NBN Co has announced its half-year financial and operating results for the six months ended December 31, 2025 and overall, things are looking positive for the country’s leading broadband service provider.
One of the most notable figures is that 287,000 premises have moved from aging copper-based infrastructure technology to a newer, faster fiber optic (FTTP) connection. This free upgrade to full fiber is necessary if you want to connect to the fastest NBN plans.
Look the other way
While these figures are impressive, what they don’t explicitly highlight is the number of Australian locals who are stubbornly stuck (or stuck) with outdated connection technologies – and therefore have not taken advantage of the NBN speed upgrades launched by NBN Co in September 2025.
NBN Co says there are currently 8.647 million active connections. Remove the 2.99 million who connect via FTTP, about 2 million on HFC, and about 400,000 on fixed wireless technologies, and you’re still left with 3 million premises connecting via older, inferior technology.
As TechRadar Australia’s resident broadband expert, I can honestly say I’m somewhat baffled by this statistic.
No reason not to upgrade?
The simplest justification for enabling the fiber upgrade is that it is completely free. All you need to do is sign up with a supporting NBN provider and order a plan that offers download speeds of at least 500 Mbps.
Previously, this requirement was to order a plan offering 100 Mbps, but following NBN Co’s rollout of enhanced speed tiers in late 2025, this has now changed: 100 Mbps plans are no longer available for FTTP connections, having been replaced by 500 Mbps, usually for exactly the same price.
Secondly, and perhaps obviously, you’ll benefit from much faster download speeds. NBN Co added in its half-year results that the average monthly data download per site now stands at 557GB, and for FTTP premises this figure stands at 668GB. I believe the latter is higher because households connecting via FTTP will find they have a strong, stable and fast internet connection – or in other words, a more usable one, with no buffering when trying to download large files or stream 4K content.
And finally, the other good reason to upgrade is that you will ensure the longevity of your home. Although I was a little surprised when NBN Co announced it would roll out improved speed tiers in 2025, it has now set a precedent that I would expect to see repeated in the future. While we can only speculate at this point, it’s entirely possible that we could achieve download speeds of five, or even 10 Gbps, within the next 10 years. To get them, you’ll need a full fiber connection – and of course a Wi-Fi router that can deliver those speeds throughout your home.
Okay, you sold it to me. What should I do now?
If you’re ready to upgrade, the first thing you need to do is find a suitable 500 Mbps plan from a provider that participates in the free upgrade program. This could very well be your current provider, but I highly suggest shopping around to see what discounts are available.
You can check out my best internet deals guide for the latest deals – some providers such as Dodo, Optus and Kogan Internet are currently offering 12-month discounts, allowing you to get a low price for a full year. (You can also check out the most popular NBN 500 plans currently in the price comparison tool below.)
Once you choose your provider, all you have to do is enter your address and you will be informed if your home is eligible for the free upgrade. If this is the case, then you will need to select which plan you want to subscribe to – 500 Mbps or more – and your provider will take care of the rest.
You will be contacted by NBN Co, who will arrange an appointment for a technician to come and install the necessary equipment. Once installed, your provider should contact you to let you know the installation was successful and they will activate your new plan.
