If 2020 was the ‘Year of Online’, then 2021 looks set to be the ‘Year of Faster Broadband’.

Across the country, households on the nbn™ network are choosing higher wholesale speed plans to work and study online, shop, and stream entertainment.

In the last 12 months*, demand for broadband plans with peak wholesale download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and above doubled^{† ‡}, while average data downloads grew by almost 20 per cent.

“Demand for data on the nbn™ network shows that Australians are simply doing more online. They are also choosing faster broadband that helps to meet their household needs,” says Brad Whitcomb, Chief Customer Officer at nbn.

“COVID-19 has accelerated the digitisation of the Australian economy and society. Australians rely on broadband services to work from home, participate in online learning, stream entertainment, and access a range of essential services, such as telehealth.”^†

To help deliver greater value, certainty and simplicity to customers and the telecommunications industry as our nation’s need for speed and data evolves, nbn is undertaking its latest industry consultation.

“We see this consultation as an important opportunity for the industry to come together to create a framework that meets the future challenges of growing data consumption and develop solutions to better support Australia’s digital future in a commercially sustainable way.”

By the numbers

With the number of connected devices in Australian households currently averaging 20 per home and, says Telsyte, predicted to increase to 36 devices by 2024, customers are increasingly choosing to upgrade to higher speed plans and are consuming more data to support their work and lifestyle needs.

Customers and businesses alike are anticipating a ‘new (working) normal’ in 2021:

• 68 per cent – the number of employees that expect to work from home more after the COVID-19 crisis has ended^§
• 98 per cent – the number of enterprises expecting a far greater reliance on remote collaboration to replace face-to-face meetings in a post-COVID-19 world^# 
• 64 per cent – the number of customers embracing video conferencing and calling^**

When it comes to entertainment:

• 71 per cent – the number of households that stream video – up from 23 per cent in 2015^†† – with video streaming now the number one choice of nightlife activity^‡‡
• 58 per cent – the increase expected for 4K TVs and Ultra High Definition subscriptions by 2024^§§

Meanwhile, households are playing games – the online variety, that is:

• 5.8 million – the number of online gaming subscriptions in Aussie households (June 2020), up 16 per cent on the previous year^##
• 17.6 million – the number of online gaming subscriptions predicted by June 2024***
• 430 per cent – the increase predicted for cloud gaming by 2024^†††

High internet speed loving postcodes

So, which Australian postcodes are leading the way for faster broadband and embracing the benefits that come from choosing the right speed for their needs?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, three Victorian postcodes feature in the leading five postcodes: Werribee, Werribee South, Point Cook (3030), Hoppers Crossing, Truganina, Tarneit (3029) and Cranbourne (3977).

Rounding out the most data-hungry five postcodes are Greater Toowoomba (4350), in Queensland, and Liverpool, Casula and Moorebank (2170) in New South Wales.

And what about by state and territory?

Here’s the breakdown of the leading five postcodes in each state, where we’re seeing the most demand for high broadband speeds…

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

* January 2020 to January 2021

† Your experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network, depends on the nbn™ network technology and configuration over which services are delivered to your premises, whether you are using the internet during the busy period, and some factors outside of nbn’s control (like your equipment quality, software, chosen broadband plan, signal reception, or how your provider designs its network).

‡ nbn provides wholesale services to phone and internet providers. nbn™ wholesale speed tiers available to providers vary depending on the access technology in an end customer’s area. These peak wholesale download speed tiers of up to 100Mbps are only available on nbn™ fixed line footprint.

§ Venture Insights, NBN Behavioural Survey, May 2020

# Telstra, Business Continuity, Flexible Working and Adaptive Infrastructure: Five Actions for When the Economy Reopens Following COVID-19, June 2020.

** ACMA, Trends in online behaviour and technology usage, Sep 2020

†† nbn consumer research via Ergo, 2020.

‡‡ ANZ Consumer Survey, Sep 2020.

§§ Telsyte Consumer Survey 2020.

## Telsyte Australian Entertainment Subscription Study, Jun 2020

*** Telsyte Australian Entertainment Subscription Study, Jun 2020

††† Telsyte Consumer Survey 2020.