
#2
|
SpinTel
NBN Unlimited Entry 25
$47/mth
Min. cost $47
|
|
#3
|
Tangerine Telecom
Value NBN
$47.90/mth
Min. cost $47.90
|
|
#4
|
Dodo
nbn25 Unlimited Plan
$53.90/mth
Min. cost $53.90
|
|
#5
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Basic
$89/mth
Min. cost $89
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
TPG
nbn25 Unlimited Plan
$61.99/mth
Min. cost $61.99
|
|
#7
|
Exetel
Everyday nbn25
$50.99/mth
Min. cost $50.99
|
|
#8
|
Kogan Internet
Bronze Unlimited
$46.90/mth
Min. cost $46.90
|
|
#9
|
iiNet
nbn25 Liimitless
$61.99/mth
Min. cost $61.99
|
|
#10
|
Superloop
Everyday nbn25/10
$59/mth
Min. cost $59
|
|
#1
|
Exetel
Extra-value nbn50
$60.99/mth
Min. cost $60.99
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
Value Plus NBN
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#3
|
Buddy Telco
Editor's Pick
Value nbn - Unlimited
$63/mth
Min. cost $63
|
|
#4
|
TPG
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
|
|
#5
|
Kogan Internet
Silver Unlimited
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
nbn50 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
|
|
#7
|
Dodo
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$68.90/mth
Min. cost $68.90
|
|
#8
|
Superloop
Extra-value nbn50/20
$67/mth
Min. cost $67
|
|
#9
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Essential
$105/mth
Min. cost $105
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
iPrimus
Standard Plus nbn50 Plan
$84/mth
Min. cost $84
|
|
#1
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
NBN Unlimited Premium 100
$65/mth
Min. cost $65
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
Speedy NBN
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#3
|
Dodo
nbn100 Unlimited Plan
$73.90/mth
Min. cost $73.90
|
|
#4
|
Exetel
Family nbn100/20
$65.99/mth
Min. cost $65.99
|
|
#5
|
TPG
nbn Home Fast Unlimited Plan
$79.99/mth
Min. cost $79.99
|
|
#6
|
Kogan Internet
Gold Unlimited
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#7
|
Optus
Optus Plus Everyday Fast nbn®
$89/mth
Min. cost $89
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Superloop
Family nbn100/20
$75/mth
Min. cost $75
|
|
#9
|
iiNet
nbn Home Fast Liimitless
$79.99/mth
Min. cost $79.99
|
|
#10
|
MATE
No Worries nbn 100/20
$60/mth
Min. cost $60
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Dodo
Editor's Pick
nbn Home Superfast Plan
$83.90/mth
Min. cost $83.90
|
|
#2
|
SpinTel
NBN Unlimited 250
$80/mth
Min. cost $80
|
|
#3
|
TPG
nbn Home Superfast Unlimited Plan
$84.99/mth
Min. cost $84.99
|
|
#4
|
Exetel
Superfast nbn250
$80.99/mth
Min. cost $80.99
|
|
#5
|
Superloop
Superfast nbn250/25
$85/mth
Min. cost $85
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
nbn Home Superfast Liimitless
$84.99/mth
Min. cost $84.99
|
|
#7
|
Tangerine Telecom
SuperSpeedy NBN
$84.90/mth
Min. cost $84.90
|
|
#8
|
Optus
Optus Plus Everyday Superfast nbn®
$99/mth
Min. cost $99
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Ultimate
$130/mth
Min. cost $130
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
Kogan Internet
nbn250 Platinum Unlimited
$84.90/mth
Min. cost $84.90
|
|
#1
|
SpinTel
NBN Unlimited 1000
$90/mth
Min. cost $90
|
|
#2
|
Flip
Unlimited Ultra Speed nbn1000
$104.90/mth
Min. cost $94
|
|
#3
|
iiNet
nbn Home Ultrafast Liimitless
$94.99/mth
Min. cost $94.99
|
|
#4
|
TPG
nbn Home Ultrafast Unlimited Plan
$94.99/mth
Min. cost $94.99
|
|
#5
|
Buddy Telco
Zoomy nbn - Unlimited
$99/mth
Min. cost $99
|
|
#6
|
Superloop
Lightspeed nbn1000/50
$99/mth
Min. cost $99
|
|
#7
|
Optus
Optus Plus Everyday Ultrafast nbn®
$109/mth
Min. cost $109
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Tangerine Telecom
UltraSpeedy NBN
$99.90/mth
Min. cost $99.90
|
|
#9
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Ultrafast
$150/mth
Min. cost $150
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
Kogan Internet
nbn1000 Diamond Unlimited
$98.90/mth
Min. cost $98.90
|
Aussie Broadband
iiNet
Optus
SpinTel
Telstra
TPG
WhistleOut is Australia's telco comparison website, founded to help everyday Aussies find a phone and internet plan that's right for them. As part of our service promise, we're committed to listing plans from at least the top ten providers of NBN plans in the market, but we're currently tracking 33. When we have a commercial relationship with a provider, you'll see a "Go To Site" button that takes you straight to that plan. We still compare plans from providers we don't have a commercial relationship with, but these don't have a button. To keep our listings up to date, we have a dedicated product team that makes around 400 changes to our database each month. You can read more about how we work here.
