Melbourne's NBN speed claim sparks rivalry

Melburnians have long boasted about their coffee culture and laneway bars. Now, according to fresh data from Ookla, they may have another point of pride: faster fixed-line broadband than their Sydney counterparts. But a closer look at the numbers reveals a more complicated picture than a simple intercity victory lap.

A new data point in the rivalry

Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest tool, has released its latest Global Index rankings, which track median fixed-broadband download speeds by country and city. The data offers a fresh talking point for the perennial Melbourne-versus-Sydney debate, with the southern city posting a higher median speed than its northern rival.

According to the index, Melbourne sits at position 64 with a median download speed of 177.69Mbps, while Sydney trails at position 76 with 149.91Mbps. That works out to a difference of 27.78Mbps, or roughly 18.5% faster for Melbourne.

These figures are drawn from Ookla's global dataset, which aggregates speed tests run by users on fixed-line connections. The company averages each unique user's results into a single sample for the relevant time period and location, so the medians reflect the experiences of those who choose to test.

National picture: Australia climbing

On a national level, Australia is also showing improvement. The country now ranks 50th in the world, up from a low of 86th, with a median fixed-broadband download speed of 162.34Mbps. That places it ahead of many peers but still well behind the global leader.

Singapore tops the country rankings with a median download speed of 447.75Mbps, a figure that highlights the gap between Australia and the fastest nations. While 141 other countries clock slower speeds than Australia, the distance to the top remains significant.

The improvement follows NBN Co's September 2025 speed-tier shake-up, which introduced a 2Gbps wholesale option for eligible FTTP and HFC premises, alongside faster speeds on several existing higher-end tiers. However, not every Australian can access the fastest tiers, and the plan a customer chooses is only one part of the equation.

Why the gap? A mix of factors

Several factors explain why Australia trails the pack so dramatically. One of the most obvious, according to analysts, is that many Australians are still connected to comparatively slow NBN plans. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) publishes a quarterly Wholesale Market Indicators Report that provides an overview of active NBN connections and their download data rates.

• Just over 2.665 million active 50Mbps NBN connections, out of a total of 8.839 million residential broadband services — around 30.2%.
• Melbourne's median download speed of 177.69 Mbps versus Sydney's 149.91 Mbps — an 18.5% advantage.
• Victoria has a higher share of premises using FTTP than NSW — roughly 66% versus 60%.

A 50Mbps plan naturally puts a ceiling on the speed a customer can record in a Speedtest. If enough users on lower-speed tiers are represented in Ookla's sample, that will bring the national median down. One relatively straightforward way for Australia's international standing to improve, then, is for more eligible households to take advantage of NBN Co's free fibre upgrade. The program is open to millions of eligible FTTN and FTTC premises, allowing them to upgrade to FTTP if they take out an eligible high-speed service.

City-level competition

Move the slider over to 'City' and the results become much more varied, with cities from North and South America, Asia and Europe all jostling for position. Valparaíso in Chile takes the crown with a huge 425.84Mbps, followed by Abu Dhabi with 399.92Mbps, for example. Australian cities evidently have some work to do.

Scroll down to position 64 and you hit Melbourne with a median download speed of 177.69Mbps — faster than Australia's national median, it must be said — while Sydney trails behind in position 76 with a meagre 149.91Mbps. A difference of 27.78Mbps might not sound like much, but Melbourne's median result is around 18.5% faster than Sydney's. When intercity tensions are already high, that's a huge bragging right for the southerners.

Explaining Melbourne's edge

Nobody ever wants to be seen as the weaker of two, and while the reported figures are great news for people in Victoria, there are potentially a plethora of factors at play that pave the way for a Melbourne victory. We're not here to make excuses, of course, but there are plenty of unknowns.

Firstly, there could simply be a larger proportion of Melburnians connected via superior fibre-to-the-premises infrastructure. FTTP allows households to access the fastest NBN plans, including the newer multi-gigabit options where available. While it's not totally conclusive, there is some evidence to support this idea. That evidence is publicly available technology-mix figures, although they're reported at a state level, rather than for Greater Melbourne and Greater Sydney specifically. Data compiled from NBN rollout information indicates Victoria has a higher share of premises using FTTP than NSW — roughly 66% versus 60% — while it also indicates there are more active connections on the inferior fibre to the node (FTTN) connection type in NSW too.

This doesn't completely settle the argument. The figures not only include regional areas, but they also show the technology available to a property, as opposed to an active plan supplying an address.

Private fibre networks and testing habits

Furthermore, on the subject of NBN, Ookla's Speedtest results don't only capture NBN connections, but fixed-broadband tests from other fixed networks too, including private fibre operators. Both Melbourne and Sydney are home to several such networks, including Vocus, GigaComm and OptiComm, while Melbourne also has DGtek — a private FTTP network concentrated in the city's CBD and inner south-east. Exact figures for active connections on those networks are tricky to come by. But if Melbourne has a higher concentration of people connected to these kinds of high-speed private fibre services, they could be recording considerably quicker test results and helping push its city median upwards.

Another potential explainer is the way Ookla collects its data. Whereas the ACCC's Measuring Broadband Report — which published its final instalment in June 2026 — monitors a selected group of Australian homes across nine popular ISPs, Ookla receives data when people choose to run a Speedtest. This doesn't mean someone repeatedly checking their connection can single-handedly skew the data, as Ookla averages each unique user's results into a single sample for the relevant time period and location. Still, the results are dependent on who chooses to test. Melbourne's sample could contain a different mix of internet plans, connection technologies, devices and Wi-Fi setups than Sydney's.

The home equipment factor

Home equipment can make a considerable difference too. A household with a Wi-Fi 5 router tucked away in a cupboard, a busy 2.4GHz network and a phone testing from the other end of the house could record a much slower result than the same connection tested over Ethernet. On the flip side, a newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 router, a properly positioned mesh system and a compatible device can give a household a far better chance of getting close to the speeds it actually pays for. That doesn't make the underlying internet plan any faster, of course — it simply means the home network is less likely to be the bottleneck.

If your own Speedtest result seems suspiciously low, it may be worth checking out a guide to the best mesh Wi-Fi systems to find out if your home could benefit from an upgrade. And, trying to claw a point back for Sydney, it can be argued that people often run a speed test when their internet connection starts lagging. While Melbourne's median tested speed is higher, that doesn't necessarily mean every connection in the city is consistently faster or more reliable.

What this means for you

This data doesn't just fuel city rivalry — it has practical implications for anyone trying to get the most out of their broadband connection. The fact that Melbourne's median is higher than Sydney's doesn't guarantee you'll get faster speeds depending on your suburb, your NBN technology, and your plan. The persistent gap between national and city medians suggests that many households are still on lower-speed tiers, which can limit their online experience.

For consumers, the takeaway is that your plan and technology matter. If you're on an older NBN connection type, you might be missing out on faster speeds that are available in your area. The free fibre upgrade program is one option to consider, but it requires taking out an eligible high-speed plan. Checking your own Speedtest results and understanding the factors that influence them can help you make informed decisions about your internet service, whether you're in Melbourne, Sydney, or anywhere else in Australia.