In the current climate where tech devices seem to be rocketing in price due to the global memory shortage (Apple just annouced some pretty brutal hikes, as has Xbox), buying a new Wi-Fi router has now become one of the most affordable - and impactful - ways to upgrade the devices in your home, and for Prime Day, Amazon has cut the price on a number of its eero routers, including the three-pack eero 6+ mesh Wi-Fi system, which is now $194.99 (down from $299.99).

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Mesh routers are fantastic devices for ensuring every device in your home can access your Wi-Fi. Unlike single routers, mesh routers consist of several units that wirelessly connect to one another and help spread their Wi-Fi signal throughout your home.

Because so many devices in our homes need internet connections these days, making sure you have fast, reliable Wi-Fi can boost the performance of a wide range of devices in your home.

And while the likes of laptops, tablets, graphics cards, and other memory-dependent devices are seeing price hikes, mesh routers aren't as affected. So, rather than despairing over constantly rising prices, check out these eero router deals below and upgrade your entire home's internet instead.

Today's best eero router deals

All of these eero systems benefit from an easy, app-based installation process, automatic updates to keep your home secure, and they also act as an Alexa smart home hub, allowing your smart devices to be controlled by an Alexa-capable smart speaker.

Not in the US? Check out these eero deals where you are:

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK (DELETE IF US ONLY DEAL)

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

It’s been just over a month since NBN Co confirmed that it would be increasing wholesale prices on its entire plan lineup at the turn of the new financial year — which starts July 1 — and that means your NBN plan will likely receive an unwelcome hike as a result.

In fact, I’ve already spotted a few providers revealing that select plans will indeed go up in price from July 1. Superloop has announced that all plans except for its NBN 100, NBN 500 and NBN 750 options will increase by up to AU$6 a month. Aussie Broadband is following suit, with select plans increasing by as much as AU$4 a month.

To put it simply, there’s a very good chance that your current NBN plan will also increase in price when your first post-July billing cycle comes due. The best way to avoid any changes (at least for the next six months) is to switch your NBN plan to a new provider that’s offering an introductory discount.

Coincidentally, now’s a great time to be shopping for an NBN bargain, with the June EOFY sales revealing plenty of deals from a wide range of internet service providers (ISPs), including total discounts of AU$240 and some that run a full 12 months. You’ll need to hurry to take advantage though, as many of these deals expire at the end of the month. If you need some direction, below are my current top plan picks.

If you want to view more options, check out my guides to the best NBN plans and the fastest NBN plans, while also checking out the latest internet deals.

Superloop, one of our favourite internet service providers (ISP) here at TechRadar — and recipient of our Best High-Speed NBN Provider Award — has recently made a couple of announcements that could have a major impact on how much you pay for internet over the next 24 months.

Firstly, the telco has announced that it will be increasing prices on the majority of its NBN plan lineup from July 1, as a direct response to the wholesale price hikes being introduced by NBN Co. We already knew the wholesale price increases were coming, so it’s not a huge surprise to learn Superloop is passing the cost onto consumers. We fully expect most other NBN providers to follow suit.

The slight saving grace is that Superloop isn’t increasing the cost of its NBN 100, NBN 500 or NBN 750 plans, at least not for the upcoming financial year. What it chooses to do for FY27 is anyone’s guess right now.

That means price hikes are only being applied to NBN 25, NBN 50, NBN 250, NBN 1000 and NBN 2000 plans. Prices will go up from as low as AU$3 per month and up to AU$6 per month. The biggest increase will apply to the NBN 25 plan, which will set you back AU$78p/m after any introductory costs.

For context, the NBN 50 plan (with double the speed) will retail for AU$89p/m, while the faster NBN 100 and NBN 500 plans will cost AU$95 (no change).

It’s clear, then, that upgrading to a faster plan will make more economical sense than ever, with a AU$17 gap between a 25Mbps plan and one that offers up to 500Mbps download speeds (if you have the right connection type to support them).

The full table of Superloop NBN plan price increases from July 1 is below.

How to avoid the price increases

While the planned price hikes don’t come as too much of a surprise, they’re undoubtedly going to be hard to stomach for many customers — both those already signed with Superloop, and any potential customers who were thinking of switching to the well-rated telco.

Fortunately, Superloop is offering a way to avoid them, at least for the next 24 months, with a feature called PriceLock.

PriceLock does exactly what it suggests; it lets you lock in a monthly fee for two years, for a one-off fee of AU$25. If you were to sign up with Superloop today and activate PriceLock, you would effectively avoid the July increases.

However, the amount you actually stand to save with PriceLock firstly depends on which NBN plan you have. Considering the NBN 100, NBN 500 and NBN 750 plans aren’t receiving a price increase from July 1 means there’s no real point in activating PriceLock.

Having said that, Superloop could increase the cost in 2027, in which case locking in the current price would be worth it. For a one-off fee of AU$25, it would still be worth activating the feature in our opinion. At the very least, it would provide peace of mind knowing how much your monthly NBN bill will be for the next two years.

• View the latest internet deals

A prime time to sign

Removing PriceLock from the equation, now is still a great time to consider switching to Superloop. The telco is offering a few EOFY deals on its NBN plans, and giving you the chance to buy an Eero 7 modem and receive a second absolutely free — ideal for building a mesh Wi-Fi system for greater network coverage at home.

What’s more, all Superloop NBN plans have a six-month introductory price, which would also help you avoid the planned price hikes for a short time. When the introductory offer ends, you will pay the new price, assuming you choose one of the plans that will go up.

I’ve picked my two favourite Superloop plans below, but make sure to check out the full lineup in the price comparison tool.

• SMBs are suffering due to unreliable Wi-Fi connection
• UK small businesses are losing an average of 11 hours a week to Wi-Fi disruption
• Almost half (47%) of business leaders said they would feel more confident if they could improve connectivity reliability

Small businesses are seeinn major productivity issues due to disruption caused by their Wi-Fi connectivity, new research has claimed.

The findings from Zen Internet claim small businesses are losing an average of 11 hours a week due to connection issues.

And this isn't just a minor annoyance or loss of network - nearly 4 in 10 SMBs say the problems are directly costing them revenue.

Wi-Fi causing problems

The scale of the issue was perhaps best reflected by the finding that almost half (47%) of the business leaders surveyed for the report saying they would feel more confident in their company’s success if they could improve connectivity reliability.

Half of senior business decision makers said poor Wi-Fi coverage inside their premises limits the value they get from broadband connectivity, while 39% say connectivity issues are directly causing lost revenue.

“We often talk about productivity in terms of skills, investment and innovation, but digital reliability has become just as fundamental," noted Jon Nowell, managing director of Zen’s business division.

“For many SMEs, poor in-building connectivity is now a hidden operational cost. If businesses are expected to modernise and grow, the technology experience inside offices, retail spaces and hospitality venues has to keep pace too.”

The research also found connectivity problems were affecting day-to-day running of a business, as 23% said connectivity disruption impacts communication with customers or suppliers.

A similar amount (22%) say it directly slows down operations, 21% said it disrupts digital payments, and 22% said it contributes to lost sales or missed opportunities.

“Small businesses are under pressure to operate faster, serve customers seamlessly and rely more heavily on cloud-based systems, digital payments and connected devices than ever before," added Nowell.

“But too many businesses still have a disconnect between the broadband coming into the building and the actual experience staff and customers are getting day to day."

“You can have access to full fibre, but if the WiFi inside the premises isn’t reliable, businesses still lose productivity, sales opportunities and operational efficiency.”

• Vodafone launches 5G home broadband
• The move opens up 'full fibre-like speeds' to 3.7 million more homes, and over 26 million homes in total
• Renters can benefit from a one-month rolling contract option

If you’re living in short-term accommodation or somewhere without access to full fibre, Vodafone’s new 5G broadband packages could be for you.

The company is now offering “full fibre-like speeds” to customers via 5G, opening up high-speed internet connectivity to the 3.7 million UK homes that still struggle with the unreliable speeds offered by part-fibre or copper wires.

The move will also benefit students and renters in short-term accommodation, as Vodafone’s 5G broadband package is available on either a one-month rolling contract or traditional 24-month contract — its full fibre packages, by comparison, are only available on the latter contract.

Vodafone’s 5G Power Hub router can be self-installed — it doesn’t require an engineer visit, nor an existing landline to be set up — it’s powered by Wi-Fi 6, and Vodafone promises speeds of up to 150Mbps. That’s around three times faster than the typical part-fibre speed.

Is 150Mbps fast enough for gamers? Definitely. But Vodafone does caveat its offering by saying that “because it’s wireless, speeds can fluctuate at times based on signal strength, how far you are from the mast and how busy the local network is at any given time. Placing your 5G Hub in the best position possible will help maintain a stable, reliable connection.”

The company will also soon launch an outdoor 5G hub, should your 5G signal be stronger outdoors than indoors. This hub will “lock on to the strongest 5G signal available in the area and connect directly to the indoor Power Hub router,” delivering “a consistent connection throughout the home.”

Until now, Three was the only major UK broadband provider to offer 5G broadband — but even that package was (and still is) offered on a minimum 12-month plan. Vodafone’s merger with Three in June 2025 has clearly allowed the former to make use of the latter’s infrastructure: “The integration of Vodafone and Three’s networks is supercharging VodafoneThree’s 5G footprint, enabling Vodafone 5G Broadband to reach millions more homes with high-speed connectivity,” Vodafone said in a statement.

Vodafone’s 5G broadband is available now for £21 per month on a 24-month contract, or £30 per month on a rolling 30-day contract. Those prices are for the 50Mbps plan; they rise to £22 and £32, respectively, for the 150Mbps plan.

As part of a push to ensure as many Australians as possible are connected to fast, reliable internet, for the last few years NBN Co has been offering homes that currently connect to the fixed-line network via older copper-based technologies – such as fibre to the node (FTTN) and fibre to the curb (FTTC) – the opportunity to upgrade to superior fibre to the premises (FTTP) technology for free.

Up until now, the FTTP upgrade has been entirely optional for eligible premises, with the only caveat being that would-be upgraders need to sign up for one of the fastest NBN plans through a supporting internet service provider (ISP). However, from July 1, 2026 that latter requirement is being scrapped for certain premises – and the upgrade itself will no longer be optional.

If you’ve been holding out on enacting the upgrade, then your hand may soon be forced, as NBN Co has announced a new Targeted Upgrade program that it says will require 130,000 specific homes and businesses to upgrade from copper-based services to full-fibre technology. The program is currently scheduled to start midway through 2027.

NBN Co says the premises identified to receive the upgrade will start being sent official notifications from July 2027. If your home or business is one of those identified for the program, then there’s no real downside to taking it up – optical fibre NBN connections support massively faster speeds and are generally more reliable than older legacy technologies.

What’s more, in the official press release, NBN Co has made it clear that it plans to eventually disconnect all copper services at the premises the program targets, saying “the first suspensions of legacy copper services where a fibre upgrade order has not been placed are not expected to occur until January 2028.”

In short, if you don’t take up the free upgrade to full fibre, then you’ll eventually be left without a fixed-line internet connection. Reminders will be sent at six months before disconnection, three months before and 30 days before. If you ignore all of them, then your service will ultimately be suspended.

NBN Co adds that safeguards will be in place, however, including “the option to extend or defer before a service is suspended, and case‑managed support, particularly for customers who need additional assistance.”

Don't delay, upgrade today

If you know your home currently connects via FTTN or FTTC technology, then now’s a good time to begin preparing for the upgrade. Even if your home isn’t one of the initial 130,000 selected, it likely will be eventually.

Whether you’re on the list or not, if you connect via a legacy copper tech then there’s a good chance your home is already eligible for an upgrade. If what’s holding you back is uncertainty about what provider to pick, I’ve selected a few of my favourite NBN plans below that make the most of the superior full-fibre technology.

In fact, now’s actually a great time to consider switching your NBN provider, as the yearly price hike is also around the corner, and you can almost always find a better deal if you shop around.

It’s been a year since I last reported on NBN Co’s wholesale price increases, and I find myself doing the same again. Yes, we’re fast approaching the start of a new financial year in Australia, and while that means some excellent deals and discounts are on the horizon by way of the EOFY sales, it does also mean that NBN plan prices are set for a hike.

As was the case last year, I’m not entirely shocked by this news, as NBN Co made clear its stance on pricing adjustments within its Special Access Undertaking (SAU) regulatory framework that was revised in 2023, and subsequently accepted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). It currently lays out pricing roadmaps up to June 30, 2029.

This year, the wholesale price increases max out at AU$2.34 for select plans, and are as low as AU$1.08 in the case of the NBN 25 speed tier.

The popular NBN 50 tier is one of the few to get the maximum increase, seeing its wholesale price rise from AU$55.26 to AU$57.60. NBN 500 plans will see their wholesale cost increase by AU$2.32, going from AU$58.53 at present to AU$60.85.

The effect that will have on the best NBN plans come July 1 (or shortly thereafter) remains to be seen, but the wholesale increases are higher than they were this time last year at AU$0.66 to AU$1.71. While we don’t yet know if and how these wholesale price increases will affect the monthly cost to consumers, I do have some experience to make some logical assumptions.

Last year, I saw slower plans — NBN 25 and NBN 50 — increase by up to AU$5p/m. NBN 100 plan prices also increased with select providers. However, the faster plans such as NBN 1000 steadily decreased in price. This year, then, I'm expecting similar moves to be made, as there's evidently a push for more Australians to sign up for the fastest NBN plans.

Lock in before it’s too late

The good news is that there are ways you can avoid being affected by the changes, and that’s to switch your NBN plan to a new provider offering an introductory discount.

Most providers offer a discount for the first 6 months, while some are currently offering a full year of savings, including Kogan Internet and Vodafone. If you do switch to a new provider offering a discount, they’ll need to honour it, meaning you can avoid the expectant price hikes for a good deal longer.

Do note that once your introductory discount period comes to an end, you’ll need to pay the new ongoing rate for your chosen plan, even if it has increased. Your ISP should contact you ahead of time detailing the price increases you can expect.

So, which plans do I currently recommend? Kogan Internet’s NBN 500 plan is a great starting point, as it comes with a full 12-month discount and a low cost of just AU$71.90p/m.

Across other speed tiers, Spintel and Dodo are great options, offering the cheapest introductory rates for six months on the NBN 25 and NBN 50 speed tiers, respectively. Dodo also has the cheapest introductory cost on the faster NBN 1000 speed tier.

If you’re considering switching, below are all my current recommendations across the different NBN speed tiers. I’ve included the current ongoing monthly charge, but do note this has the potential to change:

• NBN 25: Spintel AU$39p/m (first 6 months, then AU$64.95p/m)
• NBN 25: Flip AU$48p/m (first 6 months, then AU$59.90p/m)
• NBN 50: Dodo AU$54p/m (first 6 months, then AU$85.99p/m)
• NBN 50: Kogan Internet AU$70.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU$80.90p/m)
• NBN 100: Kogan Internet AU$71.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU$85.90p/m)
• NBN 500: Kogan Internet AU$71.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU$85.90p/m)
• NBN 500: Exetel AU$80p/m
• NBN 750: Dodo AU$68p/m (first 6 months, then AU$99.99p/m)
• NBN 1000: Dodo AU$78p/m (first 6 months, then AU$109.99p/m)
• NBN 1000: Superloop AU$85p/m (first 6 months, then AU$109p/m)

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next one-minute review

Devolo’s range of Magic PowerLine adaptors is aptly named, as PowerLine technology has always seemed like magic to me.

If your home or office has thick walls or other barriers that block the Wi-Fi signal then a set of powerline adaptors can be plugged into the mains power sockets in any room and can magically transmit your Internet connection over your existing mains electrical wiring.

That allows powerline adaptors to provide a wired network connection in rooms that a conventional Wi-Fi router or range extender might not be able to reach.

Devolo has long been a leader in powerline technology, but its current range of ‘Magic 2’ adaptors also throw in some extra Wi-Fi features as well. The adaptors use powerline to provide a wired connection in any room, but the Magic 2 adaptors can also transmit a Wi-Fi signal as well, allowing you to go wireless even in rooms that normally suffer from an annoying Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’.

The latest addition to Devolo’s range is the ‘Magic 2 WiFi 6 next’. That’s a clumsy, clunky name, but it provides fast, reliable wired and wireless connections that may be perfect for many homes and offices – including the back office in my own building that my normal office router struggles to reach.

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next review: Price & release date

• How much does it cost? £409.99/ €469.00
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: UK, EU

Devolo’s product names can be a bit confusing, so it’s important to make sure you buy the correct model. There’s an older model still on sale called the Magic 2 WiFi next, which used Wi-Fi 5. The first model to adopt Wi-Fi 6 was called Magic 2 WiFi 6, and that’s still available as well. The new model that we review here also uses Wi-Fi 6 but is faster than its predecessor, so it’s called the ‘Magic 2 WiFi 6 next’. So watch out for ‘WiFi 6 next’ if you want to buy the latest model.

There are also a number of different options available for the new Magic 2 WiFi 6 next. There’s a Starter Kit that includes two PowerLine adaptors, priced at £239.99, but we tested the Multiroom Kit that provides three adaptors for £409.99.

You can also buy a single add-on adaptor to extend an existing Devolo network for £179.99. That’s fairly expensive, as the Magic 2 range combines both PowerLine and Wi-Fi connectivity, but if you do have some sort of Wi-Fi deadspot in your home or office, then it may be worth paying a bit extra to get a reliable network connection that extends throughout the whole building.

The bad news, though, is that the Germany-based Devolo focuses primarily on its home market in Europe. Its products are sometimes available from online retailers in other regions, but you’ll need to check that the product’s power supply is suitable for use in your particular region.

• Value: 4/5

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next review: Specs

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next review: Design

• Simple, compact design
• Adaptors plug straight into mains power sockets
• Electrical passthrough socket on each adaptor

The Multiroom Kit that I review here includes three Magic 2 adaptors that look very similar, but they work in slightly different ways. All three adaptors are simple white, rectangular units that plug straight into a mains power socket (with two- or three-pin plugs available for most European countries).

Each adaptor also has an electrical ‘passthrough’ socket on the front, which allows you to plug other electrical devices into the Magic 2 adaptor so that you don’t lose the use of that power socket.

However, the first adaptor – referred to as the ‘Magic LAN’ – is slightly smaller than the other two, and has to be plugged into a mains power socket close to your existing broadband router. There’s a single Ethernet port on the top panel of this adaptor, which allows you to connect it to your broadband router using the Ethernet cable that is included in the box. This first adaptor simply provides the main powerline connection so that your network data can be transmitted over your mains wiring.

The other two adaptors – referred to as ‘Magic WiFi’ – can be plugged into a mains socket in any room that suffers from weak Wi-Fi. This allows them to receive network data over the mains wiring, and each of these adaptors has two Ethernet ports on the top to provide a wired connection for computers and other devices.

But, of course, many recent computers and mobile devices now lack an Ethernet port, so the Magic WiFi adaptors also house four internal antenna – hence their larger size – that can transmit a Wi-Fi signal as well. This allows you to connect computers or mobile devices to the Magic WiFi adaptors via Wi-Fi, and the adaptors can then transmit your network data to your broadband router using their powerline connection.

My only complaint here is that placing the Ethernet ports on the top of the adaptors looks a bit untidy, as it leaves you with Ethernet cables sticking straight up into the air. Placing the ports on the base instead would be tidier, allowing you to run the cables down onto the floor to keep them out of sight.

• Design: 4/5

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next review: Features

• Combines Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity
• App combines 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands
• Unhelpful documentation

The Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next kit supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6 using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, with a top speed of 3.0Gbps, while the primary powerline connection over your mains network runs at 2.4Gbps. And, as mentioned, the two larger adaptors also provide two Ethernet ports each to provide a wired connection when required.

Setting up the initial powerline connection is straightforward enough, as the Magic 2 adaptors automatically connect to each other over the mains network in order to provide a wired network connection.

