Buckle up, folks – we’re roughly three months out from one of the biggest shake-ups to the NBN in years.
Not only are we expecting the arrival of multi-gigabit NBN 2000 plans, but the current crop of fastest NBN plans are also set for speed increases of their own. Perhaps the most exciting of these relates to the best NBN 100 plans, which are set to receive a 5x boost to a maximum of 500Mbps download speeds – provided you’re on the right type of physical NBN connection.
While we don’t have official confirmation yet of what they’ll be called, we’ve chosen to dub these as "NBN 500 plans" and, on paper at least, they could well offer the best value in the entire NBN lineup.
Sound exciting? We couldn’t agree more. But what exactly are NBN 500 plans, can you sign up for one, and how much will they cost? We’ve dug deep into all the information currently available to bring you the answers.
When will NBN 500 plans be available?
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NBN Co has identified September 14, 2025, as the all-important date for its proposed speed increases. It’s the day when the speed boost for NBN 100 plans will be enabled from NBN Co’s side, and NBN 500 plans will be also available for retail service providers (RSPs) to purchase at a wholesale level.
Currently, NBN 100 plans are officially referred to as ‘Home Fast’ plans and, as far as we’re aware, this won’t change.
As we noted with NBN 2000 plans, which go live on the same date, we can’t confidently say that those on NBN 100 will see an immediate speed boost on this day, or that you’ll be able to switch to an NBN 500 plan at this time, because RSPs will likely need to make backend adjustments before rolling them out to customers.
NBN Co’s official wording states: “Customers that have already purchased [an NBN 100, NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plan], or upgrade at any time in the future, will automatically accelerate to the new, faster speeds when the accelerated plans are made available by participating retailers.”
We’d argue RSPs should be able to deliver the increased speeds to customers quicker than they roll out the new multi-gigabit plans, given the fact that it’s simply an upgrade to an existing product that shouldn’t require any changes to NBN hardware for end users. As is often the case, we’ll be watching this space and updating this article with new information as soon as it becomes available.
How fast will NBN 500 plans be?
As is the case with all speed tier naming conventions, NBN 500 plans will offer a theoretical maximum download speed of 500Mbps – five times the current maximum of the NBN 100 plans they’ll replace. Upload speeds will also increase from the current maximum of 20Mbps to 50Mbps.
As with all fixed-line NBN speeds over 100Mbps, NBN 500 plans will only be available to customers who connect to the network via a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection. If you currently connect via fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC), then you won’t have the technology to support the faster speeds.
If you’re not sure what connection type you have at home, you can use NBN Co’s address checker. If you find you do connect via either of the inferior technologies (FTTN/C), then you may be eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade program, which provides a full fibre FTTP installation at your address.
If your home isn’t currently in an eligible upgrade location, or you choose not to upgrade, then following the introduction of the new tiers, you’ll likely still see NBN 100 as your fastest possible option and not NBN 500. If you can take advantage of the upgrade as soon as possible, you’ll be in the best position come September when the increased speeds take effect.
How much will NBN 500 plans cost?
Aside from the major speed increase, the best part of the proposed speed upgrade is that it should, in theory, not cost you extra each month.
We say ‘in theory’ because, while NBN Co has said the extra speed benefits will be made available at no additional wholesale cost, RSPs will still be free to price them as they see fit.
Prior to the rollout, however, NBN 100 plans are earmarked for a wholesale price increase from July, and this will see many providers increase their retail cost by a few dollars each month. These price increases were laid out in NBN Co’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU) published way back in 2023, and so don’t come as a total shock.
We’d of course hope that prices don’t increase any further in September, but we’ll have to wait and see how providers choose to handle the rollout.
Should I get an NBN 500 plan?
In some ways, this is a tricky question to answer. If you’re already signed up to an NBN 100 plan and you connect via FTTP or HFC, then in theory you’ll automatically be moved over to an NBN 500 plan at no extra cost.
However, there’s a strong case to be made for everyone else – even those who are signed up to one of the best NBN 1000 plans – to switch to a NBN 500 plan once they’ve launched. This is because we believe the combination of fast speeds (500Mbps should service the majority of Australian homes more than adequately) and the great value already offered by NBN 100 plans (which generally cost less than AU$10 p/m more than slower NBN 50 plans), makes for a potent combination.
We’d even go as far as saying we reckon they could become the most popular NBN plan of them all – a position currently held by NBN 50 plans, which make up around two-thirds of fixed-line NBN subscriptions at the time of writing.
If you’re currently signed up to one of the best NBN 250 plans, then you will also receive a speed increase to 750Mbps. If you think this might be a bit of overkill, then dropping down to an NBN 500 plan will likely save you some money – depending on the provider you choose, of course.
What NBN plans can I get now?
If you want to try out faster speeds today, Superloop has an amazing EOFY offer on its gigabit plan, that will net you some of the fastest speeds currently available in the country. Remember, you will need an FTTP or HFC connection to sign up.
The deal applies just to the first six months of service, but once this period ends, NBN 500 plans should be widely available so you'll be able to switch down to a 500Mbps service if the regular price of gigabit is too hard on the wallet.
On the other hand, if you're happy to wait, these are our favourite NBN 100 plans, which should see an upgrade to NBN 500 later this year – although note that neither provider has officially confirmed what its plans are yet, so exactly when and how those upgrades will arrive is still unknown.
