Australia Broadband Benchmark 2026: Fixed Line and Fixed Wireless
A regulator-measured comparison of peak-hour fixed-line and fixed-wireless broadband in Australia, with guidance for interpreting local results.
Data source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Measuring Broadband Australia program
Fixed-line services held close to plan speed in the latest sample
The ACCC’s final Measuring Broadband Australia report found that Australian NBN fixed-line households received, on average, 99.4% of their plan’s download speed during the busy evening period. The figure is a result for the participating services and measurement period, not a guarantee for every fixed-line connection.
Fixed wireless showed a larger peak-hour gap
In the same program’s latest data, NBN fixed-wireless services averaged 89.7% of plan download speed across all hours and 83.8% during busy hours. Upload performance averaged 70.1% of plan speed across all hours and 63.7% during busy hours. On the Fixed Wireless Plus plan, the ACCC also observed evening download speeds falling as much as 18 Mbps below the day’s maximum by 8 pm.
| ACCC measure | Fixed line | Fixed wireless |
|---|---|---|
| Download vs plan, all hours | Not shown here | 89.7% |
| Download vs plan, busy hours | 99.4% | 83.8% |
| Upload vs plan, all hours | Not shown here | 70.1% |
| Upload vs plan, busy hours | Not shown here | 63.7% |
The ACCC cautions that fixed-line and fixed-wireless services use different technologies and are not directly comparable as identical products. The percentages above indicate how close measured services came to their plan rates under the report’s methodology; they do not describe absolute speed tiers or all Australian providers.
What households can take from the measurements
A national or technology-level average cannot predict the result at one address. Test with Ethernet where possible, record download, upload, and latency, then repeat during the evening on several days. Compare the result with the plan rate and your provider’s stated typical evening performance.
If wired tests fall at busy hours, changing Wi-Fi equipment is unlikely to address the access-network bottleneck. If wired results are steady but Wi-Fi tests vary by room, investigate coverage and interference in the home network. Keep those two cases separate when deciding whether to change a plan or a router.
Scope and limitations
The ACCC program used volunteer households and measured Australian NBN services. The latest data covers February to April 2026; its busy period is 7 pm to 11 pm. It is a regulator-run dataset, but it does not represent every provider or country. Satellite results are not included in the comparisons above.