However, using the Wi-Fi features of the two Magic 2 adaptors proved a little tricky – mainly because the text in Devolo’s app and QuickStart guide is poorly written and confusing.

When you’re getting started, for instance, the app repeatedly refers to ‘Unknown WiFi’ rather than simply telling you the default name of the new Wi-Fi network created by your adaptors.

I'm used to using powerline adaptors, so I was able to guess my way through the process of setting up the Magic 2 WiFi 6 next in my back office.

However, new users who don’t have much experience of network settings and powerline adaptors could easily become confused here, so Devolo needs to clarify its instructions for first-time users.

But, thankfully, once that’s done the Magic 2 adaptors work well, and the app automatically combines the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands into a single network, and uses ‘bandsteering’ to automatically connect your computers and other devices to whichever band provides the best performance in that location.

• Features: 3/5

Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next review: Performance

• Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 at 3.0Gbps
• PowerLine at 2.4Gbps
• 2x Gigabit Ethernet

As I mentioned, the PowerLine connection provided by the Magic 2 adaptors runs at 2.4Gbps, while the Wi-Fi connection steps up to 3.6Gbps. Those speeds are pretty modest compared to the latest Wi-Fi 7 routers and range extenders, but powerline products are primarily designed to provide a good, reliable network connection rather than focusing on pure speed.

That’s exactly what I need in my back office, where the poor Wi-Fi from my office router means that I already have to rely on powerline adaptors to provide a wired network connection.

Those adaptors are a few years old, though, and can only manage a speed of around 100Mbps for both Steam downloads and the Ookla Speedtest. That’s adequate for email and web browsing in my office, but it’s still well below the maximum 150Mbps available with my office broadband.

My old powerline adaptors don’t have the additional Wi-Fi features provided by the Magic 2 WiFi 6 next either, so I was eager to find out if Devolo could give me a good Wi-Fi connection in that office as well.

Starting with a simple wired Ethernet connection, the Magic 2 WiFi 6 next had no trouble hitting the full 150Mbps for Steam downloads and the Ookla SpeedTest. And, as I unplugged the Ethernet cables and switched to a Wi-Fi connection instead, I was pleased to find that those speeds remained stable, smoothly running at 150Mbps and finally giving me a decent Wi-Fi connection in that office at long last.

Many people may find that a less expensive range extender helps to improve their Wi-Fi in a basement or upstairs bedroom. And, of course, there are less expensive PowerLine kits available as well, which don’t have the additional Wi-Fi features of the Magic 2 WiFi 6 next. But, if you need PowerLine to fix an annoying Wi-Fi deadspot, and you want the extra convenience of a Wi-Fi connection as well, then a ‘best of both worlds’ powerline kit such as the Magic 2 WiFi 6 next can really earn its keep.

• Performance: 4/5

Should I buy the Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: April 2026

D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95: One-minute review

Most routers are fairly boring black boxes that just sit in a corner and occasionally flash a few lights at you.

However, D-Link has decided to go its own way with its new R95, which is part of the company’s Aquila Pro AI range (yes, AI has even got into routers now). The router’s sweeping curves look more like the wings of an aquatic manta ray than a conventional router.

It’s not clear if that design has any practical function, but it certainly looks interesting, and the use of tri-band Wi-Fi 7 ensures that the R95 will really make your wireless network fly at top speed. It also provides good support for older computers and mobile devices that may not have Wi-Fi 7.

D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95 review: Price & release date

• How much does it cost? $254.99/£180 (around AU$355)
• When is it available? Now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK

Wi-Fi 7 routers are still fairly expensive, but the R95 is competitively priced for a high-end Wi-Fi 7 router, costing $254.99/£180, which compares well with high-end rivals such as the Acer Predator T7.

Unfortunately, Wi-Fi 7 products still tend to take a while to reach Australia, and the R95 isn’t currently available in that region, although the US price translates to approximately AU$355.

D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95 review: Specs

D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95 review: Features

• Eye-catching design
• Well-designed app
• Dual-network support

The external design of the R95 is certainly its most obvious feature, with gracefully curved ‘wings’ that look nothing like any conventional router that we’ve seen recently. The real headline feature, though, is the router’s performance, boasting tri-band Wi-Fi 7 that uses the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands to provide a total speed of 9.5Gbps (strictly speaking, it’s actually 9,334Mbps, but manufacturers always like to round these numbers up).

It devotes two of its four antennae exclusively to the high-speed 6.0GHz band in order to provide maximum performance for computers and mobile devices that support Wi-Fi 7, while the other two antennae handle the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands for older devices. Its wired connectivity is right up to date as well, with a 2.5Gb Ethernet port available for high-speed broadband services, and three more 2.5Gb ports for connecting devices, such as a PC, games console or smart-TV, that will benefit from a lag-free wired connection.

The Aquila app works well too, allowing you to quickly scan a QR code in order to connect to the R95’s new network. It then gives you the option of simply keeping the default name and password for the R95 network, or changing the name and password for extra security.

And, in order to provide the best performance for different types of devices, the Aquila app creates two separate networks, with the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands combined into a single network for older computers, while the 6.0GHz band creates a separate network for newer devices that do support Wi-Fi 7.

You also have the option of creating a guest network that provides only limited access for visitors and guests, and a separate IoT network (Internet of Things) for smart lights, security cameras, and other smart devices. The R95 also supports the Matter standard for controlling smart home devices, and can be used to create a mesh network when used with other Asus routers or range extenders.

Our only complaint is that the parental controls within the app are fairly basic. The app does allow you to create a schedule to limit Internet access for the devices used by your children, but its web filtering options require you to manually enter the web address for any unsuitable sites that you want to block. It doesn’t provide the preset filters that are available with some of its rivals, which automatically block different categories of unsuitable material, such as ‘violent’, ‘adult’ or ‘gambling’.

• Features: 4.5/5

D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95 review: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 7
• 2.5Gb Ethernet ports
• Dedicated 6.0GHz network

My old office router is crying out for an upgrade, as it only supports the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands that are available with Wi-Fi 5 and 6. It can provide decent performance for devices that are nearby, but struggles to reach an office at the back of the building, where I have to use PowerLine adaptors to provide a more reliable wired connection.

The office broadband runs at 150Mbps, but the 2.4GHz band of the old router can only manage a speed of around 70Mbps for nearby devices for both Steam downloads and the Ookla Speedtest. The 5.0GHz band works better, giving a full 150Mbps for devices that are nearby but, as mentioned, the router’s Wi-Fi signal isn’t strong enough to reach all the way to that back office.

The R95 eliminated my Wi-Fi problems with no trouble at all. Even its slower network, using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, immediately hit the full 150Mbps for nearby devices for both Steam and Ookla. More importantly, it reaches right into the back office as well, and achieves full speed in both tests. It did take a few seconds for Steam downloads in that office to ramp up from 130Mbps to 150Mbps, but the R95 was then able to maintain that speed consistently.

Given the strong performance of that 2.4GHz/5.0GHz network, I wasn’t surprised to find that the faster 6.0GHz network hit the ground running, immediately hitting 150Mbps for both Steam and Ookla, and maintaining full speed throughout my tests.

There are less expensive routers that only provide dual-band Wi-Fi 7 – omitting the high-speed 6.0GHz band – and these can be a good option for people who own older computers and mobile devices that don’t need the full speed of Wi-Fi 7. But if you have a gaming PC or other devices that do support Wi-Fi 7, then the D-Link R95 provides excellent performance at a competitive price.

• Performance: 5

Should I buy the D-Link Aquila Pro AI R95?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: April 2026

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gives Netgear a conditional approval to avoid router ban
• It seems Netgear is still using components made outside of the US
• Other router makers are still facing a ban

Update 03/17/2026: A Netgear spokesperson gave us the following statement:
"Netgear is the first retail consumer router company to receive conditional approval from the FCC as a trusted consumer router company, a recognition that provides our customers added peace of mind knowing the network powering their homes meets rigorous standards."

Regarding the conditional approval, a Netgear spokesperson told us: "We reviewed the FCC's public guidelines for conditional approval, submitted an application that followed those guidelines, and received approval on our application. The FCC's guidelines are available here."

While that doesn't answer a lot of our questions about this, the fact that Netgear refers to the FCC guidelines, which mentions as a requirement 'A detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the router for which the applicant is seeking Conditional Approval in order for that device to qualify for FCC authorization."

This suggests that Netgear has committed to expanding manufacturing in the US. The FCC guidelines also say that conditional approvals are valid for 18 months.

Original story continues below...

Last month, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced a ban on routers made outside of the US, and while the official reasoning behind the ban was “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons,” as I wrote at the time, the ban made little sense, considering how many routers are made (or use parts that have been made) outside of the US.

And my confusion over the ban has turned to anger with the news (as reported by The Verge) that Netgear will be exempt from the ban, with the FCC granting the company a “conditional approval” to import and sell its routers.

Why anger? Well, I wasn’t really sold on the security argument — not because there are no security issues with routers — but because the heavy-handed approach would mean US consumers would end up with a lot less choice when shopping around for a new router.

This looks like a case of special treatment

As I wrote last month, the initial ban meant that if Netgear (and other router makers) wanted to get around the ban, they’d need to move their manufacturing to the US — something that many companies would likely find prohibitively expensive.

With Netgear getting conditional approval to continue selling its routers (which explicitly states that companies need to “establish or expand manufacturing in the United States”), you might think that means Netgear is moving all parts of its manufacturing to the US, but there’s been no indication from the company that this is the case.

So, it feels like Netgear is getting special treatment. As this Reddit thread points out, Netgear was quick to praise the ban, stating “We commend the Administration and the FCC for their action toward a safer digital future for Americans,” while other router makers kept quiet.

Following the ban, Netgear’s stock rose by a not inconsiderable 16.7%, suggesting there was a lot confidence that Netgear would avoid the ban, whilst benefitting from the fact that future products from rivals, especially TP-Link, will be banned.

The reason I mention TP-Link is because not only does it make a lot of the routers found on our best router list; it has been steadily eating away at Netgear’s marketshare in the US, and also provides the free routers that over 300 ISP (Internet Service Providers) in the US offer. Crucially, TP-Link is a company that originally hails from China, which means it’s particularly vulnerable to the US ban.

With its biggest competitor facing a ban of future product sales (existing products will remain on sale), while somehow avoiding the ban itself, Netgear looks set to win big — and that’s where my frustration with this stems from.

Banning some companies while turning a blind eye to others is blatantly anti-consumer, as it could mean US consumers have little choice but to buy Netgear products.

It also undermines the FCC’s claim that this ban is about security. If that really was the case, Netgear wouldn’t be able to get an exemption without moving its entire hardware production line to the US.

It’ll be interesting to see if Netgear does indeed follow through and make all of its routers in the US. If not, will other US router makers who, like Netgear, still use components from outside the US, also get exemptions?

If the answer to both those questions is ‘no’, then this situation could get even messier — and I’ll likely get even angrier.

NBN plan prices appear to change on what can feel like a daily basis, which can understandably be annoying if you’re thinking of switching your current plan, but are unsure whether to make the switch today or hold off in case a better deal comes along.

I monitor NBN plan prices and typical evening speed claims regularly, so I feel I have a better understanding than most to make confident recommendations for plans that are not only worth signing up for today, but that are unlikely to be bettered anytime soon.

With this in mind, I’ve listed my current favourite NBN plan picks below, catering to a variety of speed and budget needs. While they might not all be the cheapest NBN plans available, they get my seal of approval, thanks to their overall value.

So, without further ado…

For more suggestions, check out my guide to the best NBN plans available right now, or if you want a high-speed plan, the fastest NBN plans will serve you well.

• Alternative network providers cannot sustain £25 per month without rapidly losing money
• Rising operational costs force smaller ISPs to consider higher monthly broadband bills
• Average revenue per user must reach £40 — £45 for Altnets to break even

Entry-level broadband pricing in the UK has remained relatively stable in recent quarters, with average tariffs for superfast services holding near £31 per month.

However, this stability masks a growing financial strain on alternative network providers that built their customer bases on discounts and low-cost full-fibre packages priced at around £25 per month.

The core problem is simple: these providers are losing money on every £25 subscriber because their operating costs per connection are significantly higher.

Pressure on alternative networks and pricing models

A report from PointTopic claims current pricing structures across many internet service providers are under strain as operating costs continue to rise.

Veronica Speiser, Senior UK Plus Analyst, explains that smaller networks must raise average revenue per user to approximately £45 just to break even, which means the era of ultra-cheap broadband is likely ending.

Alternative network providers have reported average revenue per user between £25 and £35 per month, while larger operators operate within a broader range of £30 to £50.

Speiser stated that "the current pricing models are not fully sustainable for many ISPs," pointing directly to a gap between what subscribers pay and what it costs to serve them.

She believes that the difference in scale and infrastructure burden is a key reason smaller networks struggle with sustainability.

"The Altnet model is not sustainable and they will need to be bringing this up to around £40 — £45 per month to keep up with its current high operating costs per subscriber," Speiser added.

This marks a shift away from earlier pricing strategies that relied on price freezes or no-contract increases.

Total broadband connections in the UK reached approximately 28.96 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, with only limited growth compared to earlier periods.

Within this overall flat growth, full fibre adoption continued to expand to 12.39 million connections, whereas legacy technologies such as FTTC and DSL continued to decline.

Also, coverage increased to more than 80% of UK premises, with a rising number of locations served by multiple fibre networks.

Despite this expansion, subscriber growth has slowed significantly, meaning new customer additions no longer keep pace with infrastructure rollout.

This slowdown eliminates the volume-based strategy that many Altnets relied on to subsidize low prices.

Pricing differences remain visible across major providers and alternative networks, with some full fibre packages available below £25 per month, while others exceed £40 depending on service tiers.

Meanwhile, higher-priced legacy services persist, with some slower copper-based packages costing more than newer fibre alternatives.

Fixed wireless access remains a small segment of the market, accounting for around 1% of connections based on regulatory estimates.

This has not significantly altered the broader fixed broadband market landscape.

The path from £25 to £45 is not guaranteed for every customer, but the economic logic is inescapable for customers of smaller alternative networks.

The only real uncertainty is whether the increase happens through direct price rises, the disappearance of discount offers, or a wave of bankruptcies.

• Millions of broadband users are paying more due to expired contracts
• Around 4% of users do not know their contract status
• Out-of-contract rates often increase by around £20 or more monthly

Many UK broadband users are currently paying more than necessary, largely because they remain on out-of-contract plans after their initial agreements expire.

New research from Go.Compare claims around 5.9 million broadband users are out of contract and could be paying higher rates, with the total potentially costing consumers up to £118 million every month.

With providers’ annual price increases set to take effect within days, the additional costs across all customers could reach £1 billion, and this could be one of the most expensive months for those who haven’t reviewed their contracts.

Millions are paying more without realizing it

About 11% of UK homes are out of contract, and approximately 4% of users are unsure of their current contract status.

This lack of awareness means some households continue paying higher standard rates without actively choosing to do so, even when better broadband deals are available.

The timing of this situation adds further pressure, and the new adjustments could push bills even higher for those already on more expensive out-of-contract rates.

“Out-of-contract rates are almost always much higher than contract prices, with costs going up by around £20 per month or even higher in some circumstances,” said Catherine Hiley, spokesperson at Go.Compare broadband.

“For example, my own broadband price will rise by around £50 a month if I don’t switch at the end of the contract. So forgetting to compare deals and switch providers when your contract is up can be a very costly error.”

Beyond contract status, many users appear to be paying for broadband speeds that exceed their actual needs.

Data suggests that a noticeable share of customers could downgrade their packages without experiencing any meaningful change in performance.

For households that primarily use the internet for basic tasks such as browsing or video streaming, lower speed tiers may already provide sufficient performance.

At the same time, higher-speed packages remain more relevant for environments with multiple users engaging in data-intensive activities simultaneously.

“While it’s tempting to go for the fastest speeds you can afford, there’s no need to fork out if you only use your internet for basic activities.”

Customers who are out of contract retain the flexibility to move to new deals without penalties, which offers a direct route to reducing monthly costs.

Locking into a new agreement before price increases take effect can prevent further rises while securing a lower rate for a fixed period.

Additional factors such as bundled services or promotional incentives may also influence the overall value of a package, although these vary between providers and contracts.

The broader pattern suggests that rising costs are not driven by a single factor — contract status, pricing structures, and user choices all contribute to the final bill.

Australia’s NBN took a big step forward in September 2025 with the arrival of 2Gbps NBN 2000 plans, part of a wider rollout of NBN speed upgrades designed to bring faster speeds to more homes. It was an impressive jump — but it turns out it may have only scratched the surface of what the network can really deliver.

That’s because NBN Co has recently conducted lab trials using the current fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology, which serves the fastest NBN plans. The trials revealed that the full fibre connection could achieve download speeds of 230Gbps — some 100 times faster than the current maximum residential speeds available.

How was NBN Co able to achieve such insane speeds using the current infrastructure? Coherent optics. This, according to NBN Co, is a “type of advanced communications technology typically found within core and data centre networks, with vast reach, low latency and massive capacity required to meet ever-growing demand”.

In layman’s terms, it’s a more advanced way of sending data over fibre that uses the light signal more efficiently, allowing it to carry more data and work better over longer distances. And in even simpler terms, NBN Co has proven its current fibre network can support even faster services in the future without needing brand-new cabling to be laid.

Sweet! When can I get blitzing-fast internet?

Hold on there for a second. While it’s now been proven that the current FTTP infrastructure has the potential to deliver speeds we wouldn’t have thought possible just a few years ago, it’s purely a trial for now.

Considering anyone wishing to sign up for an NBN 2000 plan will need a new network termination device (NTD) to support 2Gbps speeds, then new, more advanced hardware will most definitely be needed to support speeds over 100 times faster.

Do we even need these fast speeds?

The prospect of 230Gbps download speeds is undeniably cool and exciting — you could download a 140GB game in about 4.9 seconds, for example — but do we actually need them?

I monitor the best NBN plans regularly and have noticed that the number of providers offering a 2Gbps NBN plan has been declining. There were approximately seven providers when the new speed tier launched in September 2025, but at the time of writing, that number has dropped to around four.

In my mind, this decline is a result of a lack of interest from customers. This could be for several reasons, but I feel the most likely culprits are cost — the average monthly rate is AU$173p/m at the time of writing — and the fact that most homes in Australia can be served perfectly fine with a slower plan.

That being said, NBN Co adds that demand for higher data consumption continues to increase. It's said that as of December 31, 2025, "average monthly data download was 557 gigabytes per active service across connected premises, up 13 per cent year-on-year, with FTTP services averaging 668 gigabytes, up 14 per cent year-on-year as customers embraced higher speeds."

While I’ve made no secret of my love for the best NBN 500 plans, as I believe they offer the perfect combination of speed and value, the fact remains that many people are more than satisfied with the best NBN 50 plans.

Indeed, in a recent article of mine highlighting how many Australians have yet to upgrade to full fibre technology, a few users commented that a 50Mbps plan is more than satisfactory for their needs. Others added that NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade isn’t always as ‘free’ as it claims, and so isn’t a viable option, while the increased cost is another reason to hold off switching to a faster plan.

On that latter point, I feel upgrading an NBN plan from 25Mbps or 50Mbps to 500Mbps is a good economic move. At the time of writing, the average cost of an NBN 25 plan is just under AU$74p/m, and just under AU$88p/m for an NBN 50. The average cost of an NBN 500 is AU$94p/m — AU$20 more than a plan that’s 20 times slower, and just AU$6 more than a plan 10 times slower.

As for how much a 230Gbps NBN plan would cost, that remains to be seen.

If you’re in the US and thinking of buying a new router to upgrade your home’s Wi-Fi, your choices could soon be drastically reduced, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has introduced a ban on routers made outside of the US, claiming that there’s “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.”

