The Overlooked Importance of Upload Speed
3-minute read
New research shows three-in-five (62 per cent) fixed-line nbn customers don’t understand the importance of upload speed, or what applications depend on it,i and two-in-five (44 per cent) aren’t sure what upload speed their plan provides.ii
The upload understanding gap
When choosing the right internet plan for household needs, Aussies tend to look only at download speed for the promise of high-performance, but few take note of the other important figure - upload speed.
While download speed determines how fast and smooth your home call pull data from the internet, (e.g. streaming video content), upload speed dictates how well you can send data, including though video calls, sharing content, and cloud-based applications like SharePoint and Google Workspace. Upload speed is especially important when multiple devices are sending data at the same time.
Seven News recently covered nbn's data on the growth in upload volumes and activities and consumer understanding of its importance.
Explosion in upload-traffic and upload-dependent activity
Average monthly upload volumes are increasing even faster than downloads, up 19.6 per cent year-on-year, and more than doubling since 2020. iii We’ve also seen extraordinary growth in upload-dependent activities over the past five years, including a 95 per cent increase in use of cloud-based services, 86 per cent increase in video calling, and a 75 per cent increase in uploading and live streaming. iv
The value of these activities is also very high, with almost all respondents (89 per cent) saying fast and reliable internet is critical or extremely important in their household, and more than a third (36 per cent) say their productivity at home depends on it. i More than half (56 per cent) of full-time workers work from home at least weekly and more than half of households engage in video calls (52 per cent). iv
Under-powered upload speed can drag down performance
While 69 per cent have experienced issues with their home internet, less than a quarter (23 per cent) have upgraded their speed plan in the past three years and just 19 per cent plan to do so in the near future. i
More than half (51 per cent) haven’t changed their Wi-Fi router in more than three years, or don’t know when they did, and 55 per cent have been with the same provider for more than five years, or don’t know how long. ii
nbn General Manager, Residential Products, Courney McMahon, said:
“Upload speed is the unsung hero of home internet, and it can be hard to tell whether your upload speed meets your household needs.
“Download activities may work perfectly, while upload activities struggle, and many don’t understand which activities are which.
“Customers may be able to stream and download content across multiple devises simultaneously with ease, then see things grind to a surprising halt when there’s more than one upload activity, like a video call, file transfer or cloud-back up.
“When this happens, customers sometimes assume the issue is outside their network and control and rarely, if ever, suspect the upload speed offered by their chosen plan.”
Top signs your upload speed is letting you down:
Video calls freezing, dropping, or lowering quality.
Cloud backups and file transfers taking a long time and/or failing after timing out.
Videos uploading slowly, making them difficult to share.
Frequent disconnections are possible when upload bandwidth is exhausted.
Lagging online gameplay.
Top tips for the best nbn experience:
- Connection – check what type of connection is available at your home or business on the nbn website and if eligible consider an upgrade to nbn’s fastest and most reliable technology - full fiber.
- Speed Plan – speak to your preferred internet provider to make sure your speed plan (including upload speed) is right for your household needs.
- Set Up – check the nbn website for tips to make sure your in-home set up can handle the speed you need, with top tips including:
- Check the age of your Wi-Fi router, as older standards may not be able to handle higher speeds.
- Check the location of your router, avoiding obstacles, interference and long distances from connected devices.
- Consider whether your home layout would benefit from a Wi-Fi mesh network to spread signal throughout.
Footnotes:
[i] Upload Awareness Research 2026. Fifth Quadrant surveyed 1,021 fixed line nbn customers in July 2026.
[ii] Customer Research and Insights nbn Strategic survey (Dec25-Feb26). Current data based on one month’s data only.
[iii] nbn State of the Nation network analysis, July 2026.
[iv] Ergo Strategy Residential Pricing Report 2025, commissioned by nbn, surveying 4,069 Australian household internet decision makers.