Aussie internet speeds are undoubtedly getting faster, but there’s a strong possibility your home isn’t best prepared to take full advantage of them. There’s a simple fix… and it might be an upgrade you’ve been putting off.
As per Opensignal’s latest report, NBN Co’s Accelerate Great initiative vastly improved Australia’s internet speeds, thanks to free wholesale speed boosts and the arrival of a new 2Gbps speed tier. For all their positives, however, the report found that many Australians aren’t receiving the full benefit of the vastly improved speeds due to their router, with many homes and businesses neglecting their Wi-Fi radio-wave-emitting tech.
Specifically, the data reveals that 64% of readings across the six major retail service providers (RSPs) came from older Wi-Fi generation routers — i.e. Wi-Fi 3, 4, or 5 — which may not deliver the full speed of the new tiers over Wi-Fi. More than 70% of readings for both Telstra and Vocus came from Wi-Fi 5 routers or older, whereas 55% of relative newcomer Superloop’s readings came from Wi-Fi 6 routers or newer.
When it comes to top-end download speeds, the proof is in the pudding. Across all RSPs, customers on Wi-Fi 6 routers or newer sit around 500Mbps at the 90th percentile of download speeds. Comparatively, those with Wi-Fi 5 routers or lower reach between 129Mbps and 287.7Mbps — which is substantially slower.
If your Wi-Fi router is considerably older than your current plan — i.e. you’ve upgraded your FTTP or HFC connection to a much faster plan without replacing it — and your Wi-Fi is still slow, it may be time to upgrade to a new router. Wi-Fi dropouts can also be caused by poor placement, interference, firmware, your device or an NBN/RSP fault, so it’s worth checking out NBN Co’s Wi-Fi router guide if you’re unsure.
Newer Wi-Fi generations don’t just mean new devices. Each generation brings about improvements in speed, latency, capacity or efficiency — or a combination of all four — although a newer generation doesn’t automatically mean better range. Deciding what Wi-Fi generation you need depends on a few factors, but it largely relies on your preferred speed tier and your bandwidth requirements, depending on how many internet-connected devices are in your home.
Currently, Wi-Fi 6 routers or higher are a good starting point for NBN 500 plans or faster. But the Wi-Fi generation alone doesn’t tell you which internet plan a router can handle: figures such as AX1800, AX3000 or BE11000 are maximum Wi-Fi speed ratings, not supported NBN plan speeds. The newest generation is Wi-Fi 7, which can deliver multi-gigabit wireless speeds with compatible devices, but if you are looking at NBN 2000, be aware that the router’s WAN and LAN ports need to be 2.5Gbps or faster.
If you’re considering an NBN 500 plan, I’d recommend a router with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and enough range that you don’t need to be right next to it to consistently achieve top speeds. For NBN 750 and NBN 1000 plans, there’s a nice sweet spot where you could easily get by on a good Wi-Fi 6 router, but you could also consider Wi-Fi 6E or a Wi-Fi 7 model with a 6GHz band if your devices support it. In a larger home, coverage and router placement — or a mesh system — may matter more than the rated speed.
The highest residential NBN wholesale speed tier available is 2,000Mbps, which is still mighty fast — and well beyond what Wi-Fi 5 can normally deliver day to day. If you have an eligible FTTP or HFC connection and want a 2Gbps plan to achieve its full potential, you’ll need a router rated to handle 2Gbps internet service with at least a 2.5GbE WAN port. Wi-Fi 7 is the better option if you’re buying new and want multi-gigabit wireless speeds, but a suitable Wi-Fi 6E router can work too. For the most reliable way to exceed 1Gbps on one device, you’ll also want a 2.5GbE LAN port and a compatible wired device.
Here’s a quick bullet-point summary of the above recommendations:
- NBN 500: Wi-Fi 6 or higher, with at least a 1GbE WAN port
- NBN 750: Wi-Fi 6 or higher, with at least a 1GbE WAN port
- NBN 1000: Wi-Fi 6 or higher, with at least a 1GbE WAN port; 2.5GbE is useful for future-proofing
- NBN 2000: Wi-Fi 7 recommended (a suitable Wi-Fi 6E router can work), plus support for 2Gbps internet service and at least a 2.5GbE WAN port
Best new router deals
If you’re ready to shop for a new router, I’ve gathered some top-rated options below. From Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 7, I’ve spotted some stellar deals on new routers and mesh systems on Amazon, from brands like TP-Link, Netgear and eero.
As a router reviewer, I’ve been using the Amazon eero 7 router and the weatherproof eero Outdoor 7 mesh extender for a few months now, and they were super easy to set up using the companion app. I’ve used a trusty TP-Link Archer router at home for a while too, and it was just as easy to plug and play. If you’re keen to see what the best Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7 routers we’ve tested at Tom’s Guide are, you can check out our respective guides.
Just remember that Wi-Fi generation alone doesn’t tell the whole story: the Wi-Fi 7 TP-Link Archer BE220 only has Gigabit Ethernet ports, so it isn’t good for NBN 2000, while the Netgear Nighthawk RS100 has a 2.5GbE WAN port but Gigabit LAN ports, so it is less suited for wired setups. The Wi-Fi 6 Archer AX12 is also limited to Gigabit Ethernet so it can connect to an NBN 2000 service but can’t fully use it. The eero 7 has two 2.5GbE ports and is the best match for NBN 2000, although Amazon rates its wireless speeds at up to 1.8Gbps, so no single Wi-Fi device will get the full 2Gbps.
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