The move follows recent high-profile cyberattacks, in which the FCC claims that “routers produced abroad were directly implicated”.

While this reasoning is understandable, as routers are an important part of any home or business that sends and receives data from the internet, and that data can contain sensitive information, a cursory glance at our best routers list reveals what could be a major problem for Americans, as not a single router we recommend is made in the US.

In fact, over the many years and 100s of routers I’ve reviewed or helped publish, I can only think of a small handful of routers that were 100% made in the US — and since Apple killed off its AirPort range of routers, that pool of “Made in the USA” routers is now even smaller.

Rooting for routers

Our best routers list is dominated by TP-Link (Chinese), Asus (Taiwanese), and Acer (Taiwanese) routers — all fantastic products, but any new routers made by those companies could now be banned from sale in the US.

There are, however, several excellent routers from Netgear, which is an American company. However, while the company is US-based, most of its manufacturing is done in Asia (mainly Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, after moving from China to avoid Donald Trump’s 25% tarrifs on Chinese imports).

Moreover, its routers, like many of its competitors, run on Realtek chips, which are built in Taiwan. As the FCC specifically mentions that it will no longer authorize foreign-made radios in routers, which handle wireless network transmissions and are a key part of the chip that powers the router, it means that Netgear’s routers could still be banned, despite its stock price rising by almost 20% since the FCC announcement.

If this is the case, then people in the US could have even more trouble finding routers worth buying in the future — it could certainly end with our best routers list being filled with routers that can’t be bought in the US.

What are your options?

There are some potential ways router makers could work around this ban. Netgear, for example, could once again move its hardware manufacturing, this time to the US, which is likely the favored outcome of the US government. However, that would be extremely time-consuming and costly, and would likely result in price rises for Netgear’s routers (many of which are already plenty expensive).

The FCC also said that router makers could apply for "conditional approval", which could allow future routers to be sold in the US; however, it’s not currently clear what this process would entail.

While there’s a lot of confusion about this latest development, one thing I’m pretty certain of is that buying a new router could soon become more expensive for people in the US, especially if budget options dry up.

I worry it could even impact people who aren’t interested in buying a new router. If you use the free router that comes with your broadband service, those routers might also be subject to the ban, which would mean your ISP would have to source new devices. That will likely cost money, and sadly, that cost will probably be passed down to customers, if not in the actual price of the router, which is usually included as part of your subscription, but in higher monthly prices.

With the price of computers and laptops rising thanks to the RAM shortage, I had ended up recommending people upgrade their Wi-Fi routers as the new best value improvements they could make. That could soon be outdated advice (for the US, at least, not the rest of the world, which will still be able to buy these routers). As I told my colleagues when I initially heard the news: “Good luck, Americans, you'll have nice-looking but expensive routers from now on.”

So, what do I now recommend people do? For a start, don’t panic — your router isn’t going to stop working or suddenly become illegal. This ban only affects upcoming routers, so existing ones will continue to work fine.

However, if you’re thinking of upgrading your router, it might be best to act sooner rather than later, before your options dwindle. Having said that, don’t rush any decision, as these routers won’t disappear from store shelves overnight. Our best routers buying guide offers advice and price comparison tools to help you make the right decision.

If you’re also concerned that the FCC’s ban means that your router poses a security threat, I again wouldn’t panic as long as you have standard security measures (making sure you have a Wi-Fi password, secure admin password for the router, and antivirus software). While the FCC ban targets consumer routers, the cyberattacks it cites are targeted at large institutions that can (unfortunately) produce the most damage. A single router used by a family to access the internet isn’t going to be as big a target.

Sure, this ban could lead to a boom in US-made routers, but that could take a long time to kick in as router makers shift product manufacturing, and due to a variety of factors, these routers will be more expensive.

So, my advice to people in the US considering a new router in the future is don’t panic yet, but if you’ve been hesitating on upgrading your home Wi-Fi, now might be the best time to pull that trigger.

• The FCC says foreign-made routers are no longer allowed
• Your existing home router is safe from the ban
• Around 60% of US home routers are made in China

After putting nation-wide blocks on companies such as Huawei and DJI in recent years, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has now placed a blanket ban on new routers that aren't made in America.

The ruling applies to "consumer-grade routers" that are "produced in foreign countries", the FCC says, and approval won't be granted to such devices in the future — though those that are already on sale and in use are safe.

As per the FCC, routers made outside the borders of the US represent both a "supply chain vulnerability" and a "severe cybersecurity risk". In other words, there are suspicions that problems in router supply could disrupt the US economy and infrastructure, and that they could be used by foreign states to spy on the communications of US citizens.

It's part of a wider movement by the US to reduce its reliance on other countries for hardware and software. The FCC's statement pointed to a series of recent cyberattacks – including Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon – that involved foreign-made router technology.

What does this mean for my Wi-Fi network?

Finding a router manufactured in the US isn't all that easy — many US companies who sell routers to consumers, including Google and Netgear, have their products made overseas. Reuters estimates that some 60% of home routers in the US are manufactured in China and imported in.

Companies are going to have to change their manufacturing processes or abandon the US market it would seem — although they can apply for "conditional approval" from the FCC for new routers. At the moment it's not clear how easy that would be to get.

However, it's worth emphasizing that nothing is going to happen to your current router or home Wi-Fi network — that will keep working as normal. The FCC ban only applies to new products going forward, not routers that have already been approved or put on sale.

It's possible that router manufacturers based in the US will be treated more favorably than foreign entities in the future – TP-Link is one of the companies that's been accused of having strong connections to the Chinese government – but it's going to take a while before we get the full picture of how this decision will play out.

Asus RT-BE92U: One-minute review

It may not have the built-like-a-tank design and ominous glowing lights that Asus uses in some of its eye-catching gaming routers, but the new RT-BE92U won’t take a backseat to any of its flashier rivals. It’s not much to look at, but beneath that unassuming design the RT-BE92U boasts the latest tri-band Wi-Fi 7, with support for the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band that is sometimes omitted in less expensive Wi-Fi 7 routers.

It also provides high-speed wired connectivity for home or offices that have fibre broadband, and even provides a USB port that allows you to ‘tether’ the router to a smartphone or mobile device that supports 4G or 5G mobile broadband in case your normal broadband service is interrupted for some reason. And, above all else, it doesn’t constantly pester you to sign up for subscriptions for additional parental controls and security features, as some of its rivals do.

Asus RT-BE92U: Design and features

• Creates Guest, Kids and VPN networks
• USB tethering for 4G/5G mobile broadband
• Free parental controls

The design of the RT-BE92U is purely functional, consisting of little more than an upright slab of black plastic, with four antennae sticking up into the air (and a fifth antenna hidden inside the body of the router as well). It doesn’t cut corners on features, though, boasting tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with a top speed of 9.7Gbps (or 9,678Mbps if you want to be precise), and a super-fast 10 Gigabit Ethernet port that can double up to provide either a broadband (WAN) connection, or a wired connection (LAN) for a computer, games console or TV.

There’s a 2.5 Gigabit port that can also double up for either WAN or LAN connections, and three more 2.5G ports for wired connections only. Even the humble USB port on the back throws in some extra features too. As well as allowing you to connect a hard drive or solid-state drive that can be shared with other people on your network, the USB port can be used to charge a smartphone or other mobile devices, and can even be ‘tethered’ to your smartphone in order to use its 4G or 5G mobile broadband as an emergency backup in case something interrupts your normal broadband service.

The Asus Router app for iOS and Android also provides an impressive array of features, although it’s not always as straightforward to use as it could be. Somewhat oddly, the RT-BE92U initially creates a new network that doesn’t have any password protection, so you need to move through the set-up process quite swiftly in order to add a password and keep your new network safe. Fortunately, the app does allow you to scan a QR code in order to quickly connect to the RT-BE92U, and you are then prompted to create a new name and password for the new network.

Once that’s done you have a variety of useful options available, including QoS – quality of service – that gives priority to specific activities, such as gaming or streaming video, that need maximum performance. Most routers will allow you to create a guest network, but the Router app also allows you to create a ‘Kid’s Network’ with a schedule to limit internet access to specific times, and a ‘VPN Network’ for use with popular VPN apps, such as NordVPN and SurfShark.

It even provides a good set of parental controls free of charge, with no need to sign up for an additional subscription. You can create profiles for children of different ages, which automatically block unsuitable content, such as pornography, violence or gambling. Most of Asus’ rivals charge additional subscriptions for parental controls, so the inclusion of all these features at no extra cost is very welcome. Our only complaint is that the Asus app buries many of these features within a maze of dense menus and sub-menus, so it could take a little while to actually find the features you want to use.

• Features: 5/5

Asus RT-BE92U: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 (9.7Gbps)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN
• 4x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

The Asus app does at least keep things simple by merging its three frequency bands - 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz – into a single network and automatically connecting your devices to whichever band provides the best speed in each room or area within your home.

But, in order to test the faster 6.0GHz band separately, I ran our Ookla Speedtest and Steam download test on two different laptops – an older HP laptop that only supports the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, and a more recent Samsung laptop that supports 6.0GHz.

I began with the two laptops in the same room as the RT-BE92U, and wasn’t really surprised to find that both laptops breezed along at the maximum 150Mbps provided by my office broadband. The real test, though, came when I walked along a hallway – one laptop perched in the palm of each hand – to an office at the back of the building. My normal office router always struggles to reach this back office, but I was pleased to find that both laptops effortlessly maintained their 150Mbps speeds without even the slightest wobble.

Admittedly, that 9.7Gbps top speed will be overkill for many users, but it’s very good value at such a competitive price. And, with additional features such as USB tethering and free parental controls, the RT-BE92U will be an excellent upgrade for home users and office workers alike.

• Performance: 5/5

Should you buy the Asus RT-BE92U?

Buy it if:

Don’t buy it if:

Also consider:

Welcome to our MWC 2026 'Best in Show' awards, where we've chosen our top products being shown off at the big trade event.

MWC used to be all about phones — and there are plenty of those in this list — but now it covers everything from wearables to connected smart devices to home networks. Our awards picks cover this breadth of technology.

Honor Magic V6

Some thing in life are inevitable. Night follows day, the tides rise and fall, Honor reveals the thinnest-ever foldable phone at a big tech show. One of the many impressive things about the Honor Magic V6, though, is that it hasn't skimped on durability in favor of being so slim and stylish — it's IP69 rated against water and dust, which is actually better than almost any other phone, despite being foldable.

It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 powerful processor, backing that generous 7.95 internal screen with a 2352x2172 resolution, while the 6.5-inch cover display has a 2420x1080 resolution. There's a 6,600mAh battery squeezed into the small frame too. It's an incredibly impressive piece of engineering, and absolutely worthy of our award.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The best way to get the full low-down on why this phone has won an award is to read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review, but one quote from it will tell you most of what you need to know: "Of course it's the best Android phone ever."

You've got Samsung's special Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip at the heart, and a beautiful 3120x1440 6.9-inch display – including Samsung's genius and innovative 'Privacy Display', which can hide individual sections of the screen, such as notifications, from snoopers around you. There are wider apertures on the camera to let in more light, lots of advanced AI skills, S Pen support... It's just a powerhouse of a phone for people who want the most capable device on the planet.

Nothing Phone (4a)

If you want super-slick features in an affordable package, we're expecting this to be one of the hottest phones of the year. The Nothing Phone 4(a) keeps the fun techy design that Nothing is known for, including a version of the Glyph Bar on the back.

The 6.8-inch OLED screen has a high 2800x1260 resolution and 120Hz support, with a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip inside, and 12GB of RAM even though it's a cheaper phone and memory is pricey now. There's even a triple camera system on the back — it makes the new iPhone 17e look miserly in comparison. And on top of all this, coming in four nice colors doesn't hurt its desirability either.

TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro

TCL's NXTPAPER screens have been turning our heads for a while now. They're basically ereader-like screens with a matte and paper-y finish that's great for avoiding eyestrain, but with full color performance and advanced screen tech such as 120Hz support. The NXTPAPER 70 Pro phone uses the latest version of this tech, and actually has three adjustable paper-like modes: Color Paper Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Max Ink Mode. You can hit a button to cycle through them.

There's even an included pen for drawing and making notes on the screen, so this works as a hybrid of phone, ereader and digital note-taker — plus all the other things you expect a phone to do, including taking photos. We've seen NXTPAPER phones from TCL before, but this is the first time we're starting to consider ditching a regular smartphone for one.

MemoMind One

These smart glasses stand out due to the smart flexibility that's built into their core concept. The key idea is that they have a display for each eye built-in, and Harman Kardon personal speakers you can hear, so you can get subtle information from AI assistants easily.

What's really interesting is the modular approach, which applies to both the hardware and software. The glasses offer eight frame styles and five temple designs, so you can find a specific style that suits you — along with prescription lenses. And the LLM support isn't one-size-fits-all; instead it analyzes the task you need it to perform and uses OpenAI, Azure or Qwen, depending on what's the best fit. It's a really clever approach to smart glasses, and we're looking forward to seeing more of (and through) them.

Honor Magic Pad4

The stunning tablet almost seems impossible. At just 4.8mm thick, it feels like there's just not enough space for it to contain a load of great tech — but you've got a beautifully bright 12-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 3000x1920, backed by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, and up to 1TB of storage.

Being so thin and weighing just 450g (slightly less than the 11-inch iPad Air, despite having a larger screen), it feels like the ultimate portable slate. But the finishing touch is that Honor has made it an interesting work companion too, with a desktop windowed mode that seems very slick, plus stylus support. This might be the most impressive-looking tablet in the world.

Soundcore Space 2

Anker's audio brand Soundcore makes a lot of great-value headphones, and its Space One and Space One Pro models went a little more little more premium — with very strong results. The Space 2 look like they'll take that idea into the stratosphere, though.

Soundcore says the headphones will have the brand's most advanced active noise cancellation yet, and reengineered 30mm silk and ceramic drivers to produce "full, rich bass, clear vocals and crystal-clear highs". LDAC higher-res support will help with that, as will the personalized sound feature, which tests your hearing and adjusts the audio frequencies to boost in areas where your hearing struggles. It sounds like an excellent package, especially with 70 hours of battery life, and a launch price of $130 / £130.

Lenovo ThinkBook Modular PC Concept

This might be the "future of laptops", as we said when Lenovo showed it to us along with some other interesting concepts. It's modular in the sense of having an easily changed configuration on the outside. It looks like a normal laptop, though it has a screen on the back of the lid as well as in the normal place you'd expect to find a screen.

This screen can be popped off, and used as a separate external display. Or you can remove the keyboard, and replace it with this second screen, for a dual-display laptop/tablet hybrid. Finally, the range of ports under the keyboard can be swapped out, so you can customize them for what you need most. We love this idea, and while it might remain largely niche even if it comes to a real product, we're thrilled with the possibilities.

Biwin Mini SSD CL100

For creative pros or anyone with a need to carry a huge amount of data around, Biwin's latest Mini SSD looks like a revelation. The small cards (around the size of a coin) contain up to 2TB of flash storage, but these aren't like SD cards — their data transfer speed is at PCIe 4 pro SSD levels.

Using the Biwin Mini SSD Reader RD510, you can transfer data from the CL100 drives at up to 3.7GB/s read speeds, and up to 3.4GB/s write speeds. They're a mind-blowing bit of design, taking elite storage performance and putting it in a package that would enable you to take hundreds of terabytes with you in the same size and weight as a single regular external SSD.

TP-Link Aginet HB810

This is designed to be the ultimate ultra-fast home mesh Wi-Fi system, and it's on this list because it really seems to achieve that goal. Offering tri-band Wi-Fi 7 across its mesh devices, TP-Link says you'll get 19–22Gbps of wireless speed, and if you want to wire in there's a 10 GbE/SFP+ combo WAN/LAN port, plus 10GbE and 2.5GbE ports.

Part of the key promise here is to be able to maintain the fast speeds even when things get busy or complicated. There's support for 12 spatial streams at once, 320MHz channels, and tech such as Multi-Link Operation to ensure the network is rock steady when loads of people are using it across multiple nodes. Throw in the security and parental control options that you'd expect from an elite Wi-Fi system, and you've got a great-looking home network upgrade.

uCloudlink OmniFlex Pro

This is a pro-level Wi-Fi router that's designed for when you need to set up a network in a new place quickly, and it can pull its internet connection over broadband or over a mobile connection. Nothing new there, but what made this stand out is its commitment to fast performance, combined with the fact that you don't need to have a SIM card for the mobile internet.

It's eSIM only, which means that's one less thing you need to worry about before deploying — whether you're using the mobile connection as a backup only (it will auto-switch to cellular internet if the main connection fails), or using it in a new country, either way you don't need to have planned your SIM use in advance.

Just take out a new digital connection when you need it, or manage your provider so much more easily. And with a 5G connection and Wi-Fi 7 for connection to devices, it'll work as quickly as anything in the category can, plus it has mesh options for expanding the network. Comprehensive!

TP-Link Tapo C665G KIT

This comprehensive outdoor security camera is designed to be something you just never have to worry about — unless it sees something you need to worry about. It's built to be super-tough, standing up to any weather conditions, dust blasts or temperature changes. It's battery powered for total flexibility on placement, and uses its own solar panels to charge the battery during the day, so it can run at night.

Crucially, a very sharp 4K sensor with enhanced night vision combines with AI-based recognition of events, so that it not only can see everything it needs to, but it can also differentiate between movement that's just things blowing in the wind, and disruptions that are really worth warning you about. TP-Link emphasizes that the goal is to make sure it can cover a really broad area efficiently and smartly, making it a great investment — especially since it even has 4G support so it doesn't need to be near your router.

TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more.

There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the best NBN plans, as monthly prices and introductory discounts fluctuate regularly. Fortunately, as the resident broadband expert for TechRadar Australia, whenever a price change occurs or a new deal appears, I clock it immediately.

What I didn’t expect to find recently, however, was a further price drop on Kogan Internet’s NBN 500 and NBN 100 plans, now down to just AU$69.90p/m for the first 12 months.

When I last updated my guide to the best internet deals in Australia in mid-February, I noticed Kogan Internet had dropped its 12-month introductory prices to AU$71.90p/m, making it the cheapest provider for both 100Mbps and 500Mbps speed tiers.

The telco could have left it there and maintained its position as the cheapest provider, but just to hammer it home, another AU$2 has been knocked off the price, resulting in a truly exceptional, great-value deal.

Of course, while I always love to point readers towards the fastest NBN plans, the fact remains that many Australians are satisfied with a slower alternative, such as an NBN 50 plan.

If this sounds like you, then Kogan Internet has also dropped the introductory price of its 50Mbps offering. It isn’t the most affordable in the first year, I have to admit — that title belongs to Dodo — but Kogan Internet’s ongoing cost from year two is about AU$60 less.

However, as you can see, Kogan’s NBN 50 plan is only AU$1 less per month for the first 12 months. The fact that you can get double or even 10x the speed for just a dollar more makes complete economic sense to me.

There are some great prices to be found across all Kogan Internet plans, so to view the full selection, click here.

• Qualcomm has introduced its portfolio of Wi-Fi 8 products
• The new FastConnect 8800 chips pack (up to) twice the performance of their predecessors
• New Dragonwing networking platforms for consumers will bring the many benefits of Wi-Fi 8 to home routers and mesh network systems

While Wi-Fi 8 is still quite a long way off, at least in terms of having it on your laptop or phone, there have been a bunch of announcements around the tech already – and now, over at MWC 2026, Qualcomm has revealed its portfolio of offerings around the next-gen wireless standard.

Qualcomm has announced its FastConnect 8800 chips for providing Wi-Fi 8 to laptops (and of course tablets and phones), as well as Bluetooth 7.0.

The company notes that the FastConnect 8800 is the first mobile solution that has a 4x4 Wi-Fi radio configuration, and that this facilitates new heights in terms of wireless speeds. Indeed, compared to Qualcomm's previous-gen FastConnect chip on Wi-Fi 7, the 8800 is going pack (up to) twice the performance.