Your internet speed test results are a solid indication of your connection to your internet provider. Download speeds tend to be the most important, as the majority of what you do online relies on downloads. But don't discount upload speeds – even if your upload needs are minimal, maxing out your upload speeds will also bring your downloads to a standstill.
If you have any gamers in the house, you can also pay attention to your latency speed test results. This figure isn't too important for day-to-day activities, but it can play havoc with online gaming.
When you first run our internet speed test, you'll be presented with the number of megabits per second (Mbps) your connection operated at during the test. The first result is your download speed. If you click on 'Show More Info', your upload speed and latency will also be displayed. Expect the upload number to be noticeably lower than your downloads, which is normal for how NBN speed tiers are structured, and for how most internet connection technologies are designed.
Our internet speed test will record your connection performance, no matter the type of internet technology you're using. You might be on an NBN plan, 4G or 5G home internet, a mobile plan, or any other method of getting online.
When you test internet speed, consider the results a guide, rather than gospel, because there are several things that can impact an internet speed test.
Your speed test can be affected by your distance from the test server that is sending and receiving the data. The closer the server, the faster your internet speed may appear.
The number of devices currently connected to the network in your home can affect internet speed test results, especially if any of them are set to automatically download updates or upload files to the cloud.
Any concurrent traffic on your home's network (WiFi or ethernet) can affect your internet connection. This can even be the case if it's just transferring or streaming files from one device to another, as opposed to internet traffic. However, local transfers like this need to be pretty big to affect modern home networking hardware to the point where it significantly impacts internet speed test results.
When more people are online at the same time in your local area, it can result in a slower internet speed due to congestion. You'll need to consider congestion if you run your internet speed tests between 7pm and 11pm
Your home network setup and the types of devices you are using can impact your internet speed test results. For example, if you run the test on your computer that's connected via Ethernet cable to your router or modem router, you may get a faster speed than if you use a WiFi connection. This will also have an impact on latency
For more information on NBN terminology, see our internet speed term glossary here.
It's easy to think of a WiFi connection as a direct link to the NBN, but it's actually an additional step in the network that can slow down the results of a speed test. WiFi can also be more easily affected by local factors than a direct cable connection to your router would be. As such, an internet speed test done via a WiFi device might not give you the most accurate results.
At a very basic level, this is what a typical NBN connection looks like:
What you'd ideally see with an internet speed test is how fast the connection between your modem and the NBN is, but what you really see is the connection between your device and the NBN. Given WiFi can introduce lag or other problems, the result of the test may be affected. A direct ethernet cable connection to your router is more reliable, and will usually provide a more accurate result when you test internet speed.
If you can only use WiFi, that's fine. Just keep in mind that the numbers might not be 100% spot-on. And try to sit close to your router – with an unimpeded, direct line of site – when running the speed test.
Ideally, you want your internet speed to be close or equal to the speed tier you're paying for. A good NBN speed should come close to the 'typical evening speed' advertised by your service provider. When you compare NBN plans, each internet provider is legally obliged to clearly display the 'Typical Evening Speed' for both downloads and uploads in product advertising.
