TPG could be fastest NBN provider, according to ACCC

Jacqui Dent - Editorial Strategist

Last updated 05 November 2018

TPG could be fastest NBN provider, according to ACCC

The ACCC's latest real-world speed test of Australian NBN connections has found that TPG customers, on average, receive 88.4% of their plan's maximum download speeds during peak hours (7pm - 11pm). That puts TPG at the head of the pack for best NBN speeds, at least as far as ACCC testing is concerned.

The ACCC published the results of speed tests for six NBN providers during peak hours, with the providers achieving the following percentage of max download speeds for customers, on average:

TPG - 88.4%
Aussie Broadband - 85.8%
iiNet - 84.8%
Optus - 84%
Telstra - 83.5%
MyRepublic - 82.1%

However, while this result looks like a clear win for TPG, at WhistleOut we would suggest taking these results with a grain of salt. The ACCC's speed testing was conducted across 950 households receiving service from 15 providers. Of those households, only 790 were connected to the NBN. That's only about 0.00017% of NBN subscribers, according to NBN Co's September progress report, which isn't exactly statistically significant.

At WhistleOut, we note that evening speeds TPG advertises with plans are actually slightly slower than those advertised by Optus, Telstra, iiNet and Aussie Broadband. MyRepublic is not advertising evening speeds at the time of writing.

NBN providers getting faster, with less congesion

One thing that does seem to be clear from the results of the ACCC's testing is that the NBN providers surveyed, with only one exception, are providing faster service. The ACCC reported an increase in average max speeds of between 0.7% (Optus) and 7.7% (MyRepublic) compared to its last speed test survey, which was published in July. Only Aussie Broadband was found to have lost speed, by 2.5% on average. Even still, Aussie Broadband was able to claim second place for fastest overall.

The ACCC also reported that its testing found no significant differences between plan speeds during on and off-peak times. "Average speeds across all busy hours reduced by just 1 percentage point. This was true for both standard speed plans and the increasing number of consumers on higher speed NBN plans," said the ACCC in a statement published on its website.

However, ACCC Chair Rod Simms noted, "NBN Co has reported that congestion has increased slightly across the network in recent months. Our results suggest that ISPs not featured in this report could be contributing to this.”

Regional NBN connections slower, but only just

During testing the ACCC also compared the speed of NBN services delivered in urban and regional areas and found that urban areas received higher speeds, but by a difference of only 1.8%. Urban areas on average received a maximum of 84.8% of maximum speeds possible, while regional areas experienced 83%.

Urban areas were defined by the ACCC as towns with a population of over 10,000.

Some NBN connections still under-performing

Although results across the board were positive, the ACCC noted that 7% of services tested achieved speeds of less than 50% of the maximum possible.

“We encourage customers who aren’t getting the speeds they expected to contact their internet service provider to see if they need to change plans," said Simms.

Australians concerned about the speed of their NBN connection can also use the WhistleOut speed test tool and read our guide on why your NBN might be slow, and what you can do about it.

The ACCC's broadband speed testing was conducted over the month of August 2018. The ACCC plans to continue testing and to expand its sample size, claiming that testing will cover 2,000 services by the end of the year, and 4,000 services by the end of 2021.

Jacqui Dent

Editorial Strategist

Jacqui Dent is an Editorial Content Strategist at WhistleOut Australia, where she writes about mobile phone plans, NBN plans and everything in between. Over her ten-year career, she has worked to provide informed advice to the public, first in the sphere of writing and now in the world of consumer tech. Jacqui has also written about consumer telco products for Business Insider, Pedestrian and the 50Up Club.

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