That means potential peak speeds of up to 11.6Gbps, as tested in Qualcomm's labs, versus up to 5.8Gbps as seen in the FastConnect 7800 (with a 2x2 radio configuration). The new 8800 chip will also provide three times the Gigabit wireless range.

Qualcomm further notes that Bluetooth speeds are getting a huge boost from 2Mbps to 7.5Mbps with this new chip compared to the previous FastConnect 7800 (thanks to Bluetooth High Data Throughput or HDT).

The new FastConnect chip also boasts Proximity AI and Ultra Wideband 802.15.4ab for pinpointing the location of other devices (or pairing with them automatically).

Qualcomm further announced new Dragonwing networking platforms, for enterprises and consumers. The mainstream tiers in the latter respect are the Dragonwing N8 and F8, which are platforms that are designed to bring Wi-Fi 8 to home routers and mesh network systems.

Qualcomm says it's sampling all these products with customers now, and anticipates they'll be commercially available late in 2026.

Gautam Sheoran, who is SVP & GM of Connectivity, Broadband and Networking at Qualcomm, stated that: "Next-gen networks and devices not only need to be AI-native, but they need a new breed of intelligent, high-performance connectivity. Qualcomm Technologies' Wi-Fi 8 generation of products is the whole package: faster speeds, higher reliability, longer range, and powerful AI."

Analysis: Wi-Fi 8 strengths

This next-gen wireless standard isn't about speed. In fact, Wi-Fi 8 doesn't carry any speed boost over Wi-Fi 7 at all – although the FastConnect 8800 chip is much speedier than its predecessor, but that's because it has a beefier Wi-Fi radio configuration, as noted. It isn't because the next-gen standard is actually any faster.

What Wi-Fi 8 is designed to do is improve the reliability of your Wi-Fi connection, notably in signal-dense environments where it'll intelligently hop around to avoid getting bogged down by interference.

You'll also get better range with Wi-Fi 8, and better handling for mesh networks in terms of avoiding speed drop-offs when moving around the house (when transitioning from one node – router or satellite – to another can cause glitchy speed hiccups). Performance at the edge of the signal (where it's weakest) will be bolstered, too. On top of that, Wi-Fi 8 offers considerably lower latency than Wi-Fi 7.

There's a whole lot to look forward to, then, as well as the Dragonwing platform having a 'Network AI Engine' for "real-time QoE optimization", meaning fine-tuning everything with AI to ensure you're getting the best and most stable performance – QoE meaning Quality of Experience – from your Wi-Fi 8 router and devices. That's aimed to be of particular benefit for more intense Wi-Fi usage, such as online gaming or streaming, or using VR headsets for example.

However, before you get too excited hearing all this, as I mentioned at the outset, Wi-Fi 8 is still a long way off. While Qualcomm is talking about these Wi-Fi 8 chips being in devices late this year, the reality is that it won't be a mainstream force in many routers plus laptops, tablets and phones until much nearer the end of the decade.

We apparently have a lot to look forward to in terms of wireless performance as the 2020s roll onwards, though.

TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more.

NBN Co has announced its half-year financial and operational results for the six months to December 31, 2025 and on the whole, things are looking positive for the nation’s major broadband services provider.

One of the standout figures is the 287,000 premises that upgraded from aging copper-based infrastructure technologies to a newer and faster fibre to the premises (FTTP) connection. This free upgrade to ‘full fibre’ is necessary if you want to connect to the fastest NBN plans.

As a result of the upgrade surge, NBN Co says there are now 2.99 million premises that connect to the network via FTTP (up from 2.42 million a year ago), and a total of 2.72 million premises signed up to an NBN 500 plan or faster.

Looking the other way

While those figures are impressive, what they don’t explicitly highlight is the number of Australian premises who’re stubbornly sticking (or are stuck) with outdated connection technologies – and so haven’t taken advantage of the NBN speed upgrades that NBN Co launched in September 2025.

NBN Co claims there are currently 8.647 million active connections. Take away the 2.99 million that connect via FTTP, roughly 2 million on HFC and about 400,000 on fixed wireless technologies, and you’re still left with 3 million premises that connect via an older, inferior technology.

As TechRadar Australia’s resident broadband expert, I can honestly say I’m somewhat baffled by that statistic.

No reason to not upgrade?

The easiest justification for activating the fibre upgrade is that it’s totally free. All you have to do is sign up with a supporting NBN provider and order a plan that offers at least 500Mbps download speeds.

Previously, that requirement was to order a plan offering 100Mbps, but following NBN Co’s rollout of upgraded speed tiers in late 2025, this has now changed – 100Mbps plans are no longer available for FTTP connections, having been replaced with 500Mbps, usually for the exact same price.

Secondly, and perhaps obviously, you’ll benefit from much faster download speeds. NBN Co added in its half-year results that the average monthly data download per premise now sits at 557GB, and for FTTP premises, that figure rises to 668GB. I reckon the latter is higher because homes that connect via FTTP will find they have a strong, stable and fast internet connection – or in other words, one that’s more usable, with no buffering when trying to download large files or stream 4K content.

And finally, the other good reason to upgrade is that you’ll be futureproofing your home. While I was a little surprised when NBN Co announced it would be rolling out upgraded speed tiers in 2025, it has now set a precedent that I’d expect to see repeated in future. While we can only speculate at this stage, it’s entirely possible we could see five or even 10Gbps download speeds within the next 10 years. In order to get them, you’ll need a full-fibre connection – and of course a Wi-Fi router capable of delivering those speeds around your home.

Ok, you’ve sold it to me. What do I do now?

If you’re ready to upgrade, the first thing you need to do is find a suitable 500Mbps plan from a provider that’s participating in the free upgrade program. That could very well be your current provider, but I’d strongly suggest shopping around to see what discounts are available.

You can view my guide to the best internet deals for the latest offers – some providers such as Dodo, Optus and Kogan Internet are currently offering 12-month discounts, so you can lock in a low price for a full year. (Alternatively, you can view the current most popular NBN 500 plans in the price comparison tool below.)

With your provider chosen, all you need to do is enter your address, and you’ll be told whether your home qualifies for the free upgrade. If it is, you’ll then need to select the plan you want to sign up for – 500Mbps or above – and your provider will take care of the rest.

You’ll be contacted by NBN Co, who will arrange a time for a technician to come and install the necessary equipment. Once it’s installed, your provider should contact you, letting you know the installation is a success and they’ll flip the switch on your new plan.

I’m no stranger to seeking out the best internet deals and at the time of writing, you’re not short of excellent options – Dodo, Optus and Kogan Internet are all offering 12-month discounts on their NBN plans, for example.

Yet it’s now Superloop that I consider to have some of the best NBN bargains, as the well-rated telco has recently dropped a ‘Speed Sale’ which can not only save you a chunk of change, but will get you a fast, reliable internet service in return.

Keen to know more? I thought so.

Superloop’s Speed Sale has seen already-affordable introductory prices slashed further, resulting in some truly unmissable offers. For example, Superloop’s gigabit NBN 1000 plan previously had a 6-month introductory price of AU$85p/m but has now dropped to just AU$79p/m for the first half year – the lowest introductory cost of any NBN 1000 plan.

It’s a similar story across other NBN speed tiers, with Superloop offering the lowest, or close-to lowest introductory cost. Better still, Superloop advertises maximum, or close-to maximum, download speeds across all of its plans – and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found the telco can actually overdeliver on speed claims. In short, you could get extremely fast internet for a low low price, if you sign up before March 12, 2026.

Superloop's best Speed Sale NBN deals

The three plans I’ve chosen above are just my top recommendations. Superloop offers a broad range of options though, from NBN 25 right up to the ‘Hyperfast’ NBN 2000 tier. You can view all of the telco's plans in the price comparison tool below – just remember that these deals are only valid until March 12, 2026.

And don't forget to check out my full guide to the best internet deals available right now for more options.

If you’ve ever searched online for a new NBN plan, there’s a good chance you would have noticed that many internet service providers (ISPs) offer a 6-month introductory discount to encourage you to sign up.

It’s pretty much standard practice among the best NBN providers – although the specifics of offers can change, you’re actually more likely to find their plans discounted than not. What’s a bit rarer, however, are deals that run for a full 12 months, which is why I’ve been slightly surprised to find that, right now, there are three providers offering year-long discounts: Optus, Kogan Internet and Dodo.

With up to AU$240 in savings and a guaranteed monthly price for 12 months, switching to one of these three providers could be the smartest move you make all year.

I’ve assessed each provider’s plans and selected what I consider to be the best one from each – spoiler alert, it’s the NBN 500 plan – but be sure to click through to view their full lineup to see the other options.

Note that the same discount and pricing applies to the NBN 100 plan, for those who can’t yet get NBN 500. Click here to view more Optus NBN plans.

Note that the same discount and pricing applies to the NBN 100 plan, for those who can’t get NBN 500.

Note that the same discount and pricing applies to the NBN 100 plan, for those who can’t get NBN 500.

You can view more Dodo NBN plans in the price comparison tool below. Keep in mind, however, that there are some WhistleOut-exclusive deals – denoted by (Special Offer) – that apply a 6-month discount instead of 12, but reduce the introductory cost. I've done the maths and the 12-month discount option is the cheapest.

Can I get NBN 500?

NBN 500 plans and faster (think NBN 750, NBN 1000 and even NBN 2000) are only available to homes that connect to the fixed-line NBN via a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection type.

There’s a good chance your home already does connect via this method, but if not, you’re likely eligible for the free fibre upgrade. Note that the upgrade is only available to homes that connect via fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC). If you choose to activate this upgrade, a technician will visit your home to install the necessary equipment.

If you’re not eligible for the upgrade, then I’m sorry to say but the maximum speeds you can achieve via the NBN is likely going to be 100Mbps. You may find there’s a private fibre network where you live – such as Opticomm or Gigacomm – and these may be able to deliver faster speeds to your home.

As TechRadar Australia’s resident NBN expert, I spend a solid chunk of time monitoring plan speeds and prices. And while there might not be much fluctuation on a regular basis, if an internet service provider does make adjustments to either price or advertised typical evening speed, I spot it immediately.

I do maintain dedicated guides to the best NBN plans, but to save you the time looking through those to find a new one that works for you, I’ve listed my current favourite plans here.

I’ve factored in a variety of speeds to suit all kinds of users – from those needing basic internet access to those who demand the fastest possible speeds. Do note that some of my selections might not be the cheapest NBN plans available, but they get my seal of approval due to their overall value.

So, without further ado…

If you live in an area that isn’t serviced by the National Broadband Network (NBN) or you’re not satisfied with your current internet service, then there’s a good chance you can connect via an alternative such as 5G home broadband.

The ‘big three’ telcos of TPG, Optus and Telstra all offer 5G home internet plans, with a smattering of subsidiaries also offering services using the networks of the aforementioned trio.

Vodafone is one such subsidiary of TPG that has a selection of 5G home internet plans cheaper than its NBN equivalents. There are some caveats, such as the fact that Vodafone’s 5G plans max out at 100Mbps – compared to up to gigabit plans via the fixed-line NBN – but as I found out during my three-week review period of the top-tier plan, there is potentially sensational value to be had.

What’s more, all Vodafone 5G home internet plans come supplied with a Wi-Fi 7 modem and a separate mesh node to help provide network coverage throughout your home. While some other 5G home internet providers also supply a Wi-Fi 7 modem, the fact that Vodafone includes a mesh node represents great value.

The service isn’t without its faults, with the main one being that you’re capped to a maximum download speed of 100Mbps. While I was able to achieve faster speeds than this, and Vodafone says it is theoretically possible for other customers, it’s in no way a guarantee. If you want a 5G service that rivals even the fastest NBN plans, then I would encourage you to check out services from either Spintel or Optus.

If you do sign up for Vodafone 5G internet and find the service doesn’t live up to expectations, then as long as you return the modem, you’ll only need to pay for one month of service. In the case of the Premium plan on review here, that’s AU$60 if you’re not a Vodafone mobile customer, and AU$55 if you are.

If you’ve been considering switching to a 5G home internet plan, then read on to find out my experience using the 100Mbps Vodafone 5G plan at home.

Vodafone 5G home internet: plans and pricing

• Three plans
• Up to 100Mbps
• Extra savings for Vodafone mobile customers

Vodafone offers three 5G home internet plans. They are:

• 5G Home Internet Basic (18Mbps TES) | AU$50p/m (first 6m, then AU$60p/m)
• 5G Home Internet Plus (50Mbps TES) | AU$55p/m (first 6m, then AU$65p/m)
• 5G Home Internet Premium (100Mbps TES) | AU$60p/m (first 6m, then AU$70p/m)

If you’re a Vodafone mobile customer, you can save an extra AU$5 off the introductory cost for the first 6 months of your service.

In either instance, Vodafone’s 5G home internet plans are cheaper than the NBN equivalent. A Vodafone NBN 100 plan, for example, costs AU$74p/m for the first 6 months, then AU$94p/m ongoing for non-mobile Vodafone customers.

All Vodafone 5G home internet plans ship with a Wi-Fi 7 modem and mesh node. Both of these are free if you remain connected to a plan for 36 months. If you cancel your service before the 36-month period ends, you’ll need to return the modem and node to Vodafone within 30 days. If you don’t, you’ll be asked to pay a non-return fee, which is calculated at AU$11 per month for any time remaining within the 36 months.

As you can see from the plan details above, all Vodafone 5G home internet plans have their speed capped, up to a maximum of 100Mbps. Considering some other 5G home broadband providers, such as Optus and Spintel, offer an uncapped speed tier – which has the potential to provide near-gigabit speeds depending on environmental factors and distance from the nearest tower – it can make Vodafone’s option less appealing.

It’s also worth noting that TPG also offers 5G home internet that uses the Vodafone 5G network, yet charges considerably less for comparable plans. Taking the 100Mbps plan on review here as an example, TPG charges AU$44.99p/m for the first 6 months, before increasing to a regular ongoing cost of AU$64.99p/m. Vodafone’s equivalent is AU$10 more each month.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Availability

As is the case with any provider of 5G home internet services, the main obstacle to connection is availability. Just because an area has 5G mobile coverage doesn’t always mean it will have 5G home internet coverage. This is because internet service providers (ISPs) need to limit the number of active connections in an area to help avoid congestion.

To check if your home address can connect to the Vodafone 5G home broadband network, you can enter your address on Vodafone’s website.

I tested the Vodafone 5G modem at three different locations in Sydney, with an apartment in Alexandria being the authorised home address. I also tested at an apartment in Homebush and the TechRadar office in Sydney CBD, as both were eligible to connect to the 5G home internet network. As I’ll explain in the performance section, however, each location experienced vastly different speeds.

Vodafone 5G home internet: modem design and setup

All Vodafone 5G home internet plans are supplied with Vodafone’s new Super Wi-Fi modem and mesh node with Wi-Fi 7 support. Neither are the most visually appealing units, adopting a simple black box design, but I do like how the node is small, almost like a book, that can be easily tucked out of the way. There’s no screen to indicate signal strength, as you’ll find on the Optus 5G modem that’s supplied with Optus and Spintel 5G home internet plans.

The main 5G modem measures 215.9 x 125 x 125 mm (HWD), while the mesh node measures 170 x 60 x 140.4 mm (HWD). The main unit has 1 x 2.5Gbps WAN port and 2 x 1Gbps LAN ports, and the mesh gets 2 x 1Gbps LAN ports.

Setting up both the main 5G modem and the mesh node was incredibly simple. Once you’ve installed the SIM card in the base of the modem, plugged it into power and turned it on, it will begin to search for a signal. You’ll then need to install the My Internet Connection app on your phone to access modem settings and add the mesh node.

The login details for the router are found on a label on its underside, and while it is great for security purposes, I would recommend changing the login password to something secure after setting it up. The supplied password is long and made up of various characters and numbers. There is a check box to remember the password, but I found that when logging in after a few days of inactivity, the password hadn’t been remembered. You can’t store the password in your phone’s password manager either, so you’ll need to type the whole thing out again to access the app.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: performance

Download speeds

After testing the modem and mesh over the period of a few weeks, my speed test data was surprising to say the least. This is because, despite the Vodafone plan being capped at 100Mbps, I regularly achieved over 200Mbps download speeds at the Alexandria address that the service was set up for.

In fact, from 14 tests, I only recorded a speed below 100Mbps on one occasion, where I got a measurement of 80.10Mbps. Admittedly, this result was taken at 6.39pm, so encroaching on the busier evening hours of 7pm to 11pm. Two tests were above 100Mbps but below 200Mbps – 154Mbps and 189Mbps at 8:35 am and 11:23 am, respectively, so far removed from the typically busier hours. A further test at 10.39 pm returned a speed result of 156Mbps – and all others were above 200Mbps. The average speed I achieved was 201.74 Mbps.

I mentioned that I was experiencing well above the expected plan speeds to our Vodafone representative. They said, “It’s not unusual for customers on our 5G Home Internet plans to experience speeds above the advertised minimum, especially when conditions are ideal.”

“Factors like being close to a 5G tower, strong network capacity and good modem placement all contribute to faster performance. While speeds over 100Mbps aren’t guaranteed, they are possible in some cases and the speeds you're enjoying are within the range of what customers may achieve under optimal conditions.”

Indeed, the speeds I recorded at our office location in the Sydney CBD were much, much slower at around 10Mbps, while at the Homebush location, we recorded an average download speed of 118.15Mbps.

Upload speeds

Upload speeds also fared well, particularly at the Alexandria address. The maximum possible upload speed of the Home Internet Premium plan is 20Mbps (it’s the same for the 50Mbps Home Internet Plus plan, and only 2Mbps for the 20Mbps Home Internet Basic plan). I achieved an average upload speed of 18.08Mbps from my tests, and managed to break the 20Mbps barrier on five occasions.

As was the case for download speeds at the Sydney CBD address, upload speeds weren’t that great, hovering around 10Mbps. In Homebush, things actually got worse, with an average upload speed of just 7.70Mbps.

Upload speeds are important for anyone who intends to live stream content or upload large files, and so if this is you, you may find that the Vodafone 5G home internet service won’t be able to service your needs. I was able to carry out a video call with the TechRadar team largely without issue. I did experience some buffering, but not to the point where I had to switch back over to my regular home internet connection, which has upload speeds of up to 100Mbps.

Connection

I was very impressed with the connection I experienced to the Vodafone 5G modem and the mesh node. I had the modem setup in my main living space and the mesh node at the other end of my apartment in my bedroom. When I walked into my bedroom, my phone seamlessly switched over to the mesh node, and it continued to deliver similar speeds to those experienced when connected to the main modem.

You can easily see which devices are connected to which access point within the My Internet Connection app.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Gaming

Accessing web pages, social media, and streaming video content shouldn’t pose much of an issue to the Vodafone Home Premium 5G internet plan, but what about gaming? Avid gamers rely on fast connection times to game servers and, because of the inherent nature of wireless internet connections, they can suffer from a greater amount of interference.

I’m not a gamer myself, so to test the Vodafone 5G service’s gaming credentials, I pointed my web browser at Game Server Ping to conduct a ping test, and compared the results achieved via the 5G connection against my regular Gigacomm home internet connection.

Here’s how Vodafone’s 5G internet ping rates compared to my fixed-line connection. All tests were carried out on a laptop connected to each modem via an Ethernet cable.

I handed over the main 5G modem to my gamer colleague who lives at the Homebush address, and while they could connect and play games, they added that it was “very laggy and cuts out frequently, particularly when experiencing higher ping speeds”.

Based on this statement and the ping speeds, the Vodafone 5G home internet service isn’t likely going to be a good option for hardcore gamers.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Extra Features

With the exception of Optus, which includes a standard Netflix subscription with its top-tier uncapped 5G home internet plan, you won’t find any extra perks bundled in with a home broadband plan.

