Better coffee — and now better NBN? Melburnians may have added another bragging right over Sydneysiders
Data recently published by Ookla indicates the median fixed-line internet speed achieved in Melbourne is faster than Sydney, but does that tell the whole story?
Melbourne's residents have gained another bragging right over Sydney, with a new statistic revealing that the Australian city boasts faster fixed-line broadband speeds. According to Ookla's latest Global Index rankings, Melbourne has a median fixed-broadband download speed of 177.69Mbps, putting it ahead of Sydney's 149.91Mbps. This difference of 27.78Mbps represents an 18.5% advantage for Melbourne.
The improvement in Australia's overall ranking, which has risen from 86th to 50th place, can be attributed to the National Broadband Network (NBN) Co's speed-tier shake-up in September 2025, introducing a 2Gbps wholesale option and faster speeds on several existing higher-end tiers. However, not all Australians can access these faster speeds yet, as many are still connected to comparatively slow NBN plans.
Around 30.2% of residential broadband services in Australia are on 50Mbps plans, which limits the speed that customers can record in a Speedtest. To improve Australia's international standing, more eligible households should take advantage of NBN Co's free fibre upgrade to FTTP. Melbourne has a higher share of premises using FTTP infrastructure compared to Sydney, which could contribute to the city's higher median speed.
Additionally, Melbourne has a greater concentration of private high-speed fixed networks, such as DGtek, which could also boost its Speedtest results.
Written by urgent.news from TechRadar's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
