Everything you need to know about NBN 1000

With the Government’s National Broadband Network rollout completed last year, most Australians will now be enjoying the NBN service in their homes even if they aren’t aware of it.

But for those unhappy with their current home internet speed looking for an upgrade, NBN Co continue infrastructure upgrades making more households eligible for faster connections by extending fibre deeper into communities. In simpler terms, not everyone can call up their local broadband provider and request super fast speeds just yet - but NBN Co are working on making that a reality for more Australians around the country.

NBN 1000 is the fastest of those speeds, but just what is NBN 1000, do you need it and how can you get it? We’ll cover off all of those points in this guide.

First things first - what is NBN 1000? Otherwise known as the Ultrafast speed tier, or ‘Gigabit internet’, NBN 1000 is the quickest connection available on the National Broadband Network. The 1000 in the name stands for the download speed of the connection in megabits per second. If that’s still a bit confusing our NBN jargon buster might be able to help you out.

The other common speed tiers include NBN 12, 25, 50, 100 and 250. Clearly NBN 1000 is a cut above the rest, hence the ‘Ultrafast’ title. But with download speeds at nearly 1Gbps (Gigabit per second), most Australians may find the connection to offer more than they require.

It’s worth mentioning up top that NBN 1000 isn’t available to everyone in Australia, but we’ll get into that a bit later on. It also generally costs more than a lower speed connection, for obvious reasons.

NBN 1000 is also known as NBN Ultrafast for a reason - with speeds of 1000mbps this top tier connection type dwarfs other options available. For comparison, an NBN 100 plan is generally known as a ‘fast’ connection type, and as the numbers will tell you NBN 1000 is presented as providing download speeds up to ten times that.

In terms of upload speed, you’ll see most offers capped at around 50mbps, around double the upload speed you’d find on most NBN 250 plans.

The difference between what upload speed and download speed is required for is basically information going out (upload) versus information coming in (download). For example, general internet usage such as streaming, gaming or browsing would be mostly relying on your download speed. For those uploading large amounts of data such as content creators, a high upload speed may be more of an important factor.

It is also worth noting that the speeds listed on any NBN plan are there as more of a ‘maximum’ than an average. For a more accurate representation of what internet speed you will actually be getting on your plan, inquire about the typical ‘peak’ or ‘evening’ speed. This speed is a better indicator of how the network will perform under the stress of high usage.

In terms of speed results, a recent report released this June by the ACCC listed the typical peak speeds of 54 NBN services advertised as ‘Ultrafast’ plans (featuring speeds between 500-990mbps). These are all in the area of 608-745mpbs during the busiest periods of usage. While this isn’t exclusively NBN 1000 plans, the ACCC noted the highest download speed they’d expect to see customers receive on a true ultrafast plan is 940mbps. So if you were counting on seeing speeds truly hit 1Gbps, you may be disappointed. That being said, the download speeds on offer are clearly a cut above the rest.

As mentioned previously, the government’s NBN rollout wrapped up last year so most Australian homes would be on (or eligible for) an NBN connection. The first thing you might want to do is check your latest home internet bill, or get in touch with your broadband provider.

NBN Co also has a handy tool that will tell you if you’re connected by checking your address, but it won’t tell you any details about your broadband provider or speed.

Which leads us to ...

We already mentioned the common types of NBN speeds, from 12mbps up to our Ultrafast 1000mbps, so how can you check how fast your connection is?

We’d suggest checking your latest bill, or find out what type of plan you’re on with your home broadband provider. Hopefully, you’ll see in the title of your service ‘NBN x plan’ (where x represents your speed tier). Generally, the cost of your bill would increase with a higher speed plan, but this will of course be dependent on your broadband provider and any deals you may have picked up. If you’re thinking about changing or upgrading plans you’ll also need to check any cancellation fees.

You can also head over to our page on how to test your NBN speed if you want to take things into your own hands.

This is where things will come down to personal choice. It would come down to a preference of speed.

We’ve already talked about how quick the NBN 1000 Ultrafast plans are, but it’s the upload speeds that may be most important here. If you’re a content creator, or someone frequently uploading or sending very large file types, a 50mbps upload speed on an NBN 1000 plan may be something you want to look into. People frequently downloading large file types such as games, or those streaming concurrent 4k-8k videos, may also be interested in the ability to use the ultrafast download speeds instead of waiting the extra time on a lower plan for their downloads to complete.

Typically an NBN 100 plan is capable of handling around nine connected devices, so large families could consider a smaller plan if they wanted to. But NBN 1000 would certainly offer higher speeds.

More and more Australians are upgrading to faster NBN tiers as time goes on, and if you’re only interested in the quickest internet on offer, then NBN 1000 might be for you.

Not everyone is eligible for Ultrafast NBN just yet, and it all comes down to what technology is used for your connection. You might want to keep that jargon buster handy for this one, but basically you require an FTTP (fibre to the premises) connection in order to access the sorts of speeds you see on those Ultrafast plans.

To check your connection type, head over to NBN Co’s rollout map and search for your address. If your property doesn’t feature an FTTP connection just yet, don’t worry. NBN Co says around 3.5 million premises in Australia currently have access to the Ultrafast speed tier if they choose to connect, with their goal of extending that to 8 million premises by 2023. That would cover around 75% of homes and businesses on the fixed line network, and you can check if your town or suburb is scheduled for such an upgrade in the near future.

If you’re eligible for an upgrade, keep in mind that it won’t be free. Speak to your NBN provider to see what fees or charges may be applied. It also requires the connection to be inside your home, so if you’re not the homeowner you will have to talk with them before committing to anything.

First things first, follow the steps above to make sure you’re eligible for an NBN 1000 Ultrafast broadband plan. This includes ensuring you’re eligible for and have installed (or are prepared to install) an FTTP connection. If your town/suburb hasn’t become NBN 1000 eligible just yet, you might have to be prepared to wait until the rollout is complete in 2023, or get in touch with NBN Co yourself to discuss alternate solutions.

Once NBN Co have set up your FTTP connection, you’ll need to get a plan set up with an internet provider that offers the Ultrafast tier, and they’ll organise the installation of further equipment (an NBN connection box and Power Supply unit) to get you up and running, potentially with extra fees involved. You’ll also need a modem and router to get connected, so inquire if one is included in your package or if you can use your own compatible device. Once your NBN 1000 plan kicks in, you’ll be ready to enjoy the fastest NBN speeds available in Australia.

If you’re searching for an NBN 1000 provider, we recommend the Ultrafast winner of our Mozo Expert’s Choice NBN Awards, MyRepublic

If you’ve decided NBN 1000 isn’t worth it for you, you may want to consider some plans on a slower tier. Head over to our broadband hub to find what speed is right for you or for a more in-depth look at just what the NBN is and how it works. If you’re ready to look at some service providers, read our list of top NBN plans in Australia.