Vodafone mobile customers stand to benefit the most from a 5G home internet service with the telco, as they can save AU$5 per month ongoing as long as the mobile service remains active.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Cancellation and hidden fees

As per Vodafone’s terms and conditions, you are free to cancel your service at any time, but there are some stipulations. Firstly, you’re required to pay a minimum of one month of the service and the monthly fee is charged “until the end of the month in which you notify that you wish to cancel”.

As long as you return the modem and mesh to Vodafone within 30 days of cancellation, you won’t have to pay for it. If you return it after 30 days, or if you don’t return it at all, you’ll be charged a device payment calculated at AU$11 per unused month in a 36-month period. The maximum cost of the modem if it’s not returned is AU$396. If you remain connected for 36 months, the modem is free.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Reputation

• Few customer reviews for 5G home internet
• NBN customers leave negative reviews

It's tricky to find many reviews from customers for Vodafone's 5G home internet service. However, of the accounts I can find, via Reddit and Whirlpool, the general consensus is positive, with people claiming they get good 5G signal and decent speeds.

As for Vodafone as an internet provider on the whole, however, things are much less positive. The telco's NBN service receives generally negative reviews on sites such as Product Review, with a 2.1-star rating out of 5, from 544 reviews at the time of publishing.

Given the fact you're able to return the 5G modem to Vodafone within 30 days of cancelling a service to avoid paying the modem device fee, I would still recommend signing up to Vodafone 5G home internet, as you can effectively trial it for a month and only pay AU$60 for the 100Mbps plan.

Vodafone 5G Home Internet: Verdict

Based on my experience using the Vodafone 5G home internet plan, I can recommend it for anyone considering signing up for the non-NBN alternative. I would, of course, recommend you check your area for network coverage before signing up.

Plan pricing is competitive, especially if you are able to achieve download speeds faster than those advertised. This isn't a guarantee of course, but a nice bonus.

I also appreciate the fact that Vodafone will waive the modem device fee if you return it within 30 days of cancelling your service. Considering some other providers, such as Optus, don't offer the same benefit, it makes Vodafone's service the more attractive option.

2025 was an exciting year for NBN Co – well, as exciting as it can possibly get for our government-run broadband supplier – as it brought with it a series of NBN speed upgrades that now allow millions of Australians to achieve home internet download speeds that would've been unimaginable just a couple of years ago.

And it seems Aussies are clearly seeing the benefits of the faster plans as NBN Co has said that, “Since launching on September 14 [2025], customers across Australia have been ordering higher speed plans at the fastest rate we’ve ever seen – more than 12,300 orders per week.”

For context, in the same period in 2024, NBN Co recorded an average of 8,200 orders per week. In short, Australians are clearly seeing the benefits a faster NBN plan can bring, and are either upgrading their plan or taking advantage of the free fibre upgrade to get them the necessary technology required for the faster plans.

Wait, what speed upgrades?

For the uninitiated, the speed upgrades arrived in mid-September, boosting NBN 100 plans to NBN 500 with 5x increased download speeds, NBN 250 to NBN 750 (a 3x speed increase) and a speed bump to the existing NBN 1000 plans, giving them a guaranteed minimum speed of 750Mbps.

NBN Co also unleashed a new NBN 2000 speed tier with theoretical maximum download speeds of 2Gbps, although so far only a handful of providers are offering it. That being said, the broadband wholesaler claims it has received 9,500 orders for an NBN 2000 plan since they went live.

Do the upgrades deliver on their promise?

Evidence suggests that yes, they do! I’ve previously reported on speed data recorded by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), which found that customers on the best NBN 500 plans were actually achieving even faster speeds – the average recorded speed was 503.9 Mbps.

How can I get involved?

If you want to get faster internet at home, there are a couple of things you need to check first. The main one to be aware of is the specific connection type you have at your premises – you will need either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). If you don’t have either, then you can request a free fibre upgrade that will see a technician coming to your home to install FTTP equipment. This upgrade is available to premises that currently connect via FTTN or FTTC technology. If you connect via FTTB, then unfortunately there’s no upgrade path available to you.

NBN Co says 90% of the fixed-line network is now eligible to connect via full fibre and adds that it “expects to provide upgrade paths to all remaining Fibre to the Node (FTTN) premises by the end of 2030”.

What NBN plan should I get?

If you want to join the 12,300 Australians ordering a new high-speed NBN plan each week, the good news is you have plenty of choice. I regularly check prices of the best NBN plans and lately, there is excellent value to be found.

I ultimately recommend the most affordable plans, or those with the best discounts or any extra perks that are thrown in. Internet service providers (ISPs) list typical evening speed (TES) figures – the download speed you can realistically expect to achieve during the busier evening hours of 7pm – 11pm. All of the ISPs I monitor quote the maximum 500Mbps for NBN 500 plans, while many quote close-to maximum on NBN 1000 plans.

For me, an NBN 500 plan is the best option for most people and considering you should achieve maximum speeds all hours of the day, the most affordable plans are your best bet.

Here are my top 3 choices:

Full fibre broadband doesn't have to cost the Earth, thanks to this outstanding deal that's just appeared at EE. It's for their 150Mbps Full Fibre package, which is down to just £27.99 per month.

It's a cracking price, but just be aware that it's a 24-month contract, and the monthly price will rise to £31.99 from 31 March 2026 and to £35.99 from 31 March 2027. Considering your existing provider will likely raise prices in that time too, this is a deal well worth considering.

To further sweeten the deal, EE will cover up to £300 of your leaving fees, and there are £0 upfront costs. So, if you've been trundling along on sub-par internet, this could be the package you've been waiting for.

Today's best EE Broadband deal

EE is one of the best broadband providers on the market today. Thanks to fast speeds and impressive reliability, EE is known for delivering a great service. Additionally, EE uses the Openreach network, which means its coverage is widely available.

The offer includes WiFi 7, which is EE's most powerful broadband. That means you'll enjoy higher speeds and a more consistent connection – even when you’re further from your hub.

If 150Mbps isn't enough for you, EE also has a range of fantastic offers at different speeds, including a 1.6Gbps package for busy households.

Buying the best Wi-Fi extender in 2025 can be tricky - and at TechRadar we're here to help.

The reason it's particularly difficult these days is that thanks to modern Wi-Fi technology (including the relatively new Wi-Fi 7 standard), our wireless networks are covering more of our properties than ever. Meanwhile, the best mesh Wi-Fi routers, which typically comprise of a router and additional satellite units that extend the wireless network, are growing in popularity - and they have become arguably the best way to eliminate network dead zones, a task that Wi-Fi extenders were created for.

This means that many companies no longer make Wi-Fi extenders, focusing instead on releasing new wireless routers or mesh Wi-Fi systems, and that in turn makes trying to find the best Wi-Fi extender for your needs more difficult.

There are still plenty of reasons why you'd need a Wi-Fi extender to help your wireless network reach all corners of your home, however. The best Wi-Fi extenders (also sometimes known as Wi-Fi repeaters) should be easy to add to your existing network - in some cases, you just need to plug in, change a few settings, and you're good to go.

It's certainly a lot less work than replacing your router and setting up a wireless network from scratch. Wi-Fi extenders should also work with your existing network, even if your router is from a different brand.

Wi-Fi extenders are often quite a bit less expensive than buying a new router (and certainly a lot less expensive than mesh Wi-Fi systems), which means they remain a quick and affordable way to make sure every device in your home can connect to the internet, no matter where its placed.

Still, with fewer new models released these days, which Wi-Fi extender should you buy? Our current picks below were all released a few years ago, but they all remain excellent choices, and they are all still on sale. We've also called in more modern Wi-Fi extenders to thoroughly test, and if they prove to be worthwhile, we'll be adding them to this guide in a major update soon.

To help you make the right choice, we've answered the most common questions about Wi-Fi extenders, and our in-depth comparison between Wi-Fi extenders and mesh routers can guide you on which solution suits your needs.

The quick list

There are still several Wi-Fi extenders on the market in 2025, though many are several years old now, and they all ultimately do the same thing. With that in mind, we've whittled our list down to only the very best options, so you can be assured that you're getting your money's worth. Remember to click "Read more below" to find out more before you hit buy.

The best Wi-Fi extenders in 2025

The best Wi-Fi extender overall

The TP-Link RE700X is proof that you do not need to spend a lot of money to get great Wi-Fi coverage in every corner of your home. While many Wi-Fi extenders are trying to charge consumers enough money you might as well get a mesh system, this one keeps its price inexpensive by keeping things simple and offering Wi-Fi 6 connectivity on top of it.

Though not loaded up on features, this Wi-Fi 6 support is certainly more than enough when combined with just how effective it is at covering dead spots. Nicknamed the “dead-zone killer," it certainly delivered during testing, covering an area in our space where the weak Wi-Fi signal normally forces us to rely on PowerLine adaptors.

It's also easy and simple to set up, making it a great option for most people, including those who have never even seen a range extender before. You can spend a lot of money on an intimidating range extender, or you can make things easy for yourself and your wallet with the TP-Link RE700X.

Read our full TP-Link RE700X review

The best budget Wi-Fi extender

If you’re looking to extend your Wi-Fi 6 network to all four corners of your home, TP-Link’s RE605X WiFi 6 Range Extender is worth taking a look. It’s as affordable and as easy to set up as the RE650 extender while being backwards compatible with older Wi-Fi 5 routers. If you've got a new Wi-Fi 7 router, then the RE605X will still work, though will only offer Wi-Fi 6 speeds.

We found during testing that TP-Link’s Tether app does a good job of keeping setting up simple, making this a great option for Wi-Fi extender newbies. It isn’t just for the less savvy users, however. The RE605X also provides a web browser interface for more experienced users who want more control over their network settings.

It’s also proven to deliver noticeable improvement in Wi-Fi performance. On test, it boosted our router’s speed to 100Mbps from 34Mbps on the 2.4GHz and from 85Mbps on the 5.0GHz bands in the poorly connected part of our space. Our stream downloads saw a marked improvement as well.

Read the full TP-Link RE605X WiFi 6 Range Extender review

The best Wi-Fi extender for gamers

The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (EAX80) may be a little older, but with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities and an impressive range, it certainly deserves a spot in this best Wi-Fi extenders list. It's a little on the pricey end, but it's not really for people who are on the budget anyway, as it's more of an investment for those who require top-notch performance and massive coverage.

It boasts some features you typically see in actual routers such as four Gigabit Ethernet ports for connecting a games console and a USB 3.0 port for connecting a hard drive to provide network storage. It also has mesh extender capabilities, which means you can buy additional EAX80 extenders and link them together to create an enormous mesh network.

On test, its performance will blow you away. Performance on the slower 2.4GHz band jumped from our usual 18Mbps to 21Mbps. Meanwhile, the faster 5.0GHz band really got a shake-up, leaping from just 60Mbps to 342Mbps. This isn't going to be the best Wi-Fi extender for most people, but it's amazing for those with massive homes and offices to cover.

Read our full Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (EAX80) review

Get the best deals on Netgear products with our Netgear promo codes.

Frequently asked questions

How we test

TechRadar tests Wi-Fi extenders in a variety of ways, from how easy they are to connect and setup, what apps or software they might come with, and of course, how much increase you get to the range of your wireless internet.

Features will be noted, we check to see if Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 are supported, as well as if they're able to connect to any existing router and if the products are Dual-band or Tri-band compatible. As a Wi-Fi extender is designed to support an existing router, and not act as a dedicated router in itself, you'll likely want to check if your wireless router isn't up to scratch before you spend serious money on an extender.

A series of benchmarks are used to determine how effective a Wi-Fi extender is, using applications like the Ookla Speed test and the Steam game download client to test how many megabytes per second of data is achievable in different locations of a home, such as right beside the extender itself and behind partition walls that could block a signal.

TP-Link AXE5400: One minute review

Wi-Fi 6E, which the Asus RP-AX58 features, is a bit like the missing link of the Wi-Fi family. It was the first version of Wi-Fi technology to introduce the high-speed 6.0GHz frequency band – in addition to the existing 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands used by previous generations of Wi-Fi. However, it never really took off as many people had only just upgraded to Wi-Fi 6, and it wasn’t long before the absurdly fast Wi-Fi 7 came along and made poor old 6E look a bit irrelevant.

The advantage of that, though, is that you can now pick up a high-performance range extender that uses Wi-Fi 6E at a pretty competitive price.

We liked TP-Link’s BE3600 range extender thanks to its ease of use and installation, but its dual-band Wi-Fi 7 performance was actually fairly modest, with a top speed of 3.6Gbps. The AXE5400 (model number RE815XE) is around the same price as the BE3600, but the use of Wi-Fi 6E means that it can provide tri-band Wi-Fi performance and a speed of 5.4Gbps that should be more than adequate for use with most home broadband services.

TP-Link AXE5400: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $139.99/£119.14
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: US, UK

The AXE5400 costs $139.99/£119.14, which is slightly less expensive than the TP-Link BE3600 with Wi-Fi 7, even though the tri-band Wi-Fi 6E used by the AXE5400 actually provides stronger performance with a top speed of 5.4Gbps.

It’s not currently on sale in Australia, though, where it looks like TP-Link is skipping a generation and going from an older Wi-Fi 6 model to the new BE3600 with Wi-Fi 7 instead.

• Value: 4.5/5

TP-Link AXE5400: Design

• Big, bulky design
• Four external antennae
• Easy-to-use app

It’s safe to say that the AXE5400 is not going to quietly and unobtrusively blend into your home décor.

Its four large external antennae make it one of the biggest and bulkiest range extenders we’ve come across, and with the antennae fully extended the AXE5400 measures a full 348mm high, 106mm wide and 80mm deep (including the plug section that is inserted straight into a mains power socket).

In fact, it’s so large that it actually blocked an adjacent power socket when we set it up in our offices. There’s also a series of status indicator lights on the front panel, which are useful when setting up the AXE5400, but also mean that it may take up even more space in order to keep the front of the unit clear and visible.

The bulky design does serve a purpose though, as the large antennae help to beam the range extender’s tri-band Wi-Fi signal far and wide, and ensure that it obliterates any annoying deadspots in your home. There’s an Ethernet port on the right-hand side of the unit to provide a wired connection too – although, of course, the AXE5400 still relies on Wi-Fi to connect to your main broadband router.

• Design: 3.5/5

TP-Link AXE5400: Features

• Simple installation
• Helpful status indicators
• Plugs directly into mains power socket

It may not support the latest Wi-Fi 7, but the AXE5400 includes plenty of features that enable it to provide strong Wi-Fi performance, and also to help people who may not have used a range extender before.

The use of tri-band Wi-Fi 6E allows the AXE5400 to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal on three separate frequency bands. The 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands provide compatibility with older PCs and mobile devices, while the high-speed 6.0GHz band boosts the Wi-Fi performance to a healthy 5.4Gbps – which is significantly faster than dual-band range extenders that use Wi-Fi 7, such as TP-Link’s BE3600, or the Asus RP-BE58.

And, as mentioned, there’s a Gigabit Ethernet port on the AXE5400 to provide a wired connection as well. It also provides a feature called ‘adaptive path selection’ – often just called ‘roaming’ by most other manufacturers – which can monitor a laptop or mobile device as you move from room to room, and decide when to hand the Wi-Fi connection back to your main router in order to maintain the best performance.

Like most range extenders, the AXE5400 will work with routers from any manufacturer, but it also supports TP-Link’s OneMesh system, which allows it to be used as part of a wider mesh networking system if you already own a TP-Link router with OneMesh.

It’s easy to use too (although the annoying Christmas ads that seemed to pop up every now and then within the app were pretty shameless). The TP-Link Tether app can automatically detect the Wi-Fi signal from the AXE5400 and guide you through the process of connecting to the three different frequency bands.

You can use the same name and password as your main network from your broadband router, or create a new name and password just for the AXE5400. There’s even a signal test within the app to help you find the best spot to place the AXE5400 in order to deal with any deadspots in particular rooms within your home. And, for more advanced users, there’s a web browser interface that provides more detailed control over your network settings.

• Features: 4/5

TP-Link AXE5400: Performance

• Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E
• 5.4Gbps Wi-Fi
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Our offices are a good place to test range extenders, as we have one office towards the back of the building that does suffer from a very noticeable Wi-Fi deadspot – which is usually managed with the use of some PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired network connection instead.

Thankfully, though, the AXE5400 dealt with that problem in no time at all, providing a strong Wi-Fi signal on all three frequency bands as soon as I set it up in a hallway just outside that back office.

The office broadband runs at 150Mbps, and even the slower 2.4GHz band on the AXE5400 managed to hit 140Mbps with the Ookla Speed Test. Steam downloads were a little slower at 110Mbps, but that speed is still in line with the 2.4GHz performance of other range extenders that we’ve tested.

Switching to the 5.0GHz band immediately boosted performance, hitting the full 150Mbps with both the Ookla and Steam tests. And, of course, the fastest 6.0GHz band had no trouble maintaining those speeds as well.

If you only have older PCs or mobile devices that use Wi-Fi 5 or 6 on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands then you may not need a tri-band range extender such the AXE5400.

But, if you’re able to make use of that 6.0GHz band, then the AXE5400 is a fast, reliable way of getting rid of Wi-Fi deadspots at a more competitive price than newer Wi-Fi 7 models.

• Performance: 4/5

Should You Buy The TP-Link AXE5400?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also Consider

If you're undecided about the TP-Link AXE5400, I've compared its specs with two other options that might be a better fit.

Asus RP-AX58: One minute review

We liked the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus, which provides dual-band Wi-Fi 7 with good performance at a competitive price. However, most people are still using older PCs and mobile devices that don’t support Wi-Fi 7 yet.

There are also many brand-new PCs and laptops now available that don’t have Wi-Fi 7 either (yes, Apple, we’re looking at you). And, of course, there’s no need to buy a range extender with Wi-Fi 7 if you’re still using an old router that only has Wi-Fi 5 or 6. In that case you might want to look at the Asus RP-AX58 range extender instead, which sticks with Wi-Fi 6 and an even more affordable price.

Admittedly, its dual-band Wi-Fi does run at a relatively modest 3.0Gbps, but that should still be more than adequate for streaming video or gaming in most homes, and the RP-AX58 will be a good, affordable option if you just need to boost your Wi-Fi into an upstairs bedroom or other area that suffers from a Wi-Fi deadspot.

Asus RP-AX58: Price And Availability

• How much does it cost? $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62
• When is it available: Now
• Where can you get it: US, UK, Australia

Sticking with Wi-Fi 6 means that the RP-AX58 is currently available for a very competitive $79.99/£64.99/AU $103.62.

That makes it one of the most affordable range extenders we’ve seen recently, and it’s considerably cheaper than Asus’ RP-BE58 with Wi-Fi 7, as well as rivals such as TP-Link’s BE3600. It’s available in most regions and, as Wi-Fi 6 is a few years old now, you can find it discounted online quite often if you want to shop around.

• Value: 4/5

Asus RP-AX58: Design

• Compact, slimline design
• No cables, plugs directly into mains socket
• 2x internal antennae

The RP-AX58 looks virtually identical to its Wi-Fi 7 stablemate from Asus, with a similar slimline design that hides its two Wi-Fi antennae inside the body of the range extender.

It measures just 150mm high, 72mm wide and 87mm deep and, like most range extenders it’s designed to plug directly into a mains power socket, so its compact design ensures that you can simply plug it into any convenient socket in any room around your home or office.

There’s a Gigabit Ethernet port on the right-hand side of the range extender that can provide a wired connection as well (although the RP-AX58 will still connect to your main broadband router via Wi-Fi).

