When the NBN speed upgrades arrived in September, one of the biggest talking points was undoubtedly the arrival of the brand new NBN 2000 speed tier. For years, the fastest internet plan available to Australians has been 1Gbps, so there was reason to celebrate the theoretical maximum speed doubling overnight.
However, as expected given its infancy, there wasn’t enough real-world data at launch to allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to advertise a typical evening speed. For reference, this is the download and upload speed you can realistically speaking expect to achieve in the hours from 19.00 to 23.00, when most people use the web.
That’s all changed for one of our frequently recommended providers, as Superloop now quotes a staggering 1.7 Gbps typical evening download speed on its Hyperspeed plan. What’s more, you can experience these lightning-fast speeds for yourself from a very reasonable AU$145 per month.
That speed is basically in line with the evening speeds Superloop promises for its NBN 1000 plan, which is 860Mbps – multiply that by two and you get 1,720Mbps.
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As with all plans faster than 100Mbps, you’ll need a specific connection type – either fiber to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fiber coax (HFC) – to sign up for this plan. Upload speeds also vary for each, with up to 200Mbps possible on an FTTP connection and up to 100Mbps on HFC (Superloop’s upload TES for HFC connections is 85Mbps).
Second, regardless of connection type, you’ll also need to have one of NBN Co’s new Network Termination Device (NTD) boxes installed at your place. Superloop takes care of this for you by booking an appointment for a technician to visit your address to carry out the necessary upgrade.
While you’re waiting for the visit, you can choose either an NBN 500 or NBN 1000 plan to connect to temporarily, and you’ll only pay the relevant amount for both. Once the new NTD has been installed, Superloop says you’ll be up and running on your new lightning-fast NBN plan within 4 hours.
To get the most out of your wonderfully fast new Internet service, you’ll probably need a new modem router that can confidently handle the faster speeds. Fortunately, Superloop will optionally supply you with an Amazon eero 7 for free, provided you stay connected for 36 months.
You also have the option of adding extension nodes to create a larger mesh Wi-Fi system in your home. An extra extender costs AU$199 outright, or for even bigger homes you can get two for $359 – both options can also be paid off in installments from AU$10p/mi 24 months.
All in all, its combination of high evening speeds and super competitive pricing makes Superloop’s Hyperspeed plan seriously attractive. If the prospect of multi-gigabit speeds sounds ideal to you, then it’s clearly the best deal in our opinion.
That said, if your household’s download needs are a little more modest, we’d still recommend checking out the best NBN 500 plans for their unbeatable combination of speed and value. The Superloop-powered Exetel One plan happens to be our top pick there, costing just $80 per month. month continuously.
