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How fast are Optus’ internet speeds?

How fast are internet speeds? And why aren’t my speeds consistent when using different websites or internet services - and at different times of the day?
Well, this is like asking how fast you'll go if you had a Ferrari. Fast, right?
But in reality it will depend on the speed limit of the road you’re travelling on and traffic conditions.
Like roads, our networks have different speed limits - some being much faster than others - and all are dictated by factors meaning you may experience slower speeds than the maximum, most of the time.

NETWORK "SPEED LIMITS"

Technology

Speed Limit

What stops you experiencing these speeds?

 

Download

Upload

Specific to a technology

All technologies

ADSL (ULL) 20 Mbps 820 Kbps* With ADSL there is no simple answer for speed. It starts at 20 Mbps download but gets much slower the further you live from an exchange. So it really depends on your location.

You can check your address and get an approximate line speed estimate here.
WiFi
In most instances a connection over WiFi will be slower than if you were connected physically to your modem with a cable, particularly if there is a wall in the way or there are multiple users on the same WiFi network. WiFI performance can also be impacted by interference from surrounding devices and nearby users on the same channel.

Congestion   Prioritisation
If there is a lot of "traffic" (i.e. lots of people downloading stuff at the one time) your internet speed at home can be impacted, much like congestion on a busy road.

We’re constantly building more "lanes" (i.e. bandwidth) into all our networks to deliver a better experience in those peak times.

We also prioritise some content over others - such as VoIP (voice over internet protocol) voice calls - to make sure the important stuff goes first. You can liken this to a bus lane on a freeway.

Pull VS Push
We can only "pull" the data to you as fast as the server on the other end can "push" it! So if you’re downloading from, for example, a peer-to-peer server which is congested, or has only a small upload capacity, it’s not going to be quick!

Equipment
Some old equipment is more like a push bike than a Ferrari, particularly when impacted with a virus or malware. Make sure your computer is free of viruses and malware with Optus internet security.

Overseas content
Content you download at home that comes from overseas can be slower than domestic content due to congestion on international pipes (there are literally cables running on the ocean floor connecting. Australia to the rest of the world. Crazy, hey?).

However, we’re working hard to bring the content you want locally and a huge amount of "overseas content" is actually being distributed from local servers, making it super-quick.
Cable (HSD) 30 Mbps
Base plan speed

100 Mbps
top premium speed offer
2 Mbps Cable networks work by grouping customers into areas known as "nodes". The customers within these nodes share one pipe for all their internet data.

So, although cable is superfast, customers can experience slower speeds in peak times. Imagine turning all your water taps on at once - you're water pressure is going to be lower. It can be a bit like that sometimes.

Having said that, we continue to invest millions of dollars into our cable network to make sure our nodes are humming.

Also, you do require our latest fancy modem to be able to access the top end premium speed.
NBN Fibre (FBB) 12 Mbps
Base plan speed

100 Mbps
top premium speed offer
1 Mbps



40 Mbps
With fibre, distance from an exchange is not important like in ADSL and customers are not grouped into nodes like cable networks.

Your speeds can still be slowed by the things we talk about under "ALL TECHNOLOGIES", however, this is the "fastest" access type we provide.
Speeds listed are based on our current in-market plans. Speeds offer on legacy plans may differ.
Your current plan may only provide the base speed offered for the type of technology you're connected to. Extra speed packs are available as an add-on purchase to base Cable or NBN Fibre plans.

Details are here.

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