• Design: 4

Asus RP-AX58: Features

• Supports Asus AiMesh technology
• Compatible with most routers
• App feels a little clumsy

The Asus RP-AX58 provides dual-band Wi-Fi 6, running on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, which ensures compatibility with most PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

Its 3.0Gbps performance isn’t going to break any speed records, but it should be more than adequate for use with most home broadband services, and fast enough to eliminate any Wi-Fi deadspots in rooms or other areas that suffer from poor Wi-Fi. The RP-AX58 will work with broadband routers from most manufacturers, but it also supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, which allows it to act as part of a mesh Wi-Fi network in conjunction with Asus’ own routers or mesh systems.

The Asus Extender app has a few rough edges, though. As I’ve seen before, the opening screen of the app displays some jumbled text on the screen of my iPhone (although that’s not a problem on the larger screen of an iPad).

However, even when the text is clear it’s... well... still a bit unclear. The app tells you to enter the ‘default password’ for the Wi-Fi network created by the range extender, when in fact the network doesn’t initially require a password.

It’s only after connecting the RP-AX58 to your existing Wi-Fi network that the app gives you the opportunity to set a password. You can create an entirely new network name and password just for connecting to the RP-AX58, or if you want to keep things simple you can just tell the app to use the same name and password as your existing Wi-Fi network.

The low price of the RP-AX58 means that there’s not much in the way of additional features, but that’s not a problem as long as it delivers the goods when tackling your Wi-Fi deadspots.

• Features: 3/5

Asus RP-AX58: Performance

• Dual-band Wi-Fi 6
• 3.0Gbps speed
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet port

The use of Wi-Fi 6 and a top speed of 3.0Gbps seems almost quaint when compared to the blazing speeds of the latest Wi-Fi 7 devices. Yet few people really need multi-gig speeds for their home or office Wi-Fi, so the RP-AX58 should still provide all the speed you need for most home broadband services.

It worked well with my own Wi-Fi deadspot, located in an office towards the back of a building that my normal office router struggles to reach. I installed the RP-AX58 in a hallway just outside that office and immediately said goodbye to the dead zone – and to the PowerLine adaptors that I normally use to provide a wired connection in that room.

My office broadband runs at 150Mbps, and the slower 2.4GHz band provided by the RP-AX58 was able to provide a perfectly reliable speed of 120Mbps in the back office for Steam downloads and the Ookla Speed Test.

Admittedly, the RP-BE58 range extender from Asus ran slightly faster on that frequency band, hitting 135Mps, but the RP-BE58 is more expensive because of its up-to-date support for Wi-Fi 7, and 120Mbps will still be enough to handle web browsing and streaming video with no trouble.

And, as expected, the faster 5.0GHz band delivered the full 150Mbps available with our office broadband for both Ookla and Steam. Owners of newer devices that support Wi-Fi 7 might prefer a more up-to-date router or range extender that can deliver the higher performance of Wi-Fi 7, but if you just need to boost the Wi-Fi in one or two rooms around your home then the RP-AX58 will do the trick without breaking the bank.

• Performance: 3/5

Should You Buy The Asus RP-AX58?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also Consider

If you're undecided about the Asus RP-AX58, I've compared its specs with two other options that might be a better fit.

Ever since the NBN speed upgrades arrived in September this year, I’ve been pretty vocal in my opinion of the value offered by the NBN 500 tier. Although, up until now, that opinion has largely been speculative, due to the fact that any claims around real-world speeds have come from providers themselves.

That’s all now changed thanks to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) releasing its latest Measuring Broadband Performance report. Published today (December 17), the new report confirms that NBN 500 more than delivers on the promised performance.

To give you a general overview of the NBN 500 tier (and before I get into some serious numbers), the ACCC confirmed that “[the] average download speed on the upgraded NBN Home Fast plan during the busy hours of 7 to 11pm on weekdays was 503.9 Mbps, with 80.5 per cent of services on this plan achieving an average busy hour speed exceeding 500 Mbps.” In short, NBN 500 plans are actually overdelivering on speed, which further cements them as an exceptional-value option for any Aussie home that can access them.

The top-performing providers

As with previous broadband reports from the ACCC (which we often use here at TechRadar to back up any claims we make when recommending certain internet service providers), performance data is broken down by provider and by time of day. The ACCC relies on monitoring real-world customers’ connections, with the nine providers mentioned in the new report all having crossed a minimum threshold of 40 total users.Those providers consist of the ‘big three’ of Telstra, Optus and TPG, along with a selection of smaller providers such as Exetel and Leaptel. Data is then collected during all hours of the day and the identified busy evening hours of 7pm to 11pm.

In what may come as surprising news to some, Optus came out on top, delivering 104.5% of advertised plan speeds during all hours of the day and 103.7% during the busier hours. Exetel, which regularly performs well in the ACCC reports, came in a close second, recording 103.8% and 103.4% for the same periods, respectively.

Rounding out the top three is TPG, which achieved 103.4% of advertised plan speeds during all hours and 102.8% during the busier evening hours. You can view the full graph of results in the image below.

These figures do encompass all plans offered by a provider, so in Optus’ case that means the slower NBN 25 and faster NBN 1000 plans are also considered. In Exetel’s case, however, only the NBN 500 is taken into account, since the provider has only offered its new 500Mbps ‘One’ plan since June.

And in what could be interpreted as proof that offering just a single plan can benefit end users, (and should be simpler to manage from the provider’s perspective), Exetel was the only provider of out of four the report mentioned to successfully deliver four simultaneous 4K video streams 100% of the time. Aussie Broadband, Leaptel and Telstra were also assessed – Telstra was able to consistently achieve three streams without any issues, while Leaptel managed two and Aussie Broadband could only manage one.

Proof the fibre upgrade works

The main thing to be aware of with NBN 500 (and faster) plans is that you’ll need either a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection type to access them. If you don’t have one of these yet, then you’re likely eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade that will see the necessary equipment for a FTTP connection installed at no cost. If you qualify for the latter I’d 100% recommend taking advantage of it.

Why? Because the ACCC’s data shows that customers with the combination of an FTTP connection and an NBN 500 plan stand to benefit the most. The data shows that this specific pairing resulted in customers achieving 102.9% of plan speeds during all hours of the day – or 514.5Mbps – and 102.5% during the busier hours – 512.5Mbps.

On the other hand, customers on the same plan with an HFC connection only achieved 97.8% and 97.4% of plan speeds during the same respective periods.

(Interestingly, customers with an FTTP connection and an NBN 750 plan achieved just 97.6% and 97.3% of their advertised plan speed – which to my mind just reinforces what great value NBN 500 plans are.)

Not on full fibre? No problem!

If you connect to the fixed-line NBN via an older technology like fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC), then the maximum plan speed you can achieve is 100Mbps. While that could be all the speed less-demanding households need, with 5x faster NBN 500 plans usually costing the same as their 100Mbps counterparts, it makes more sense to get the upgrade in my opinion.

Still, if you are on either of these connection types, then the ACCC report has some good news too. The consumer watchdog found that customers who connect via an FTTN connection were able to achieve 104.7% of plan speeds on NBN 25, 95.6% on NBN 50 and 90.1% on NBN 100. While those last two figures are shy of 100%, they’re not too far off. Plus, these figures represent an average of all the providers monitored.

Overall, FTTN connections across all available speed tiers achieved 95.8% of their advertised plan speed. FTTC fared batter, achieving 105.1% of advertised plan speeds across all available tiers.

Which plans to get?

In my view, what the ACCC’s data ultimately shows is that you should be able to turn to any NBN provider for a fast service. It therefore makes sense to opt for a plan that’s affordable. I’ve picked out what I think are the best affordable options across each speed tier below, and you can also click through to my dedicated guides for each tier for more options.

Virgin Media is offering new customers the opportunity to get a pair of Meta Ray-Ban (Gen 1) smart glasses, worth £329, or a £125 bill credit when purchasing select broadband and TV bundles on a 24-month contract. That's certainly a unique freebie.

The most affordable way to benefit from the above is to buy the M350 Cinema bundle and Netflix for £46.99. The deal includes average download speeds of 362Mbps, over 200 TV channels, and Netflix Standard (with Ads). There are also other bundles available, with dedicated packages for sports fans from £59.99 per month.

The benefits don't end there. All new customers who sign up for one of these bundles will also benefit from no setup fee (usually £35) and can enjoy a host of content, including recently added themed channels across popular genres such as comedy, crime, and mystery, at no extra cost.

Customers who refer a friend can also receive a £50 bonus per recommendation. This is the deal that just keeps on giving. Don't hang around, though, as it expires on December 17.

Today's best Virgin Media Broadband deal

Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer smart glasses enable you to live in the moment and share how you see the world. Listen, call, capture and livestream features are seamlessly integrated within the classic frame – so you can stay connected to the world around you.

If you choose to take advantage of the bill credit offer instead, then that £125 will be applied to your first bill, and any that’s left over will be applied to your following bills until it’s all used. As well as using the credit to pay your bill, eligible customers can use it to buy on-demand entertainment on Virgin TV.

While you're searching for the best prices, you might like to look at all the best broadband deals that are available right now.

With over 100 different brands to compare as of late 2025, choosing an NBN provider that you know will deliver a reliable and (perhaps even more importantly) affordable service can be a tricky feat.

And even when you think you’ve found your ideal provider when it comes to speed and pricing, lingering questions can often remain. For example, if you run into any technical hiccups with initial setup or in the future, can you be sure you’ll get the support you need?

One NBN provider that prides itself on ticking all the above boxes is Flip. The Australian-owned and operated telco isn’t just a favourite of ours here at TechRadar, but its strong reputation for affordability and service has earned it numerous product of the year awards (from prestigious brands like Finder, WhistleOut and Mozo) as well as a legion of happy customers – and they’re not shy about singing its praises.

Here’s why you should consider switching to Flip for your home internet service and join thousands of other satisfied subscribers.

Great value, first and foremost

Perhaps the main reason why we’re such fans of Flip is the sheer value it offers. Considering the vast majority of NBN providers now promise maximum plan speeds (or close to them), in our mind it makes sense to go with a provider that’s competitive when it comes to pricing.

Flip has that covered, and then some – especially right now, as it’s currently offering 8-month introductory discounts on two of its most popular speed tiers, NBN 25 and NBN 500.

Generally speaking, when internet service providers (ISPs) offer sign-up discounts on their plans they run for 6 months or less, but Flip is consistently committed to offering exceptional value, and so it’s added an extra couple of months beyond the norm for even greater savings.

Moreover, these discounts come on top of Flip’s already affordable plan pricing, so even when the introductory discount comes to an end, you can be sure you’re getting a super competitive rate for your NBN service.

The 8-month discount on the NBN 500 plan is particularly noteworthy, as it makes this newly released speed tier accessible to many. It costs just AU$69 a month for the first 8 months, before reverting to its regular ongoing price of AU$83.90 per month.

The average monthly cost of an NBN 500 plan at the time of writing is just over AU$93p/m, so in both instances, Flip is well below this benchmark figure.

What’s more, Flip offers new customers a 14-day satisfaction guarantee whereby if you’re not totally satisfied with the service you’re receiving, you’re free to leave without charge.

While it’s par for the course that NBN providers don’t lock you into a contract, meaning you’re free to leave after as little as 1 month, it’s uncommon to come across a completely risk-free, zero-cost guarantee such as this.

Flip is a TechRadar preferred partner (What does that mean?)

Support that’s fast and friendly

In the majority of cases, you shouldn’t run into any issues when you connect with Flip – but this is technology we’re talking about, so as we all know it’s only natural if an occasional issue arises. With a Flip NBN service, you’re never going to be left high and dry thanks to its professional, well-trained and friendly support team.

Technical support is available 7 days a week via phone, email and a self-service portal. You can also log a support request on Flip’s website and ask for a specific time and date for an agent to call you back – no more waiting on hold for hours, or changing your plans to ensure you don’t miss the call.

Flip’s commitment to providing first-class customer service goes further than a list of contact methods, however. The telco ensures every member of its customer support team goes through a rigorous training program so that everyone has the same technical knowledge to offer resolutions to problems as quickly as possible.

Not only does this mean that, in most cases, you won’t need to have an issue escalated to someone higher up the chain, it also means you’ll speak to the same staff member until your issue is resolved.

Flip’s philosophy for its support team is that customers’ issues should be treated as if they were coming from a friend or family member – meaning they’ll seek to resolve any problems in a fast and fuss-free fashion, keep the customer apprised of any updates as they occur, and also follow up after a case is closed to ensure it was resolved to the user’s satisfaction.

Satisfaction, exemplified

And you don’t need to just take our word for it. Flip has thousands of positive user ratings on ProductReview.com.au. That’s especially noteworthy when you consider that most people will only leave a review when a product or service doesn’t meet their expectations – so just the fact that so many users have taken the time to leave a positive review for Flip speaks volumes.

Numerous satisfied customers have even taken the time to comment on the positive experience they’ve had with the telco. Not only do many praise the internet service received, but they even go so far as to thank the various team members who’ve helped resolve their technical issues.

What’s perhaps even more encouraging is the variety of names that get mentioned. In our experience looking at reviews of other NBN providers, one or two names tend to get mentioned at most.

For Flip, multiple team members are given praise, highlighting how thorough and valuable the telco’s ongoing training is when it comes to ensuring the technical team has the tools and knowledge to provide customers with first-class support.

How to sign up

If you’re keen to switch to an NBN provider that offers highly competitive plan pricing but still offers great customer service, head to the Flip website to view the full selection of NBN plans.

As the resident NBN expert for TechRadar, I spend a good deal of time tracking prices of the best NBN plans. And while there are often some fantastic internet deals that can change on a monthly basis, one constant I’ve noticed is just how expensive Telstra’s plan costs can be.

I’ve never shied away from calling out the nation’s largest telco for its exorbitant prices, which for a long time have been the most expensive of all the NBN providers I monitor.

You can imagine the look on my face, then, when I recently noticed that Telstra has actually reduced the prices across its entire plan lineup, by as much as AU$14 in some cases. Mind you, my shock was quite short-lived, as despite the reductions Telstra is still among the most expensive providers. So it’s still hard to recommend it if you’re looking for a great-value NBN plan.

What I can happily recommend is a selection of alternative plans from smaller providers that offer basically the same (or very similar) service as Telstra,at a much lower price point.

Read on to discover how much you could save versus a Telstra NBN plan.

NBN 25

• Telstra price: AU$85p/m
• Flip price: AU$44p/m (first 8 months, then AU$59.90p/m)
• First year saving: AU$428.40

An NBN 25 plan provides basic internet access, and is best suited to single or two-person households that just need to surf the web, stream the odd HD or 4K video, and browse social media. Virtually all providers that offer an NBN 25 plan promise maximum download speeds during all hours of the day so, in my mind, it doesn’t make sense to sign up with Telstra when you can pay over AU$400 less each year by going with Flip.

• View more of the best NBN 25 plans

NBN 50

• Telstra price: AU$95p/m
• Tangerine price: AU$64.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU$84.90p/m)
• First year saving: AU$361.20

NBN 50 continues to be the most popular choice in Australia at the time of writing, although I do expect this to change in the near future given the arrival of NBN 500 plans, which offer the best overall value in my opinion. This Tangerine NBN 50 plan offers enough speed to comfortably stream 4K video, but if you have a high number of connected devices in your home, you’ll want to consider a faster plan to ensure you have enough bandwidth to go around.

• View more of the best NBN 50 plans

NBN 100 & NBN 500

• Telstra price: AU$99p/m
• Tangerine price: AU$68.90p/m (first 12 months, then AU$88.90p/m)
• First year saving: AU$361.20

I’ve grouped the NBN 100 and NBN 500 speed tiers together because, in general, telcos are now charging the same price for them. This is because NBN 500 is essentially a no-cost speed boost to 100Mbps plans that's available to homes that connect to the fixed-line network via either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). If your home doesn’t connect via either of these, then NBN 100 is the fastest you can get, but you’ll pay the same (in general) as customers who can get NBN 500.

Once again, Tangerine is the cheapest Telstra alternative in the first year thanks to a 12-month discount that’s available for a limited time – get in quickly though, as it’s set to expire on December 14.

• View more of the best NBN 100 plans
• View more of the best NBN 500 plans

NBN 750

• Telstra price: AU$119p/m
• Dodo price: AU$79.99p/m (first 12 months, then AU$99.99p/m)
• First year saving: AU$468.12

I’m still on the fence about the need for the NBN 750 speed tier. An NBN 500 plan provides more than enough speed for most homes for a lot less. And if you want to get a truly fast plan, you have the option of NBN 1000 for not a lot more money.

Still, if you think it’s the ideal speed for you, then Dodo’s current 12-month promotion can’t be ignored. The telco does only claim 700Mbps typical evening speeds, compared to the maximum speeds you’re promised with Telstra, but with over AU$460 in savings up for grabs, Dodo delivers far better bang for buck.

• View more of the best NBN 750 plans

NBN 1000

• Telstra price: AU$129
• Buddy price: AU$99 (first month free)
• First year saving: AU$459

An NBN 1000 plan is a great option for power users with a particularly high number of connected devices, or who want to carry out multiple, simultaneous data-heavy tasks. It’s also going to be ideal for gamers aiming to download large game files quickly. I’ve noticed the average monthly cost of an NBN 1000 plan has come down slightly in the past 12 months, from AU$120 in December 2024 to just over AU$115 today.

Buddy's gigabit plan has been my outright favourite ever since the provider launched in July 2024 due to its low AU$99 monthly charge. And right now, you can score your first month for free, making it even more affordable.

• View more of the best NBN 1000 plans

As you can see, there's potentially hundreds of dollars in savings available when you shop around for a new NBN plan. And as an added note, Telstra’s current pricing is nestled under a ‘Christmas Sale’ badge, so there’s no guarantee these lower prices are permanent. If they revert back to their previous prices, then you’ll obviously stand to save even more.

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• Have you upgraded your NBN plan to a faster speed? You might also need a new router

The colossal sales event that is Black Friday is almost upon us, and along with it come discounts on some of the best NBN plans in Australia. One of the most well-regarded internet providers, Aussie Broadband, often joins in on the fun, and it’s done so again in 2025, dropping prices across its home NBN plans.

From now until December 15, 2025, new and existing Aussie Broadband customers can save up to AU$120 over the first six months on select high-speed NBN plans. Yes, you read that right — if you're a current Aussie customer, you can opt in for one of these attractive Black Friday deals. The only catch? You'll need to upgrade from a slower plan.

Aussie Broadband has one of the best reputations among Australia's internet providers and is well known for excelling in one key area: customer experience. The telco takes pride in being easy to contact and having friendly, helpful support staff. And according to over 7,000 positive customer reviews, that dedication has paid off.

The telco also lives up to its premium reputation by delivering some of the fastest speeds in Australia, supported by its extensive local backhaul network and a wide range of peer-linked partners, including gaming giants like Blizzard and Valve, as well as Google, Meta, Microsoft and Netflix. Aussie Broadband is also the #1 provider for Steam download speeds nationwide, with a current average download speed of 137Mbps.

Here's a quick rundown of our recommended high-speed plans and their introductory 6-month discounts:

• Fast Fibre plan (NBN 500) | AU$95 AU$80p/m
• Superfast Fibre plan (NBN 750) | AU$119 AU$99p/m
• Ultrafast Fibre plan (NBN 1000) | AU$129 AU$109p/m
• Hyperfast plan (NBN 2000) | AU$189 AU$169p/m

If you’re keen on one of these Black Friday deals, note that each plan requires a specific promo code, which we've included below. All Aussie Broadband plans come with unlimited data, and work on a no-lock-in contract basis. If you’d like to add a new modem-router to your plan, you can choose between an Amazon Eero Pro 7 for AU$240 or an Amazon Eero 7 for AU$180 – these can be paid for upfront, or monthly over either 12 or 24 months.

If you're considering an NBN 2000 plan, then it's worth noting that Aussie Broadband offers a couple of options to choose from – a regular one and a 'Pro' plan. The main difference is upload speed: for FTTP connections, you’ll get 200Mbps for the former and 500Mbps on the Pro plan. If you connect via hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC), you can only sign up to the regular plan, which offers up to 100Mbps upload speeds.

