What changed on NBN speeds, and which connections were included?
In September 2025 NBN Co announced a program it calls Accelerate Great, which raised wholesale speeds on selected home tiers delivered over Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC). The statement said most eligible customers on the relevant plans would be moved automatically as providers rolled out the new speeds.
| Wholesale tier | Before (download/upload, Mbps) | After (download/upload, Mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| Home Fast II | 100/20 | 500/50 |
| Home Superfast | 250/25 | 750/50 |
| Home Ultrafast | 500 to about 1000 download, 50 upload | About 1000/100 |
| Home Hyperfast (new) | Not offered | 2000/200 on FTTP, 2000/100 on HFC |
| Business 2000 Pro (new) | Not offered | 2000/500 on FTTP |
Three details matter for event planning:
- These are wholesale speeds. What a venue actually gets depends on its plan, its provider, its in-building cabling and how busy the line is.
- Only FTTP and HFC were named. The announcement did not cover Fibre to the Node (FTTN) or Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) lines, which are common in older buildings.
- Upload stayed asymmetric. On most home tiers, upload is around one tenth of download or less.
Why is upload the number that decides a live stream?
Watching video uses download. Sending video out of a venue uses upload, and a live stream needs that upload to be steady for the whole event, not just on average. Our planning figures for event streams are:
- 10 to 20 Mbps steady upload per live stream, depending on resolution and encoder settings.
- 1.5 to 2 times headroom on top of that, so short dips do not drop the stream.
- About 1.5 Mbps each way per video call, for remote presenters or panellists.
Applied to a line with 50 Mbps of upload, the arithmetic looks like this:
| What is being sent | Upload needed with headroom | Fits on 50 Mbps upload? |
|---|---|---|
| One 10 Mbps stream | 15 to 20 Mbps | Yes, with room for other traffic |
| One 20 Mbps stream | 30 to 40 Mbps | Yes, if little else is uploading |
| Two 10 Mbps streams | 30 to 40 Mbps | Only if the line is reserved for streaming |
| Two 20 Mbps streams | 60 to 80 Mbps | No |
The catch is that the stream is rarely alone. Guest WiFi, staff laptops, card terminals and cloud backups all share the same upload. Our guide on upload speed for live streaming goes through the calculation in more detail, and the bandwidth calculator lets you model your own mix.
Which venues are likely to have more upload now, and which are not?
The technology at the street decides most of the answer.
- FTTP and HFC venues on one of the uplifted tiers may now have 50 Mbps or more of upload. Higher tiers on FTTP, including the new business tier at 2000/500, offer far more, but availability depends on what providers offer at that address.
- FTTN and FTTC venues were not part of the September 2025 change. Their real upload depends on the copper distance and line condition, so it should be measured rather than assumed.
- FTTC upgrades: in December 2025 NBN Co said it planned to remove the high-speed tier requirement for many standalone homes upgrading from FTTC to FTTP from July 2026. That mainly affects homes, so it is a reason to check the address, not to assume a venue has changed.
Venues in office buildings, community halls and older function centres often sit on business plans, shared building connections or older technology. The only reliable way to know is to ask and to test.
How should you check a venue's NBN connection before an event?
- Ask the technology type and plan speed. FTTP, HFC, FTTC or FTTN, and the download and upload speeds of the plan. Our list of questions to ask your venue about WiFi covers the rest.
- Ask what else shares the line. Venue offices, point of sale, security cameras and other rooms hired on the same day all use the same upload.
- Test at the same time of day as the event, from a wired port in the room you will stream from, not over the venue WiFi.
- Look at the lowest result, not the best one. Run several tests across 10 to 15 minutes. A stream needs the floor, not the peak.
- Confirm you can get a wired connection to the streaming position, or plan cabling to it. Streaming over a busy WiFi network adds a second point of failure.
If the numbers are close to what you need, treat the venue line as the backup rather than the main path. Our article on why venue WiFi fails at events explains why a line that tests well on a quiet day can struggle once guests arrive.
When does an event still need its own internet connection?
Faster NBN tiers reduce the number of events that need extra internet, but they do not remove it. A separate or additional connection is worth planning when:
- More than one stream goes out at the same time, or a stream runs alongside remote presenters on video calls.
- The venue cannot reserve upload for the stream, or cannot give a wired port near the camera position.
- The site has no fixed line, such as a park, marquee, warehouse or construction site.
- The stream must not stop, such as a paid broadcast, an AGM or a ceremony family members are watching from overseas.
Options include a dedicated temporary internet connection, bonded mobile links through 4G and 5G router hire, and a second source for failover through backup internet. Our live streaming internet service puts these together around the stream.
If you are planning a streamed event, send us the venue address, the number of streams and the run sheet and we will come back with a plan based on what that venue's line can actually carry.
Questions people ask
Did every NBN connection get faster upload?
No. NBN Co's September 2025 Accelerate Great announcement covered selected home tiers on FTTP and HFC. It did not name FTTN or FTTC connections, and actual speeds still depend on the plan and provider at each address.
How much upload does one live stream need?
Plan on 10 to 20 Mbps of steady upload per stream, then add 1.5 to 2 times headroom. A single 20 Mbps stream therefore needs 30 to 40 Mbps of upload that is not being used by anything else.
Is a 500/50 NBN plan enough to live stream an event?
It can carry one stream with headroom, or two lower bitrate streams if the line is reserved for streaming. If guests, staff and payment terminals share the same line, plan a separate connection for the stream or keep the venue line as a backup.
Should a live stream run over WiFi or a cable?
Use a cable from the encoder to the network wherever possible. WiFi in a full room is shared with every guest device, and short drops that do not matter for browsing will interrupt a stream.
How do I find out what NBN technology a venue has?
Ask the venue for the technology type and plan speeds, or check the address with NBN Co's address checker. Then test upload from a wired port at the same time of day as your event.
Sources
- NBN Co media statement: nbn's biggest internet upgrade, faster speeds for more Australian homes and businesses (16 September 2025)
- NBN Co media statement: plans to relax eligibility requirement for FTTC to FTTP upgrades in 2026 (15 December 2025)
Event dates, prices and product details can change. Check the organiser or manufacturer before you plan around them. Planning figures are starting points; every network is confirmed against the actual site.