A recent Communications Day (CommsDay) report revealed that NBN Co expects nearly half of its customer services (48%) to be on 500Mbps or faster tiers by FY29, a dramatic leap from today, where only 3% of services reach those speeds.
It’s a big step for the national network and a clear signal that Australia’s internet infrastructure is evolving to meet growing demand. But it also raises an important question: are we planning for the future, or simply catching up with the present?
What’s Driving the Push for Faster Speeds?
NBN Co’s own projections highlight the shift in digital behaviour already underway:
- Monthly data use is expected to grow from 516GB to 803GB per user by FY29
- The number of connected devices per household is forecast to rise from 25 to 40 by 2030
- Gigabit-capable access will reach 94% of fixed-line premises by FY30
These aren’t abstract forecasts. They reflect the way Australians are already living: working remotely, streaming content in ultra-HD, using cloud-based services, managing smart homes, and running businesses online.
What’s more, this isn’t just about speed. It’s about performance, latency, and the ability to support multiple high-demand applications at once. A household with several users on video calls, streaming, gaming, or using connected devices simultaneously requires more than “good enough” speeds, it requires networks designed with the future in mind.
Planning for the Future, Not Reacting to It
The roadmap from NBN Co is ambitious and necessary. But it also underscores a broader point: the infrastructure that supported internet use a decade ago isn’t suitable for today’s digital habits, let alone those of 2030.
Many regional and independent providers have been designing their networks with this in mind for years. Instead of building to meet minimum thresholds, they’ve aimed to create infrastructure that scales with demand, sometimes well ahead of regulation or mass adoption.
At Move Up Internet, for example, we’ve offered 1,000Mbps fibre speeds from the start. Not in response to forecasts or targets, but because we believed Australians were already ready for more. It’s just one example of how some providers are already delivering on what others are still planning for.
Is the Industry Keeping Up?
This raises some important questions about the state of broadband in Australia. Are we moving fast enough to meet the growing digital demands of homes and businesses? Are we building infrastructure that leads the way or just doing enough to keep up? I’d love to hear from others across the industry, on how you see this shift playing out and what challenges (or opportunities) you’re facing in keeping pace.