While Aussie Broadband isn't known for being the cheapest NBN provider around, most current customers agree that Aussie’s slight premiums are worth it for the quality of service you receive. With these Black Friday deals in mind, now's a great time to try the telco, given the AU$120 maximum savings on offer. Given that all these discounts run for six-month periods, that should be more than enough time to trial things and decide whether Aussie is for you.

Note that these discounts will only be available until December 15, 2025, so you'll need to act fast if you want to score a good deal on your NBN plan.

Aussie Broadband is a TechRadar preferred partner (What does this mean?)

• The UK has begun testing on-board Wi-Fi connectivity using satellites
• The trial is being run on a GWR line in the South West
• It could raise internet speeds on board trains and improve reliability

British trains aren’t exactly known for their stellar Wi-Fi connectivity, but that could change in the near future thanks to a new scheme that takes its inspiration from Formula One racing. If successful, the plan could ramp up train Wi-Fi speeds and provide a more reliable connection for passengers on-board.

As reported by the BBC, a new pilot scheme will outfit a Great Western Railway (GWR) train with a combined connection system that will use both ground-based phone masts and some unknown low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide internet to passengers.

The project is being run by British tech firm Motion Applied together with Peninsula Transport, which is the transport body for Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

The pilot began in mid-November, will last for 60 days, and will be tested on GWR’s Intercity Express Train that runs in the South West. The hope is to raise internet speeds from the current paltry average of 1.09Mbps.

According to internet networking firm Ookla, the UK ranks 16 out of 18 major European and Asian nations for train Wi-Fi speeds – in comparison, Sweden averages a zippy 64.58Mbps.

Inspired by Formula One

The inspiration for the satellite move apparently came from Formula One, where reliable connections between drivers and teams are of paramount importance. By borrowing tech from racing cars, trains should be able to switch between phone masts and satellites while maintaining a reliable link.

It’s not immediately obvious what satellite networks will be used for the project. British company OneWeb is one contender, as is Starlink – the latter company has been linked with other UK train lines, although no word has emerged of it providing Wi-Fi for the GWR trial. We asked Motion Applied which satellite network will be used, but it replied by saying: “We aren’t able to disclose that at this moment.”

Earlier in 2025, the UK’s Department of Transport secured £41m to bring LEO satellite connectivity to all mainline trains by 2030. If that target is met, the days of slow, patchy internet when you’re riding the rails could finally be numbered.

The Black Friday sales in Australia are running rampant right now. While the official date is still a couple of weeks away, several of the country’s biggest retailers are dropping their deals early, and that includes some of my most-recommend NBN providers, such as Buddy Telco.

The internet service provider is only a year and a half old, but it's caused quite a shake-up of the NBN landscape since it launched back in July 2024. In fact, in my opinion, it’s consistently offered great value, and regularly appears in my guide to the best NBN plans.

Don’t believe me? Well for Black Friday 2025 Buddy’s offering new customers one month of free NBN – so now’s your chance to try Buddy out at no cost. To get the deal, simply use the code FREEMONTH at the checkout. This offer will be available well after Black Friday too, as it expires on January 13, 2026 (that feels odd to write) so you do have some time to take advantage – but with the Christmas holidays fast approaching, now seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.

While the month of free NBN applies to all of Buddy’s plans – the telco has options from 25Mbps through to 1,000Mbps – it’s the NBN 500 plan that has caught my attention in particular.

How so? Firstly, with discount applied, Buddy’s NBN 500 plan becomes the second-cheapest over the first year at AU$880, roughly AU$60 more expensive than Tangerine, which incidentally also has Black Friday deals on for the next few weeks. The ongoing cost is also among the lowest on this tier at AU$1,020 – though outside of introductory discounts, no provider seems to be coming close to matching Exetel’s low ongoing yearly cost of just AU$960.

As for Buddy’s NBN 1000 plan, again, it was already great value at just AU$99 a month. And with a AU$99 saving applied, it represents astonishingly good value considering the 875Mbps download speed claim. One of the fastest NBN plans for one of the lowest prices? You can’t say no to that.

Buddy Telco also offers plans on other speed tiers, including NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 (the latter is only available for households that don’t connect via FTTP or HFC, and therefore can’t get NBN 500). You can compare all the available plans in the price comparison widget below.

Buddy has undergone some changes since it first launched. Firstly, the only way you could get technical support was via an AI chatbot and secondly, the telco didn’t offer any hardware such as routers or modems. Both of these have been overhauled, with Buddy now offering an Amazon Eero6+ router to eligible customers – those with a fibre to the building (FTTB) connection aren’t eligible – for either a AU$180 upfront payment, or a payment plan of AU$15p/m for 12 months.

The telco has also introduced an Australia-based live chat support team, should you need any technical help with your service. If you need assistance outside the hours of 11am to 7pm AEST, the AI chatbot is still on standby to help answer questions.

And one more thing to note, Buddy has recently been sold to Tangerine, with the deal expected to be finalised in January next year. The telco will continue to use the Aussie Broadband network, however, and all customers of Tangerine and More NBN will also move over to Aussie's highly-rated network.

We’re still a few weeks away from what is arguably the biggest shopping weekend of the year in Black Friday, yet that hasn’t stopped Tangerine from dropping what are, without doubt, some of the most tantalising NBN deals I’ve ever seen with 12-month discounts across its entire lineup of plans, from basic NBN 25 through to ‘Hyperfast’ NBN 2000.

By extending its regular 6-month introductory discounts to a full year, Tangerine’s NBN plans become exceedingly affordable. My personal highlight is the telco’s Speedy Max NBN 500 plan, which plummets to an astonishingly low AU$826.80 for the first 12 months.

In order to grab this juicy deal, you will need the right connection type at your premises. That’s either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) – the other types out there (FTTN/C and FTTB) just don’t have the bandwidth capacity unfortunately. If you don’t have an FTTP connection then you may be eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade and Tangerine can take care of it for you if you are.

Alternatively, if 500Mbps download speeds sounds like overkill for your household, you can also score a sweet AU$240 12-month discount on the telco’s NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans, and if you can’t get the fibre upgrade, you can get Tangerine’s NBN 100 plan for the same AU$826.80 first-year fee as the 500Mbps upgrade.

And, if you really want, you can also score a full year’s discount on the even faster NBN 1000 tier and the brand-new NBN 2000 tier.

You can view the full selection of Tangerine’s Black Friday NBN deals in the price comparison tool below.

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• Superloop just revealed its NBN 2000 plan's typical evening speeds, and I'm suitably impressed

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 for the theoretical maximum speed to be doubled overnight was cause for celebration.

As expected because of its infancy, however, there wasn’t enough real-world data at launch to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to advertise a typical evening speed. For reference, that’s the download and upload speed you can realistically expect to achieve during the hours of 7pm to 11pm when most people are using the net.

That’s all changed for one of our often-recommended providers, as Superloop is now quoting a staggering 1.7Gbps typical evening download speed on its Hyperspeed plan. What’s more, you can experience these lightning-quick speeds for yourself from a very reasonable AU$145 a 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.

Superloop is a TechRadar preferred partner (What does that mean?)

As with all plans faster than 100Mbps, , you will need a specific connection type – either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) – in order 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).

Secondly, regardless of connection type, you will also need one of NBN Co’s new Network Termination Device (NTD) boxes installed at your premises. Superloop will take care of this for you by booking an appointment for a technician to visit your address to perform the necessary upgrade.

While you wait for the visit, you can select either an NBN 500 or NBN 1000 plan to connect to temporarily, paying only the relevant amount for either. Once the new NTD has been installed, Superloop says you’ll be up and running on your new blazing-fast NBN plan within 4 hours.

To make the most of your wonderfully fast new internet service, you’ll likely need a new modem-router that can confidently handle the quicker speeds. Fortunately, Superloop will optionally supply you with an Amazon eero 7 for free provided you remain connected for 36 months.

You also have the option to add on extender nodes to create a bigger mesh Wi-Fi system around your home. One additional extender costs AU$199 outright, or for even bigger homes you can get two for $359 – both options can also be paid off in instalments from AU$10p/m for 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 unequivocally the best offering in our opinion.

Having said that, if your household’s download needs are a bit more modest, we’d still recommend checking out the best NBN 500 plans for their unrivalled combination of speed and value. The Superloop-powered Exetel One plan happens to be our top pick there, and costs just $80 per month ongoing.

It’s only normal that we want to get the most value out of any financial decision we make. One area I hold dear – and where bang for buck really matters – involves NBN plans. The potential value available to millions of Australians has increased exponentially in the past month following the arrival of the NBN speed upgrades in September, which have supercharged home internet connections for eligible homes at no extra cost.

I’ve spoken before about how affordable NBN 500 plans are and why they’re ultimately my top pick for anyone wanting to achieve impressive download speeds without breaking the bank. If you want or need download speeds in excess of 500Mbps, however, then you may be tempted by an NBN 750 plan.

If this is you, then stop what you’re doing and listen for a moment. While the new speed tier might look great on paper, in my mind, upgrading a little further to one of the best NBN 1000 plans is the more financially savvy decision. Allow me to explain…

Upgrading can save you money

It’s fair to assume that the more a particular product or service offers, the more you’re going to have to pay for it. Across most product categories, that’s true, but NBN plans are a different beast entirely, as internet service providers (ISPs) are ultimately free to charge whatever they please.

It’s because of this that if you shop around (don’t worry, you don’t actually have to, because I’ve done the legwork for you), you can secure a lightning-fast gigabit internet plan for the same cost as a slower 750Mbps plan. In fact, you can even save up to AU$34 a month by upgrading your plan.

The math

Don’t believe me? Let me take my favourite example of an NBN 1000 plan from Buddy Telco. The fledgling provider is only just over a year old, yet its gigabit plan has remained my favourite ever since it launched, maintaining its exceptionally affordable AU$99 monthly fee.

In comparison, of the 16 providers of NBN 750 plans I monitor, only two charge less than AU$99 – Flip (AU$89.90) and Kogan (AU$94.90).

The next-cheapest providers are TPG, iiNet and Dodo, all of whom charge AU$99.99 – or, the exact same price Buddy charges for a plan that delivers up to 250Mbps more speed. I know where I’d rather spend my money.

You can view more of the most popular NBN 1000 plans with our readers in the price comparison tool below.

The caveat

Now, all this talk of super-fast internet speeds might sound wonderful, but there is a caveat in that to get them, you need to make sure you connect to the NBN via a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection. If you don’t connect via either of these right now, there’s a good chance you're eligible for NBN Co's free fibre upgrade program.

If you are eligible, then you can contact your NBN provider to confirm if they can activate the upgrade for you – note also that you'll need to order at least an NBN 500 plan to enroll in the program. Buddy has confirmed to us that currently it isn't equipped to handle upgrades for you, however its parent company Aussie Broadband can. In other words, if you're not yet on FTTP or HFC and want to sign up to this Buddy plan, you would first need to take out a plan with Aussie Broadband (or another eligible provider) and complete the upgrade process, and then switch over to Buddy once the new NBN equipment is installed.

The takeaway

This all goes to show that there genuinely is good value to be found across all NBN speed tiers if you know where to look. And while an NBN 1000 plan can be more cost-effective than a 750Mbps alternative, my money is still on NBN 500 plans as being the best option for most people.

You can view the current most-popular NBN 500 plans with TechRadar readers in the price comparison tool below.

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When the new NBN 500 plans started landing in September 2025, it was immediately clear that they were poised to become the best option for most Australian homes. The fact that they offer speeds of up to 500Mbps – which I reckon is more than enough for most users – and come in at roughly the same cost (in most instances) as the NBN 100 plans they’ve replaced made for a pretty unbeatable combo.

However, despite generally being good value, there’s still a great variance in the monthly price provider’s charge for the new tier, and the average monthly cost of an NBN 500 plan (excluding any introductory discounting) is still a smidge under AU$95 – AU$94.97 to be exact.

This is just a benchmark figure of course, and you can easily spend less than that by being savvy when shopping for a provider. To help paint a clearer picture, I’ve highlighted a selection of new NBN 500 plans based on specific pricing criteria, so read on to find out how much I think you should be paying for 500Mbps broadband in Australia.

Best NBN 500 plan

Cheapest NBN 500 plan ongoing

Most expensive NBN 500 plan

How does NBN 500 compare to other tiers on cost per megabit?

It’s easy for me to say that NBN 500 plans provide terrific value, but what does the data say? The quick answer is that it largely backs up that assertion.

For a clearer explanation, however, I’ve calculated the cost per megabit across NBN 50, NBN 100, NBN 500, NBN 750 and NBN 1000 plans, factoring in the average monthly price of each tier and the average typical evening speed claims they make.

These calculations not only prove just how much greater value an NBN 500 plan provides over the much slower 50Mbps and 100Mbps plans, but also that a gigabit plan is, in some ways, even more cost effective.

What these figures clearly demonstrate is that on the high-speed plans, you’re getting a lot more megabits – you know, the most important aspect of an NBN plan – for your money, and we all like to get the best bang for buck, right?

These figures also highlight, in the case of NBN 1000 in particular, how much its value proposition has improved over time. I’ve been tracking NBN plan prices and speed claims since 2023, and even comparing these most recent figures with those from September 2024, there’s an improvement.

A year ago, because fewer providers were offering a gigabit plan, the speed claims weren’t as good as they are today and pricing was, on the whole, more expensive with the average cost per megabit being 18c (though shopping around is still strongly suggested, as some NBN 1000 plans are admittedly more expensive now compared to a year ago).. It’s not a huge decrease since, but it’s still encouraging to see the cost come down, rather than go the other way.

For some context on how much other providers are charging for NBN 500, here's a comparison table of the most popular plans with TechRadar readers:

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It's been a bad week for Vodafone customers. Not only did a huge outage hit the network's broadband, mobile internet services, website, and customer service phone lines on October 13, but many are still experiencing knock-on effects.

The problems officially only lasted for a couple of hours from around 2.30pm BST, with the peak seeing over 130,000 customers report a complete blackout of their Vodafone services on Downdetector.

The scale of the outage made it one of the biggest of the year, but hundreds of people are still reporting lingering effects, with some still without their broadband for several days.

So what caused all these problems, what can we learn from it – and most importantly, can customers get compensation for the considerable hassle they've experienced? We've asked experts for their guidance below.

What caused the Vodafone outage?

Vodafone's latest statement on its big October 13 outage dismissed suggestions that it was a cyber attack.

“On Monday afternoon, for a short time, the Vodafone network had an issue affecting broadband, 4G and 5G services. This was triggered by a non-malicious software issue with one of our vendor partners which has now been resolved, and the network has fully recovered. We apologise for any inconvenience this caused our customers," the network said.

The rumors of a cyber attack grew because the outage took out not just Vodafone's broadband and mobile internet services, but also its website and customer service phone lines. These symptoms echoed so-called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, where a network is intentionally overwhelmed by an attacker.

However, as Vodafone's statement reveals, an internal network failure was seemingly the culprit. But can those really take out multiple services in such a dramatic fashion, and shouldn't there be safeguards in place?

Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor at ESET, said it's unusual but still possible. "Software faults like this can happen when a routine update or configuration change doesn’t behave as expected, but it is rare on this scale," he said.

"Modern telecoms networks are incredibly complex with lots of automated systems working together and, unfortunately, a small error has the potential of rippling through to temporarily affect performance – or like we saw here, knock systems offline," he added.

From a business perspective, the Vodafone outage is another timely reminder that better protections should be in place. Daniel Card, a cyber security expert with BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT), said: “Major ISP outages in the UK are relatively rare, but when they do happen they serve as an important reminder of how dependent we’ve become on constant connectivity".

"It’s not just about defending against malicious cyber threats – accidents, configuration errors, and technical faults can be just as disruptive," he added. And Vodafone customers can certainly vouch for that.

Can you get compensation for the Vodafone outage?

I asked Ofcom (the UK's media watchdog) for its official guidance for customers seeking compensation for the Vodafone outage. The news is mixed, depending on whether you've had problems with your broadband or mobile internet – and for how long.

“We know it’s frustrating when things go wrong. If you’re unhappy, you should complain directly to your provider," an Ofcom spokesperson told me. "If your broadband service is not fixed after two working days, Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme means that you may get money back automatically without having to ask".

How much money exactly? Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, added: “If your broadband connection goes down for more than two days, you could be entitled to compensation of £9.76 for each calendar day that the service is not repaired". There's more information on Ofcom's Automatic compensation guide, which shows that Vodafone is at least signed up to the scheme.

That's at least some positive news for those still suffering from broadband issues stemming from the October 13 outage. In theory, you should automatically get compensation if it hasn't been fixed after two working days. However, the guidance around mobile internet is more vague. Ofcom told me that its automatic compensation scheme sadly doesn't cover mobile.

“Ofcom advises that compensation for mobile signal outages is ‘dependent on the circumstances.’ But in extreme cases where repairs take much longer, you may be entitled to an additional refund or account credit," Sabrina Hoque from Uswitch added.

This means that for mobile outages on Vodafone or related networks like Lebara, you'll have to contact the network directly, which is something many TechRadar readers say they've had issues with this week.

For Vodafone, there are three ways to contact the network – through its My Vodafone app (on Android or iOS), by phone (0333 304 0191, or 191 from your Vodafone mobile) using the TOBi chat on its website. Unfortunately, there's no single email address for customer complaints, but the latter promises to take you through to a real agent if it can't help.

This won't be great news for many – one TechRadar reader told me their broadband has been down for four days and they've haven't been able to get through on the phone, with their online account stating that Vodafone was working to fix their broadband.

Vodafone didn't respond to my request for further guidance for those who are still experiencing issues or are looking for compensation.

Is the Vodafone outage actually over?

Vodafone talks about this week's outage in the past tense and says the network is "fully recovered", but the reality appears to be somewhat different.

At the time of writing, Downdetector (below) is showing reports of issues in the 130-250 range – much smaller than the outage's peak, but way higher than a typical baseline for a network.

The site's comments are littered with reports of ongoing broadband issues, with some (but far from all) reporting success after a hard reset of their router. Others say Vodafone has told them it's still "working on" a resolution.

This has been reflected in countless emails sent to TechRadar from understandably frustrated customers. Some say their broadband is still down, but the biggest annoyance is being unable to contact Vodafone – with the phone lines cutting off after an hour of waiting, and no updates through their online accounts.

The lack of communication is poor, and I've contacted Vodafone for an updated statement. Unfortunately, other than getting in touch with Vodafone again yourself, there's little you can do other than trying our tips on what to do if your broadband is slow or not working.

However, if there is a network issue in your area (you can check on Vodafone's network status checker), then it's unfortunately simply a waiting game until it gets fixed. Do you still have problems with your Vodafone broadband or mobile internet? Let us know in the comments below.

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As the NBN expert for TechRadar, I make it my mission to constantly track plan prices. That’s become even more vital since the arrival of the NBN speed upgrades in September, as there are now three new tiers to keep an eye on.

I’ve said before I believe NBN 500 plans are the best overall option for most Australian homes and, within that, one provider continues to stand out to me – Exetel.

Exetel was the first provider to launch an NBN 500 plan at the end of June, nearly three months ahead of the full, official rollout that occurred in mid-September. It can always be a risky move being the first to market with a new product, but in my opinion, the telco’s pricing and extra perks are so good that it remains my top choice for anyone looking for a great value NBN plan.

Why do I like Exetel’s NBN 500 plan so much? It’s not entirely because of cost, because there are several providers that charge less over the first 6 months of service – Spintel’s plan is a crazy-low AU$64p/m for the first 6 months, for example. Yet, from year two onwards, the Exetel One plan is the cheapest on an ongoing basis and, of the 30 or so major providers I monitor, the only one to come in under AU$1,000 a year. For me, that’s superb value.