For NBN 100 plans and below, these typical speeds are generally pretty close to the maximum possible for that NBN tier, so you should be looking for good performance.
For example, if you pay for a standard NBN 100 plan you want close to 100Mbps downloads and 20Mbps uploads. For an NBN 50 plan, it would be 50Mbps downloads and 20Mbps uploads.
Typical evening speeds on the NBN are calculated using average the speeds of a random sample of customers from an NBN provider.
It's an important piece of data that each provider is legally required to use in product advertising and is the best indication of the performance you should expect when you sign up for a new NBN plan, but it's not a guarantee.
You should check the typical evening speed for any NBN plan you're considering. A slower speed may attract a cheaper price, which will suit some people but not others. This is particularly the case for NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans, which can have big differences in performance between providers.
There are three main considerations when choosing an internet speed to suit your household:
Most households won't need faster internet speed than NBN 100, but you're the best judge when it comes to finding the best NBN provider or plan for your needs. If you need to go higher, the two fastest tiers are NBN 250 and NBN 1000, but these are only available for premises with Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) or Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) NBN connections.
Here's a breakdown of the expected speeds for each NBN speed tier and how many people can comfortably use them:
| NBN speed tier | Best for | Good speed | Avg speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN 12 (Basic I) | Lone, low internet users | 12Mbps | 10-12Mbps |
| NBN 25 (Basic II) | Budget pick for 1-2 people | 25Mbps | 19-25Mbps |
| NBN 50 (Standard) | A great all-rounder for 2-4 people | 50Mbps | 42-50Mbps |
| NBN 100 (Fast) | Internet lovers and big households | 100Mbps | 90-100Mbps |
| NBN 250 (Superfast) | Got the need for speed | 248Mbps | 200-230Mbps |
| NBN 1000 (Ultrafast) | Fastest you can get if you can get it | 800Mbps | 200-700Mbps |
NBN plans are separated into speed tiers, which place a maximum limit on your internet speed for uploads and downloads. The simplest way to find out what speed tier you're on is to run an internet speed test using our tool above. Speed tests tell you all kinds of useful information and, if run during peak times, they can even demonstrate what typical evening speeds you are getting (speeds that are slower than usual due to peak traffic).
If you find your internet speeds aren't too slow for the plan you're paying for but you still need a faster connection, it's time to consider upgrading.
For the most part, NBN providers keep the speed promises they advertise. The most accurate results are published in the quarterly ACCC speed report, which declares the fastest NBN providers in Australia based on its independent testing.
Another option is to compare NBN providers by their advertised Typical Evening Speeds. NBN providers have to report typical upload and download speeds for their internet plans during busy periods, and do so using averages from groups of randomly selected connections. These figures can give a good indication of what internet speeds you might expect after signing up to a plan, but shouldn't be considered a guarantee.
Here's a look at the fastest NBN providers in our database, ranked by their typical evening download speeds for each fixed-line NBN speed tier:
|
#1
|
MATE
Crikey nbn 25/10
$40/mth
Min. cost $40
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Southern Phone
nbn Basic
$45/mth
Min. cost $45
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Moose NBN
nbn 25/10 Value
$46.80/mth
Min. cost $46.80
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Kogan Internet
Bronze Unlimited
$46.90/mth
Min. cost $46.90
|
|
#5
|
SpinTel
NBN Unlimited Entry 25
$47/mth
Min. cost $47
|
|
#6
|
Tangerine Telecom
Value NBN
$47.90/mth
Min. cost $47.90
|
|
#7
|
amaysim
Unlimited nbn Quick As
