Aussie Broadband tops Opensignal's first Broadband Experience Report

Dylan Crismale - Digital Content Editor

Last updated 09 June 2023

graphic of a circuit board in the shape of Australia

Leading network analytics and insights company Opensignal has released its first Australia Fixed Broadband Experience Report with Aussie Broadband taking first place nationally with the fastest average download and peak download speeds. It was the only provider to score first place in two of the six categories.

Nationally, Aussie Broadband's peak download speed result was particularly impressive with a score of 257.1Mbps - over 100Mbps faster than rivals Optus, TPG and Telstra. Aussie Broadband users' average download speeds came in at 7.6% faster than those of runner-up Optus.

Opensignal's report covers six major providers based on market share in five Australian cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney ) including iiNet and Vodafone in addition to the four we already mentioned. Here's how they performed across the three speed measures:

National results - Speed (Mbps)

	Download speed	Peak download speed	Upload speed
Aussie Broadband	43.5	257.1	10.6
Optus	40.5	143.7	11.8
Telstra	39.2	134.6	10.5
TPG	36.3	136.6	10.2
Vodafone	37.8	135.9	7.5

Note: iiNet did not meet the threshold for market share to be included in national results but was included in city results.

While Aussie Broadband came first on download speeds, it was Optus that won the race in terms of uploads with average upload speeds of 11.8Mbps. Vodafone was significantly behind the rest of the pack with average upload speeds of 7.5Mbps.

Between the five cities, it was only in Adelaide that Aussie Broadband users didn't see the fastest download speeds. Instead, Telstra had a significant lead of 238.6Mbps for peak download speeds.

As part of the report, Opensignal didn't just measure speed which can vary greatly due to speed tiers and data caps. It also used the metrics of Consistent Quality, Video Experience and Success rate.

Here's how the providers scored:

National results - Experience

	Consistent Quality (% of tests)	Video Experience (0-100 score)	Success Rate (% of tests)
Aussie Broadband	75.4	72.3	97.9
Optus	76.6	73.8	98.0
Telstra	78.9	73.2	97.9
TPG	60.6	73.2	98.0
Vodafone	62.8	71.0	97.5

Note: Consistent Quality measured average and peak scores. Only the peak scores are displayed in the table above.

On these experience metrics, the results were closer. Optus scored best for Video Experience scoring 73.8 points, ahead of Telstra by less than a point. All five providers scored between 68-78 putting them in the Very Good category meaning users were on average able to stream video at 1080p or better with little stalling and decent loading times.

When it came to Consistent Quality, 80.1% of Telstra users' tests met the minimum recommended thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming. However, for Success Rate which measured the average proportion of successfully completed tests (relative to all tests executed) there difference between scores for all providers was statistically insignificant resulting in a tie.

Compare NBN 50 plans from the providers in the report:

#1	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
#2	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
#3	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
#4	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
#5	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
#6	Telstra	Telstra Essential Internet Only Plan (Fixed Wireless) nbn® Wireless 68/7 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Get 50% off any home nbn plan for 2 months. Add code PROMO at checkout. Ends 05.10.26. T&Cs apply. $99/mth Min. cost $49.50 Link not supplied	$99/mth Min. cost $49.50	Link not supplied

The data in the report was collected between November 1 2022 and April 29 2023. Check out the Opensignal Fixed Broadband Experience report for the full results.

Dylan Crismale

Digital Content Editor

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he's not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.

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