Exetel takes top spot from Optus in ACCC NBN speed report

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 17 March 2022

The ACCC has released the sixteenth Measuring Broadband Australia report, which sees Exetel take back the top spot from Optus. Exetel customers were found to receive 103.3% of their plans' maximum speeds during peak hours (between 7 pm and 11 pm). Optus followed with its customers receiving 100% of their plans' maximum speeds during busy hours.

The report now covers 12 major providers, with the ACCC adding Launtel for the first time this quarter. Other providers featured in the report include Aussie Broadband, Dodo, Exetel, iiNet, iPrimus, MyRepublic, Optus, Telstra, TPG, Superloop, and Vodafone. Here's how they all stack up:

Average percent of max. download speed

	Overall	Overall excluding under performing connections	Peak hours
Aussie Broadband	96.1%	99.2%	95.1%
Dodo	97.5%	100.6%	96.7%
Exetel	104.5%	105.0%	103.3%
iiNet	96.7%	99.5%	95.8%
iPrimus	97.5%	100.6%	96.7%
Launtel	100.3%	102.3%	98.4%
MyRepublic	99.8%	102.4%	99.1%
Optus	100.8%	104.2%	100.0%
Superloop	96.5%	98.3%	95.4%
Telstra	99.6%	103.3%	98.7%
TPG	98.1%	102.2%	96.9%
Vodafone	96.3%	99.2%	95.1%

For the most part, speeds from this report are fairly similar to last quarter's. iiNet and Vodafone made the most significant gains, which means every provider in the report now achieves at least 95% of their plans' maximum download speeds during busy hours.

Here are the NBN 50 plans from the providers in the report.

#1	Dodo Editor's Pick	Dodo All Fixed Line nbn® Editor's Pick nbn50 Unlimited Plan All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $30/mth discount for 6 months based on the standard price $87.99/mth. Ends 08.12.26. T&Cs apply. $57.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $87.99/mth Min. cost $57.99 Go to Site*	$57.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $87.99/mth Min. cost $57.99	Go to Site
#2	Superloop	Superloop All Fixed Line nbn® Extra-value nbn50/20 All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $20/mth off for 6 months! $69/mth for 6 mths, then $89/mth + Bundle & Save $69/mth for first 6 mths, then $89/mth Min. cost $69 Go to Site	$69/mth for first 6 mths, then $89/mth Min. cost $69	Go to Site
#3	TPG	TPG All Fixed Line nbn® nbn50 Unlimited Plan All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $89.99/mth. T&Cs apply. $69.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $69.99 Link not supplied	$69.99/mth for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $69.99	Link not supplied
#4	iiNet	iiNet All Fixed Line nbn® nbn50 Liimitless All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $20/mth off for 6 mths – $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $89.99/mth. Use code SAVE20FOR6 $69.99/mth + $10 Upfront for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $79.99 Link not supplied	$69.99/mth + $10 Upfront for first 6 mths, then $89.99/mth Min. cost $79.99	Link not supplied
#5	Aussie Broadband	Aussie Broadband All Fixed Line nbn® Value nbn - Unlimited All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 47/18 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $25 off for the first 6 months. Promo code SPRING25. $95/mth after promo ends 15.11.26 $70/mth for first 6 months, then $95/mth Min. cost $70 Link not supplied	$70/mth for first 6 months, then $95/mth Min. cost $70	Link not supplied
#6	Optus	Optus All Fixed Line nbn® Optus Everyday nbn® All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $82/mth for a year, then $97/mth or as notified. New services. Incl intro offer + extra $5/mth off. Min cost $388. Ends 6/10. $82/mth for first 12 months, then $97/mth or as notified Min. cost $82 Link not supplied	$82/mth for first 12 months, then $97/mth or as notified Min. cost $82	Link not supplied
#7	iPrimus	iPrimus All Fixed Line nbn® Standard Plus Plan All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data $90/mth Min. cost $90 Link not supplied	$90/mth Min. cost $90	Link not supplied
#8	Vodafone	Vodafone All Fixed Line nbn® Essential+ nbn® All Fixed Line nbn® nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Save $10/mth when you bundle with a mobile plan with Vodafone. T&Cs apply. $94/mth Min. cost $94 Link not supplied	$94/mth Min. cost $94	Link not supplied

The Measuring Broadband report also tracks outages that last over 30 seconds. Here's how providers stacked up:

Aussie Broadband: Approximately 0.35 daily outages
Dodo: Approximately 0.39 daily outages
Exetel: Approximately 0.2 daily outages
iiNet: Approximately 0.21 daily outages
iPrimus: Approximately 0.39 daily outages
Launtel: Approximately 0.61 daily outages
MyRepublic: Approximately 0.35 daily outages
Optus: Approximately 0.32 daily outages
Superloop: Approximately 0.34 daily outages
Telstra: Approximately 0.23 daily outages
TPG: Approximately 0.4 daily outages
Vodafone: Approximately 0.42 daily outages

As of the twelfth Measuring Broadband Report, the ACCC covers fixed wireless NBN services. This time around, the ACCC found another slight improvement in speed. Average speeds were 93.4% per plan maximums during all hours, and 79.8% during busy hours, up from 88.5% and 73.9% respectively.

The new report also looks at services supplied by the Uniti Group - Opticomm and LBN - for the first time. Uniti services were found to be slightly slower and slightly less reliable than NBN. Uniti FTTP services received 101.6% of plan download speeds during busy hours, versus 103.1% FTTP services on NBN. It's a similar story with uploads, where Uniti FTTP plans saw 88.1% of plan speeds during busy hours, versus 90.9% on NBN. Uniti services say 1.75 daily outages, compare to 0.3 on NBN.

As always, it's worth remembering the scale of the ACCC's testing. The results come from a month-long testing period during December 2021 across just 1,266 NBN connections. All but 40 of these households have a connection with one of the 12 providers featured in the report. The ACCC reports a 95% confidence level in its results.

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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