$50/mth
Min. cost $50
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Exetel
Everyday nbn25
$50.99/mth
Min. cost $50.99
|
|
#1
|
Kogan Internet
Silver Unlimited
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
Value Plus NBN
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#3
|
Exetel
Extra-value nbn50
$60.99/mth
Min. cost $60.99
|
|
#4
|
Moose NBN
nbn 50/20 Premium
$63.80/mth
Min. cost $63.80
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Superloop
Extra-value nbn50/20
$67/mth
Min. cost $67
|
|
#6
|
Dodo
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$68.90/mth
Min. cost $68.90
|
|
#7
|
Swoop
nbn® Home Everyday
$69/mth
Min. cost $69
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
iiNet
nbn50 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
|
|
#1
|
Southern Phone
nbn Fast
$65/mth
Min. cost $65
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
NBN Unlimited Premium 100
$65/mth
Min. cost $65
|
|
#3
|
Moose NBN
nbn 100/20 Elite
$65.80/mth
Min. cost $65.80
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Kogan Internet
Gold Unlimited
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#5
|
Tangerine Telecom
Speedy NBN
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#6
|
Exetel
Family nbn100/20
$65.99/mth
Min. cost $65.99
|
|
#7
|
amaysim
Unlimited nbn Fast As
$70/mth
Min. cost $70
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Swoop
nbn® Home Fast
$72/mth
Min. cost $72
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Tangerine Telecom
Speedy Plus NBN
$74.90/mth
Min. cost $74.90
|
|
#2
|
Exetel
Power Home nbn100/40
$75.99/mth
Min. cost $75.99
|
|
#3
|
Superloop
Power home nbn100/40
$79/mth
Min. cost $79
|
|
#4
|
Swoop
nbn® Home Fast+
$82/mth
Min. cost $82
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
More
Fast Plus NBN
$100/mth
Min. cost $100
|
|
#6
|
Origin Broadband
Enthusiast+ nbn® 100
$110/mth
Min. cost $110
Link not supplied
|
|
#7
|
Aussie Broadband
Fast Plus nbn - Unlimited
$95/mth
Min. cost $95
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
MATE
You Beaut nbn 100/40
$70/mth
Min. cost $70
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Southern Phone
nbn Superfast
$75/mth
Min. cost $75
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Dodo
Editor's Pick
nbn Home Superfast Plan
$83.90/mth
Min. cost $83.90
|
|
#3
|
Vodafone
Home Superfast nbn®
$84/mth
Min. cost $84
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Kogan Internet
nbn250 Platinum Unlimited
$84.90/mth
Min. cost $84.90
|
|
#5
|
Tangerine Telecom
SuperSpeedy NBN
$84.90/mth
Min. cost $84.90
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
nbn Home Superfast Liimitless
$84.99/mth
Min. cost $84.99
|
|
#7
|
TPG
nbn Home Superfast Unlimited Plan
$84.99/mth
Min. cost $84.99
|
|
#8
|
Superloop
Superfast nbn250/25
$85/mth
Min. cost $85
|
|
#1
|
Flip
Unlimited Ultra Speed nbn1000
$104.90/mth
Min. cost $94
|
|
#2
|
Swoop
nbn® Home Ultrafast
$119/mth
Min. cost $119
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Buddy Telco
Zoomy nbn - Unlimited
$99/mth
Min. cost $99
|
|
#4
|
Aussie Broadband
Ultra-Fast nbn - Unlimited
$109/mth
Min. cost $109
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Southern Phone
nbn Ultrafast
$85/mth
Min. cost $85
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
Superloop
Lightspeed nbn1000/50
$99/mth
Min. cost $99
|
|
#7
|
AGL
Home Ultrafast nbn
$124/mth
Min. cost $124
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Origin Broadband
Ultra fast nbn® 1000
$130/mth
Min. cost $130
Link not supplied
|
Once you've performed an internet speed test on multiple days (and different times of day) and have determined your internet speed is slow or unreliable, your best course of action is to talk to your internet provider. They deal with these kinds of issues every day and should be able to give you some options, if any are possible.
But there are some things you can try yourself to improve the situation, such as investing in Mesh WiFi or moving your modem router to a better location. Check out our guide on why your NBN is slow for troubleshooting tips and tricks.