Then you can factor in Exetel’s neat perks, such as the ability to boost your download speeds up to NBN 1000 levels for the small fee of AU$1 extra per day and, conversely, the option to ‘downgrade’ your plan to 12Mbps to save yourself AU$1 per day (ideal if you’re away from home for extended periods) and you have yourself an NBN plan with much to offer.

Plus, Exetel also offers a friend referral program, whereby if you refer someone you know to Exetel – and that friend signs up for an Exetel NBN plan – you’ll both receive AU$1 off your plan each month for as long as you both remain connected. You can potentially add 30 friends and score free internet!

Compare this to virtually all other NBN 500 plans, where often the only perk is an introductory discount for the first 6 months, and in my mind there’s no better choice than Exetel.

Note that as with all the speedy new NBN tiers, if you want to sign up for this plan you’ll first need to make sure you have the necessary connection type at home – fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). If you were on an NBN 100 plan before the September upgrades, and you’ve now been automatically migrated to a 500Mbps plan, then you have the right infrastructure. If you want to switch to Exetel’s plan, the process couldn’t be simpler.

If you don’t have the required connection type, and you connect to the fixed-line NBN network via fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC), then the good news is that you’re likely eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade. To activate the upgrade, you can order the Exetel One plan via the telco, and it will take care of the installation process for you.

One final tip: to really take advantage of the improved speeds offered by the best NBN 500 plans, you may need to upgrade your Wi-Fi router to one that comfortably supports the faster speeds. Fortunately, I’ve also found some excellent mesh Wi-Fi systems with discounts as part of the October Prime Day sales in Australia.

More NBN 500 plan options

Not sold on my Exetel plan recommendation? You can view more NBN 500 plans in the price comparison tool below.

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Australia received some much-needed NBN speed upgrades last month, introducing plans with up to 2Gbps download speeds in the process. While the boosted speeds have meant the fastest NBN plans are now even quicker, if you really want to take advantage of them, then it’s quite likely you’ll need to upgrade your home network equipment – one of the best and easiest ways is with a mesh Wi-Fi system.

These systems can often cost a pretty penny, but Amazon’s October Prime Day sale in Australia has seen many excellent options come down significantly in price, and I’ve selected five examples for you to look at below.

My recommendations below all support Wi-Fi 6E as a minimum, but there are also a couple supporting the latest Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. And many of them also feature in our guide to the best mesh Wi-Fi systems you can buy.

All these systems are plenty fast enough to be paired with one of the best NBN 500 plans, but you may want to consider Wi-Fi 7 for faster options such as 750Mbps, 1Gbps or 2Gbps.

Do note, these deals are all Prime-exclusive, so you'll need to be a Prime member in order to secure the knocked down prices.

• Looking for something other than mesh Wi-Fi systems? Be sure to follow our live coverage of the October Prime Day sales

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Everyone wants value for money, especially when it comes to NBN plans. There’s no point paying more for a plan from a big-brand telco when you can often spend less and still get reliable performance.

Award-winning* Australian-owned telco Flip understands that well, and we’ve frequently recommended it as a great provider for anyone seeking the most-affordable NBN plans on offer.

That value continues to shine with Flip’s introduction of some major 8-month-long discounts across some of the most popular NBN speed tiers, making it the cheapest reputable provider. If you’ve been wondering if you could benefit from switching your current home internet plan, Flip's new deals give you a great reason to find out, with plans starting from just AU$44 per month for the first 8 months.

The 8-month introductory discounts specifically apply to Flip’s NBN 25, NBN 750 and NBN 1000 plans, providing competitive options here for those on a tight budget who just need an internet connection for basic needs (such as web browsing and social media scrolling), as well as speed demons who demand a lightning-quick service for the fastest downloads and big households with lots of users.

When we research and recommend NBN plans here at TechRadar, introductory discounts are often par for the course, although they’re mostly limited to 6 months at most. It’s welcome, then, to see Flip extending its introductory period by an extra 2 months, especially when the monthly costs are already among the cheapest on offer.

Here are the full details on the discounted plans:

If either of the two high-speed NBN plans above take your fancy, you’ll first need to make sure you have the right connection type at your premises to support them – either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). You can easily find out by plugging your address into Flip’s checker.

If you don’t have the necessary connection type, you may be eligible for the free fibre upgrade, which will involve a technician coming to your home to install new FTTP cabling. Flip will be able to arrange the technician visit for you.

You’ll want to be quick, though, as these 8-month discounts are only available until 31 October, 2025 . Head to Flip’s website today to check out all of its great-value plans.

When we recommend the NBN plans here at TechRadar, a major component in our decision making is how much a plan costs. Of course, the cheapest option isn’t necessarily going to be the outright best one, but ultimately we make it our mission to track down which NBN plans offer the right mix of price, speed and features that then results in the greatest overall value.

One of the clearest indicators as to the value of the best NBN plans is where they sit in comparison to the average monthly cost for their speed tier. We maintain an internal database of NBN plan prices from around 23 major providers, and we’ve been tracking them for so long that, generally speaking, we can immediately spot changes as soon as they’re made. From these prices, we can easily calculate the average price for a specific NBN plan tier as needed.

If you’ve been looking at your internet bill lately and wondered if you’re paying too much, there’s a good chance you are. To help you figure that out, we’ve collated the current average monthly prices for each NBN speed tier in the table below.

If you find you are paying more than the average and are looking to switch to a better-value provider, we’ve also included a selection of plan comparison tables below (one for each speed tier) with prices that fall below the current average.

A greater-value internet plan could await!

As you can see from the table above, there’s comparatively little difference in price between NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans, and going further, little difference between NBN 50 and the newly introduced NBN 500 tier.

If you’re currently stuck on a 50Mbps NBN plan because your home has an older NBN connection technology, you may be eligible for the free fibre upgrade – if so, we unequivocally recommend you take up the opportunity, and the faster speeds it’ll unlock.

Compared to an NBN 50 plan, the new NBN 500 tier will give you up to 10x faster download speeds for approximately AU$6 more each month on average.

Are you paying too much?

Comparing your current NBN bill against the average prices listed above is a quick and easy way to determine if you’re paying too much for your plan (or if you’ve got yourself a cracking deal, of course). If you are paying too much, the good news is that there are plenty of excellent plans available for less than the monthly average – below are the top five cheapest plans in our database from each speed tier.

Which NBN 25 plans cost less than the average?

• NBN 25 plans are suitable for a small household of 1-2 people with basic web browsing and streaming needs
• The average price for NBN 25 in September 2025 is AU$73.11 per month.

Which NBN 50 plans cost less than the average?

• The most popular tier for a long time, suitable for households up to 4 people who use the internet for everyday tasks including video, social media and work.
• The average price for NBN 50 in September 2025 is AU$87.57 per month.

Which NBN 100 plans cost less than the average?

• NBN 100 has technically been replaced by NBN 500, but it remains as the fastest option for FTTN/B/C households that don't have the connection technology to access the higher speed tiers. A good option for 4K video, video calls and gaming needs.
• The average price for NBN 100 in September 2025 is AU$93.34 per month.

Which NBN 500 plans cost less than the average?

• The replacement tier for FTTP/HFC homes on NBN 100. A fantastic combination of download speed and price, and what NBN Co itself considers the sweet spot.
• The average price for NBN 500 in September 2025 is AU$93.61 per month

Which NBN 750 plans cost less than the average?

• The new replacement for NBN 250, offering plenty of speed for demanding users.
• We think there's greater value in either the NBN 500 or NBN 1000 tiers.
• The average price for NBN 750 in September 2025 is AU$107.41 per month

Which NBN 1000 plans cost less than the average?

• The second-fastest NBN speed tier, ideal for gamers or creatives needing to download large files quickly, or especially demanding households wanting multiple 4K videos streams.
• The average price for NBN 1000 in September 2025 is AU$118.18 per month.

Which NBN 2000 plans cost less than the average?

• NBN Co's brand new top speed tier with up to 2,000Mbps download speeds
• Only a handful of providers currently offer it
• Expensive at launch
• The average price of NBN 2000 in September 2025 is AU$174.48 per month

As you can see from these price comparison tables, there are numerous plans available for less than the monthly average, across not only the introductory discount, but the ongoing price as well. No sure which ISP you should pick? Check out our guide to the best NBN providers.

NBN plan price FAQ

It’s been just over a week since the much-anticipated September 2025 NBN speed upgrades arrived in Australia, and now that the confetti of the launch party has settled, we can get into the nitty-gritty of searching for the best prices. And what better place to start than with the speedy new NBN 2000 tier?

If you want to experience the fastest download speeds now available in Australia, an NBN 2000 plan is the way to go. To get the elephant out of the room, however, they’re not exactly what most people would call ‘affordable’. That’s what makes Superloop’s NBN 2000 for just AU$145 for the first 6 months a deal worth shouting about for anyone keen to try the new tier.

As with all the new high-speed tiers, NBN 2000 requires your premises to have either a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) connection type.

Before you do sign up, we do need to note that there’s a small upload-speed difference between the type of NBN 2000 plan that's offered to FTTP and HFC addresses. FTTP addresses will have access to up to 200Mbps uploads, while HFC addresses are limited to up to 100Mbps. We say ‘up to’ because that’s what NBN Co says should be achievable – although because the NBN 2000 speed tier is still in its infancy, Superloop isn’t yet able to provide a typical evening speed figure.

The same goes for download speed. While 2,000Mbps is the theoretical maximum, the telco doesn’t yet have enough data to advertise the real-world speeds you can expect at home.

Note, too, that if you sign up for this new Hyperfast plan, you’ll likely also need to have a new NBN network termination device (NTD) installed, which involves a technician attending your premises. Older NTDs only support a maximum speed of 1,000Mbps, so unless you've only had NBN installed in the last few months, you'll likely need the new upgraded version. This is all free of charge, but it will obviously add a bit of time to the setup process – unlike with NBN 1000 and below speeds, Superloop can't just flick a switch to move you over.

Superloop will let you know if you need the new NTD, and in the meantime, the telco will ask you to select either its NBN 500 or NBN 1000 plan options to connect temporarily while you wait for the installation.

The other equipment-related factor to consider is whether you need to upgrade your Wi-Fi router. In all likelihood the answer will be yes – and to take full advantage of NBN 2000 speeds, you'll need to ensure you upgrade to a Wi-Fi 7 router.

Fortunately, Superloop offers an eero 7 router free of charge on the proviso that you remain connected for 36 months. You can elect to purchase additional eero units to create a mesh network around your home and extend coverage, but these will need to be purchased for either AU$199 for a single additional device, or $359 for two. You do, however, have the option of paying these additional devices off either outright or over a 12- or 24-month period.

If the prospect of multi-gigabit speeds sounds ideal to you, then Superloop currently has the best offering in our opinion. Having said that, although we love the fact that Superloop’s 2Gbps plan is affordable in comparison to competitors, for our money, the best NBN 500 plans are worth checking out for their unrivalled combination of speed and value.

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It’s a huge week for Australia’s National Broadband Network, as the NBN speed upgrades that have been teased and talked about for the past 12 months are officially now live.

As we expected, not every single retail service provider (RSP) has updated their websites just yet (and some have even said that while they’ll be honouring NBN Co’s upgrades, the changes won’t be rolled out until October), but based on the providers who have pushed through the updates, we can already see a pretty clear picture of what the new NBN 500 plans, in particular, can offer Australians.

One word: value.

Big speed, low price

When NBN Co first announced this month’s plan upgrades, it said they would arrive at no extra cost to RSPs. We, of course, hoped that meant customers wouldn’t be asked to pay anything extra and, based on what we’ve seen so far for the new NBN 500 tier, that’s largely been the case. The result is a set of NBN plans that now offer up to 500Mbps download speeds for prices that, just a couple of weeks ago, would only get you 100Mbps. Effectively, it’s a 5x increase for free.

In the table below, we've cherry-picked a handful of providers now offering NBN 500 plans to give you a good indication as to the sort of price you can expect to pay. We've chosen cheap options such as Spintel and Kogan Internet, alongside more expensive alternatives from the likes of Origin Energy. Origin is currently the most expensive provider of those we monitor, but we imagine that will change once Telstra activates its upgrades.

Over the past 18 months, we’d already noticed that the best NBN 100 plans had begun to offer much greater value than their slower NBN 50 counterparts, with the average monthly cost of the faster option generally costing users less than AU$10 more each month. Now that 100Mbps plans have morphed into plans offering 5x the speed for the same price, 50Mbps plans look like even worse value.

To paint a clearer picture, we’ll use Spintel as an example. The telco still offers an NBN 100 plan (likely for customers on older NBN connection technologies who aren’t yet able to take advantage of the speed-boosted plans) alongside a new NBN 500 plan that has the lowest introductory cost of any provider right now at just AU$64p/m.

Spintel’s slower, 100Mbps plan? That starts at AU$68p/m before settling at the same ongoing rate as its new 500Mbps counterpart of AU$86.95p/m. Not only does this mean you’ll pay less in the first year on the faster plan, but ultimately, you’d be paying the exact same amount each ongoing each year.

What you need to upgrade

Last week, we detailed everything you needed to get these brand new high-speed NBN plans. The main criteria is to have the right connection type. This is either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC). If you do have either of these, you can sign up for a new NBN 500 plan right away.

If you don’t have either of these connections, then it’s quite likely you’ll be eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade, which gets the required equipment installed at your premises. If you are in an eligible area and want faster broadband, we really don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t take advantage. Not only will you be able to experience much faster and more reliable internet speeds at home, but you’ll also be ensuring your home is futureproofed.

You can view our favourite NBN 500 plan options so far in our dedicated guide, or you can view a mixture of NBN 500 and NBN 100 plan pricing in the widget below. The price comparison widget perfectly visualises just how affordable some of the new plans are, compared to the slower options they replace.

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Well, we certainly didn’t see this one coming! Just days out from the official launch of major NBN speed upgrades, SpinTel has thrown down the gauntlet and set a new benchmark for its competitors by slashing the price of its NBN 500 plan by a further AU$10p/m for the first six months.

The telco’s 500Mbps NBN plan was already very affordable at AU$74p/m, but now it’s dropped to an insanely low AU$64p/m for the first half-year, it’s unrivalled value. When you consider this introductory cost is lower than many of the best NBN 25 plans that are 20x slower, upgrading to SpinTel’s offering is a no-brainer.

SpinTel is a TechRadar preferred partner (What does that mean?)

SpinTel’s NBN 500 plan was one of the first to go live; it’s been available since July alongside an early 750Mbps option. The telco is one of only three providers to have jumped the gun ahead of NBN Co’s planned 14 September official launch date for its plan upgrades – the other two being Exetel and Tangerine.

All three options are priced competitively, and all are more affordable than the 100Mbps plans they’re effectively replacing. If it’s the cheapest first-year cost that’s most important to you though – perhaps you want to try the service for an extended period of time to see if it’s for you – then SpinTel is the clear choice, coming in at just AU$905.70 for the first 12 months. For greater context, that’s nearly AU$100 less than the full-year average for an NBN 50 plan.

If you want to sign up for SpinTel’s 500Mbps plan, you’ll need to make sure you’re connected to the fixed-line NBN network via either fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC). If you’re on either of these technologies, getting connected should be a seamless process. Don’t have FTTP or HFC? Not to worry – you’ll likely live in a suburb that’s eligible for the free fibre upgrade. You can make your order via SpinTel’s site, and the telco will sort the upgrade process for you, which usually involves a technician attending your premises to install the new fibre cabling.

Of course, it’s still early days for NBN 500 plans, so if you’re prepared to wait until this coming weekend – or early next week – we should have pricing from a wider selection of providers for comparison. We can’t imagine many, if any, will be able to undercut SpinTel’s new introductory rate…

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It’s been close to a year since NBN Co announced it would be introducing major speed upgrades across its fixed-line network. Now we’re just seven days away from their official launch, with the slated date being this Sunday, September 14.

Whether this is the first time you’re learning of the upgrades, or you’ve been following along with the latest updates, if you want to take full advantage, there are a few things you need to get sorted.

Not only do you need to know which speed tier you want for your household – your choices of new plans are 500Mbps, 750Mbps or 2,000Mbps – but you also need to have the necessary infrastructure and hardware to support it.

Still not sure what we’re talking about? Allow us to explain all…

What’s all this about upgrades?

NBN Co is going to flip the switch this coming Sunday, September 14, releasing its new wave of plan speed tiers in the process. This will see the introduction of a brand new ‘Hyperfast’ 2Gbps tier, alongside upgrades to the best NBN 100 plans and best NBN 250 plans. These will receive a 5x speed and a 3x speed boost, respectively.

Following Sunday’s activation, Australians will have greater choice when perusing the fastest NBN plans, with options of 500Mbps, 750Mbps, 1,000Mbps and 2,000Mbps.

Sounds good, what’s the catch?

No catch necessarily, but there is one strict criterion you need to satisfy to gain access to the new speed tiers, and that’s the connection type you have at your premises. More specifically, you must have either a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection type. If you have anything else, fibre to the curb/node (FTTC/N) or fibre to the building (FTTB), then unfortunately you’re going to miss out.

The good news for FTTC/N premises, however, is that you’re likely eligible for NBN Co’s free fibre upgrade program. If you are eligible and you choose to activate it (we can’t think of many reasons why you wouldn’t), then a technician will come to your premises to install the upgraded – and necessary – equipment.

Customers with a FTTB connection – usually those in apartments – unfortunately have no road to the faster tiers at all. While you can’t get a high-speed NBN plan (the maximum download speed you can achieve via NBN is 100Mbps), you may be in TPG’s own dedicated fibre network footprint that can deliver up to gigabit speeds to your apartment unit, or you may find you can connect via another private network such as Opticomm or Gigacomm.

Opticomm and Gigacomm internet plans are both set to, or have already received, similar speed boosts to up to 2,000Mbps. You'll need to check with your preferred provider if you can access them.

I have the right connection type, anything else?

Potentially, yes. Having the right connection type at home is only one part of the high-speed NBN plan puzzle. While the installed equipment will bring faster speeds into your home, you’ll also need to make sure you have a router that’s capable of delivering the speeds you’re paying for to your devices.

If you’ve been using the same router for the last few years – perhaps it was one supplied by your current internet provider – then there’s a good chance it's now a little outdated and won’t be primed for the faster speeds that are coming our way.

As you’ll find out in our in-depth guide relating to the ideal routers for the NBN upgrades, you want to look out for one that, at the very least, supports Wi-Fi 6 technology. However, given you’re likely to have more connected devices at home than you realise – think smart lights, appliances, speakers, etc – then we’d recommend looking for a router that supports Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.

Your chosen internet service provider (ISP) should offer a compatible router when signing up for a new plan, but in our experience, this isn’t always the case. By this, we mean they supply a Wi-Fi 6 router only. As mentioned, this is ultimately ok, but a 6E or 7 compliant router is going to offer greater future support.

Can I get an upgraded plan today?

Yes, you can! We’re eagerly awaiting the full list of plans and prices from the myriad ISPs to go live, but a few providers jumped the gun very early, launching 500Mbps and 750Mbps plans a few months ago. Multi-gigabit NBN 2000 plans are still nowhere to be found, but this is because they actually require NBN to flip the switch.

Exetel is a standout option in our opinion with its NBN 500 plan. The telco has dropped all other plan options, so unless you have the necessary infrastructure at your home, you can’t sign up with the provider.

Spintel is the only provider to offer a 750Mbps plan right now – we, of course, expect this to change in a week’s time – making it your only option for this particular speed.

If these upgraded speeds sound like something you want to be a part of, but you don’t have the necessary equipment, our recommendation, right now, would ultimately be to hold off one more week and see what other providers are charging for their plans.

You can, of course, choose to sign up with the aforementioned Exetel or Spintel plans to get your technician visit booked in as early as possible. If you’re happy to wait, though, you could well find that cheaper plans will become available.

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