Remote SupportBusiness Internet in Australia: NBN, 5G, and Starlink
Your internet connection is the foundation of every cloud service, video call, and remote session your business relies on. Choosing the wrong technology or running a single connection with no failover is an operational risk most businesses underestimate until it fails.
The single biggest mistake: one connection, no failover
A single NBN connection with no backup means that when the fibre is cut, the exchange floods, or the node fails, your business stops. It happens. For most businesses, a 4G router configured as automatic failover is a $200 solution to a problem that otherwise costs thousands in lost productivity. Dual WAN failover should be the default for any business where internet downtime means lost revenue.
What to use for each scenario
Metro office, primary connection
NBN FTTP if available, then HFC, then FTTN with FTTP upgrade evaluation
Regional office, primary connection
NBN fixed wireless or Starlink Business depending on tower congestion in your area
Failover for any site
4G/5G mobile router or Starlink configured as secondary WAN on your firewall
Multi-site with centralised cloud apps
SD-WAN across dual WAN at each site with traffic shaping for priority applications
Temporary or remote site
Starlink Portable or 4G business router. No fixed-line installation needed.
Critical site needing guaranteed uptime
Enterprise ethernet as primary, NBN or 4G as secondary, SD-WAN for automatic failover
Every option explained for Australian businesses
NBN Fibre (FTTP)
Best Fixed OptionFastest and most reliable fixed-line option where available
Typical Speeds
Up to 1Gbps down / 400Mbps up (multi-gig tiers from 2025)
Latency
5 to 10ms typical
Any business that can get it. FTTP is the gold standard. Physical fibre all the way to the premises means no degradation in wet weather and consistent speeds at peak hours.
- Symmetric high-upload speeds support video calls, cloud backups, and VoIP without compromise
- NBN Co launched multi-gigabit FTTP tiers in 2025 for sites needing serious throughput
- No copper in the loop means far fewer faults than FTTN or FTTC connections
- Business-grade NBN plans include SLAs, static IPs, and faster fault resolution
Watch out for
Not available everywhere. FTTP coverage is expanding but rural and some metro areas still use older technology types.
NBN HFC
Common MetroHybrid fibre-coaxial, widely available in metro areas
Typical Speeds
Up to 1Gbps down / 50Mbps up (HFC upload is capped lower than FTTP)
Latency
10 to 20ms typical
Metro businesses in areas that had Foxtel or cable infrastructure. Good downstream speeds but limited upload capacity is the key trade-off.
- Speeds upgraded in 2025 as part of the NBN Co speed uplift rollout
- Widely available across Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne metro areas
- Upload speeds are capped relative to FTTP, which matters for cloud-heavy operations
- Contention on the shared node can impact peak-hour performance
Watch out for
If your business relies on large uploads (cloud backup, video production, large file sync), HFC upload limits are a real constraint.
NBN FTTN / FTTC
Legacy CopperFibre to the node or kerb, speeds depend on copper distance
Typical Speeds
12 to 100Mbps down depending on distance from node
Latency
15 to 30ms typical
Acceptable for light office use but increasingly inadequate for cloud-dependent businesses. FTTC performs better than FTTN due to shorter copper run.
- Performance degrades sharply with distance from the fibre node
- Copper loop is vulnerable to weather, degradation, and interference
- Upgrade to FTTP is available at most FTTN premises now for a connection fee
- Many businesses on FTTN should evaluate the cost of upgrading to FTTP
Watch out for
If your premises is on FTTN and you are running cloud services, consider requesting an FTTP upgrade. The performance improvement is significant.
Fixed Wireless (NBN)
Regional OptionNBN radio tower to premises antenna, for areas without fixed-line NBN
Typical Speeds
25 to 75Mbps typical, depends on tower congestion
Latency
20 to 50ms typical
Businesses in regional areas where fixed-line NBN is not available. Functional for most office use but susceptible to congestion and weather.
- Delivered from NBN fixed wireless towers to a roof-mounted antenna on your premises
- Service quality varies significantly by tower congestion and distance
- Better than nothing in regional areas but Starlink is now a competitive alternative
- Business plans include priority data and faster fault SLAs
Watch out for
NBN fixed wireless can be congested in peak hours. If you are in a regional area with poor fixed wireless, Starlink is worth evaluating seriously.
4G / 5G Mobile Broadband
Flexible and FastTelstra, Optus, or Vodafone 5G or 4G fixed wireless home and business plans
Typical Speeds
5G: 100 to 500Mbps typical. 4G: 20 to 100Mbps typical. Varies by coverage.
Latency
5G: 10 to 20ms. 4G: 20 to 50ms.
Excellent primary connection where 5G coverage is strong, or as a secondary failover link. Particularly useful for temporary sites, pop-ups, and construction sites.
- Telstra's 5G network now covers over 85% of the Australian population
- 5G fixed wireless routers from Telstra and Optus deliver genuine home and business speeds
- No installation required, active within minutes, and fully portable
- Data caps exist on most consumer plans but business plans often include unlimited data
Watch out for
Performance is highly dependent on your location and signal strength. Congestion in dense areas can impact speeds. Not suitable as a sole connection for high-traffic sites.
Starlink
Best Regional FailoverSpaceX low-earth orbit satellite internet, significant for regional Australia
Typical Speeds
100 to 300Mbps down / 10 to 40Mbps up typical
Latency
20 to 60ms (much lower than traditional satellite)
Regional and remote businesses where NBN fixed wireless is congested or unavailable. Outstanding failover option. Starlink Business delivers priority throughput and better SLAs.
- Starlink Business plans prioritise traffic during congestion and include faster SLAs
- Hardware cost is the primary barrier: around $700 to $900 for the dish and router
- Low earth orbit satellites mean latency is usable for VoIP and video calls unlike traditional satellite
- Portable: can be moved between sites or taken to remote work locations
- Excellent as a secondary WAN link for SD-WAN or failover router configurations
Watch out for
Latency is higher than fixed-line fibre. Upload speeds are lower than FTTP. Not the best primary link for city offices where FTTP is available.
Building a resilient network across sites
SD-WAN for multi-site
Software-defined WAN aggregates multiple internet connections across sites and applies intelligent traffic routing. Critical traffic (VoIP, Teams, cloud ERP) gets priority. Cheap links carry bulk traffic. Failover is automatic and sub-second.
Dual WAN for single-site redundancy
Any business-class router or firewall supports dual WAN. Use your primary NBN connection as WAN1 and a 4G or Starlink as WAN2. Configure failover rules so that if WAN1 drops, traffic automatically routes via WAN2 within seconds.
Static IPs for business services
If you are hosting any services (remote desktop gateway, VPN endpoint, security cameras with remote access) you need a static IP on your primary connection. Business NBN plans include static IPs. Consumer plans do not.
Business-grade NBN for SLAs
Consumer NBN has no SLA. If the connection drops on a Friday afternoon, it may not be fixed until Monday. Business NBN and enterprise ethernet plans include defined fault response times, often within four hours for critical faults.
Enterprise ethernet for high-demand sites
For larger offices or data centre connections, enterprise ethernet (not NBN) delivers symmetric gigabit speeds, dedicated bandwidth, and genuine four-hour SLAs. More expensive but appropriate for sites where downtime costs real money.
NBN Speed Uplift 2025
In September 2025, NBN Co rolled out free speed upgrades for eligible FTTP and HFC customers. Many business connections were automatically moved to faster tiers at no extra cost. If you have not checked your NBN plan since mid-2025, contact your provider. You may already be entitled to faster speeds on your existing plan.