The NBN plans in the below table are the NBN 100 plans in our database with the fastest internet speed, based on each provider's reported typical evening speeds. An NBN 100 plan is the fastest widely-available NBN connection type. You can also check out our guide covering the fastest NBN plans and providers in Australia.
|
#1
|
MATE
No Worries nbn 100/20
$60/mth
Min. cost $60
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Southern Phone
nbn Fast
$65/mth
Min. cost $65
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
NBN Unlimited Premium 100
$65/mth
Min. cost $65
|
|
#4
|
Moose NBN
nbn 100/20 Elite
$65.80/mth
Min. cost $65.80
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Kogan Internet
Gold Unlimited
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#6
|
Tangerine Telecom
Speedy NBN
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
|
|
#7
|
Exetel
Family nbn100/20
$65.99/mth
Min. cost $65.99
|
|
#8
|
amaysim
Unlimited nbn Fast As
$70/mth
Min. cost $70
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
Swoop
nbn® Home Fast
$72/mth
Min. cost $72
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
Buddy Telco
Speedy nbn - Unlimited
$73/mth
Min. cost $73
|
If you would like to do your own research, we can help figure out the connection type at your address and the best internet plans. Using the link, enter your address and select how much data you'll want. Once it has worked out your connection type, you'll get results showing plan features, pricing, deals, and typical evening speeds. By default, results are sorted by price, but you can also sort by speed if that's your primary consideration.
Choose an internet provider below to find out about their specific speeds and how they might affect you. Note an internet speed test and an NBN speed test are ultimately the same. It doesn't matter what kind of technology you use to connect to the internet, each test includes the same three basic elements – ping, download and upload speeds.
All these terms can be confusing, so let's break down some of the most important ones:
Bits and bytes are units of measurement for digital data. You might be familiar with the idea that computers use binary code (1s and 0s). A "bit" is denoted by a lower-case "b" and refers to a single binary digit: a 1 or a 0.
A "byte" is denoted by a capital "B" and is equal to eight bits. Using bytes might seem silly, but the measurement was originally adopted because this was roughly how many bits were required for basic English-language input.
Bits are generally used to measure internet speed and some local data transfer. Bytes are generally used to measure storage capacity, but are also used to measure some local data transfer, such as between two storage drives.
When talking about computing, "mega" is a prefix that denotes one million of something. So a megabit (Mb) is a million bits, while a megabyte (MB) is a million bytes. When you test internet speed, the result will be in megabits per second (Mbps).
Home internet plans are required to display a "typical evening speed", which can give you the idea of download and upload speeds you might expect in Mbps. NBN providers in particular must advertise their typical evening speeds for each of their plans. But it's still good to do an internet speed test, just in case you're not getting what you've paid for.
A gigabit (Gb) is 1,000 megabits. When people talk about "gigabit internet", they're usually referring to an internet connection capable of 1Gbps for downloads.
Most of the time, when people talk about internet "speed", they're talking about the number of Mbps a connection is capable of downloading or uploading. This is technically called "bandwidth", but speed has become the accepted term for general use and advertising. Internet speed for residential plans is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).
Downloading is when you receive a file from elsewhere on the internet. Your download speed is the measure of how long it takes for your NBN service to download a file of a particular size. It's measured in megabits per second (Mbps) and is showcased in the speed tiers offered by NBN providers. For example, NBN 50 has a maximum download speed of 50Mbps. NBN 100/20 plans have a maximum download speed of 100Mbps, and max upload speed of 20Mbps.
The kinds of activities that require fast download speeds include:
Uploading is the term for sending information out into the internet. Every time you do anything online, there's both an upload and download component. The uploads are usually small, such as your device requesting a file download or for a page to load. But some uploads can be large, such as using cloud storage or transferring files to a source outside of your home's network.
While most uploads don't require much bandwidth, maxing out your uploads will grind your downloads to a halt, too. After all, if your device can't request a page to load, you'll never start downloading that information. This is why uploads can be an important factor when choosing your NBN plan, and for diagnosing problems with your internet connection.
The kinds of activities that require fast upload speeds include:
Line speed is the maximum download speed your connection can physically support. For example, if you have a Fibre to the Node connection and are particularly far from the node, your line speed might be 70Mbps or less. This means it might not be worth signing up for an NBN 100 plan.
Think of latency the time it takes your connection to complete a call and response test – your device says "hey" to a server, the server says "hi" back. This call-and-response process is called ping, and the time it takes is your latency (though both terms are often used interchangeably). Latency is measured in milliseconds (ms), and the lower the better.
