The best 5G home internet plans in Australia can offer a genuine alternative to the NBN. If you live in an eligible area, 5G home broadband plans have the potential to give you superfast download speeds at home, that you’re unable to get through a fixed-line NBN connection.
This is because Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have invested more in the technology and rolled it out to five of Australia’s major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra (albeit still in select areas within these).
Therein does lie a limitation of 5G home broadband. For you to be able to truly take advantage of the technology, you need to be living in an area with good 5G network coverage. Telstra currently offers the farthest reaching 5G coverage, claiming to cover 80% of the Australian population. Optus and Vodafone do both cover Australian cities, but not quite to the same extent.
If you do live in an area with 5G network coverage, and 5G home internet is available (5G mobile coverage doesn’t necessarily mean there will be 5G home internet coverage) then it’s worth considering your home internet options. In fact, it could give you similar speeds to NBN for a more affordable monthly fee, or internet speeds faster than NBN for a similar price.
Best 5G home internet plans
Because 5G is still in its relative infancy, there is only a small handful of telcos who currently supply it. The major telcos of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all offer plans, along with a handful of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) including Internode, Spintel and iiNet. These are the best 5G home internet plans for each of the providers.
What is 5G home internet?
5G home internet works in much the same way as 5G mobile internet. It relies on 5G data signals being sent from antennas to a modem in your home, which receives the signal and sends it out as a Wi-Fi signal. You then connect your devices to the Wi-Fi network in the same way you would if you had an NBN connection.
5G has the capability to support greater capacity and faster speeds than the previous 4G technology, and can even achieve speeds greater than the NBN.
How fast is 5G home broadband?
5G home broadband can theoretically achieve speeds up to 1,000Mbps, although in reality, you're unlikely to experience this. Telstra offers some of the fastest average 5G home broadband download speeds, at 378Mbps. However, the telco says real world speeds can range from anywhere between 50Mbps - 600Mbps.
5G home internet plans may cap speeds at 50Mbps or 100Mbps, but some offer uncapped speeds. The speed you can get will depend on the strength of the network in your area.
Is 5G home internet better than NBN?
While 5G home internet can potentially achieve much faster speeds than NBN, its availability is currently far more limited. However, if 5G home broadband is available in your area, it is much easier to get connected to the internet. You don’t need to have a technician come to your address to install any equipment – instead, when your 5G modem arrives, you just need to plug it in, wait for it to connect to a 5G signal, and you’re done.
So, it’s not necessarily better than NBN, but if you are in an area that can take advantage of 5G, then we recommend it as something to consider.
What is the cheapest 5G home internet?
The cheapest 5G home internet plan in Australia is provided by either TPG, iiNet or Internode. All three telcos currently offer a 5G home internet plan that costs AU$59.99p/m, all of which come with the first month for free.
Optus also currently has a 5G home internet plan that costs AU$59p/m for the first 6 months, before increasing to AU$69p/m.
All four of these 5G plans mentioned have their download speed capped to a maximum of 50Mbps.
When will 5G internet be available in my area?
If you live in one of Australia's major cities, there's a good chance you'll already have access to a 5G network. If you're not currently in an area served by 5G, then you will almost definitely be able to connect to a 4G signal.
The major telcos have all said they're working to make 5G available around the country, but naturally, these things take time. And, to make matters a little more confusing, just because you might be able to get a 5G connection on your smartphone, doesn't mean you will be able to get 5G home internet.
Click the links below to check the current 5G network coverage maps of each 5G home internet provider.