For a Fixed-Line NBN plan, a decent latency is around the 10 to 15ms mark, but it can depend on your NBN technology. You might get under 10ms on an HFC or FTTP connection, or above 15ms on FTTN. Really, anything under 20ms is fine. Other connection technology types differ, based on the technology in question and potentially other factors, such as coverage in your area (e.g. with mobile broadband).
Satellite internet technologies have much higher latency because of how much further the signal has to travel. For example, geostationary satellites like those used for the NBN orbit a huge 36,000km from the Earth. So to perform a ping test, your signal needs to travel that distance four times – a minimum of 114,000km. Frankly, anything under 600ms is impressive. But that might come as little solace to any satellite users who are regularly frustrated by web page load times (and you can forget about online gaming).
If you're using an internet speed test to monitor your latency/ping, try to use a device that's physically plugged into your router via an ethernet cable.
WiFi connections can introduce quite a bit of latency, so your WiFi-based speed test results might not accurately reflect your provider's performance. Realistically, the importance of latency for most households will be for online gaming until you get to 50ms or above (which you really shouldn't be experiencing on any fixed-line or mobile broadband plan).
Jitter is the measure of how stable your latency (ping) is. For example, high jitter might mean your latency is jumping between 10ms and 100ms several times a minute. This is going to have the biggest impact on people playing multiplayer online games, where you're aiming at moving targets.
In much the same way traffic on the road can slow down during peak hours, the NBN can too. And for pretty much the same reason.
Internet service providers buy access to the NBN. They assess the number of connections in a certain area and then predict how much bandwidth they need to service all their customers. If they don't buy enough, your connection might be fine during off-peak hours, but get overloaded when everyone jumps online between 7pm and 11pm.
Think of it like the width of a road, and data as the cars. The wider the road a provider buys from NBN Co, the more cars can travel along it, but at a higher price to that provider. The narrower the road, the less bandwidth there is to share, and everyone's performance takes a hit if there's a traffic jam.
These days, providers are required to measure and report "typical evening speeds" for this very reason. These speeds can give you a decent indication of performance before you sign up to a plan, but are by no means a guarantee.
When data is transferred between devices or over the internet, it's bundled into small groups called "packets". As each packet arrives, the devices on the other end can re-assemble the original message – be streamed video, a file transfer, or [insert meme here].
Packet loss is when those packets go astray. Losing a packet here and there is ok because the receiving device (e.g. your modem) has a limited ability to guess what the missing packets contained, based on context. But too much packet loss causes all kinds of problems.
It's often caused by network congestion, software bugs, poor Wi-Fi signal or hardware issues, like a faulty router.
Ethernet cables connect devices in your home with a physical wire. Ethernet is more stable than WiFi for latency and packet loss. It can also be more stable for speed, particularly if your WiFi router isn't well positioned for a given device.
In modern homes, Ethernet cables are sometimes run through the house to give fixed connection points for things like smart TVs.
While they might all fit into the same plugs, not all Ethernet cables and ports are created equal. These days, you want to be aiming for Category 5e (Cat 5e) Ethernet at a minimum, but ideally go for Cat 6 or higher.
If you weren't happy with your internet speed test, these are currently the most popular NBN 100 plans in our database of 33 internet providers:
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#1
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Kogan Internet
Silver Unlimited
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
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#2
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Tangerine Telecom
Value Plus NBN
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
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#3
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MATE
Ripper nbn 50/20
$60/mth
Min. cost $60
Link not supplied
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#4
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Exetel
Extra-value nbn50
$60.99/mth
Min. cost $60.99
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#5
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Buddy Telco
Editor's Pick
Value nbn - Unlimited
$63/mth
Min. cost $63
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#6
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Moose NBN
nbn 50/20 Premium
$63.80/mth
Min. cost $63.80
Link not supplied
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#7
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Superloop
Extra-value nbn50/20
$67/mth
Min. cost $67
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#8
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Dodo
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$68.90/mth
Min. cost $68.90
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#9
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Swoop
nbn® Home Everyday
$69/mth
Min. cost $69
Link not supplied
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#10
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iiNet
nbn50 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
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Belong
Dodo
Superloop
Tangerine
