Optus Speed Test

Optus is Australia's second-largest telecommunications company, sitting behind Telstra in market share but competing aggressively on price and features. Whether you are on Optus NBN or their newer 5G Home Internet, the number you care about most is probably download speed — and whether you are actually getting what you pay for each month.

The Australian broadband landscape is unlike anywhere else in the world. Every major ISP — Optus, Telstra, TPG, and smaller players — buys wholesale access to the same National Broadband Network (NBN) infrastructure. That means your physical connection is owned by NBN Co regardless of which retailer you chose. The difference between providers comes down to how much backhaul capacity they purchase and how they manage peak-hour congestion.

Your NBN Connection Type Determines Everything

Before interpreting your speed test results, you need to know which NBN technology serves your address. This is not something Optus controls — it was decided by NBN Co during the rollout. The technology type sets a hard ceiling on what speeds are physically possible:

If you are on FTTN and your speed test shows 40 Mbps on a 100 Mbps plan, it may not be Optus's fault. The copper wiring between the street node and your house physically cannot carry more data. You can check your connection type by entering your address at nbnco.com.au.

The 4G Backup: Lifesaver or Speed Killer?

One of Optus's standout features is automatic 4G mobile backup built into the Ultra WiFi Modem. When your NBN connection drops, the modem silently switches to Optus's 4G network to keep you online. Clever idea — but it confuses a lot of speed test results.

Here is how to tell if you are on backup right now:

• Green Internet light = Connected via NBN. Normal operation.
• Blue Internet light = Connected via 4G backup. Speeds capped around 25/5 Mbps.
• Red Internet light = No connection at all — neither NBN nor 4G is working.

If your speed test shows 20 Mbps and you are scratching your head, glance at the modem. A blue light explains everything. The modem will flip back to NBN automatically once the NBN service restores. If it stays blue for more than a day, there is likely an NBN outage in your area — check the My Optus app for service status.

Managing Your Ultra WiFi Modem Gen 2

Optus supplies the Sagemcom F@st 5366 TN (branded as the Ultra WiFi Modem Gen 2). It is a Wi-Fi 6 router with built-in 4G backup and support for the Optus WiFi Booster pods. Accessing its settings:

One important setting worth checking: the modem defaults to automatic channel selection on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In apartment buildings where dozens of routers compete for the same channels, this auto-selection can make poor choices. Manually setting your 5 GHz channel to 36, 40, 44, or 48 (the DFS-free channels) often improves Wi-Fi stability in dense environments.

Game Path: Does It Actually Help?

Optus markets Game Path as a premium gaming feature, and there is genuine substance behind it. Here is what it actually does:

When you connect to a game server (say, a League of Legends server in Sydney), your data normally takes whatever route the internet's BGP routing picks — which is not always the most direct path. Game Path intervenes at the ISP level, choosing an optimized route with fewer hops to popular game servers across Australia and Asia-Pacific.

In practice, Game Path has shown 10-30% ping reductions to servers in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. For Australian gamers connecting to SEA servers (common for Valorant, League, and DOTA 2), dropping from 80ms to 55ms is a noticeable improvement. For domestic servers, the improvement is smaller because the default routing within Australia is already fairly direct.

Game Path does not increase your download speed, reduce your NBN latency to the exchange, or help with packet loss caused by a poor physical line. It is a routing optimization, not a connection upgrade.

Optus 5G Home Internet — An Alternative to NBN

If your NBN connection type is FTTN and you are stuck at 40 Mbps, Optus's 5G Home Internet may be a better option. It uses a standalone 5G modem (Nokia FastMile) that connects to Optus's 5G mobile network instead of the NBN.

In areas with strong 5G coverage, customers report 100-300 Mbps downloads with ping around 15-30 ms — substantially better than most FTTN connections. The setup is instant (plug in and go, no technician required), and there is no lock-in contract on most plans.

The caveats: speeds vary significantly depending on how many users share your local 5G tower, your distance from the tower, and building materials. Glass and brick reduce signal; tin roofs can block it entirely. Optus also marks the 5G coverage map on their website — check if your suburb has "outdoor" or "indoor" coverage before signing up.

Comparing Optus to Other Australian Providers

Since all NBN retailers share the same underlying physical network, the real differentiators are pricing, customer support quality, and CVC (Connectivity Virtual Circuit) capacity during peak hours:

• Telstra is the premium option. More expensive but consistently hits their "Typical Evening Speed" targets. Telstra's Smart Modem also has 4G backup and their support is generally faster (though pricier).
• TPG is the budget player — often $10-20/month cheaper than Optus for the same NBN tier. TPG is now owned by the same parent company as Vodafone Australia. Customer support quality can be inconsistent.
• Aussie Broadband is the enthusiast favourite. Australian-based call centre, transparent congestion reporting, and some of the highest CVC provisioning in the industry. Slightly more expensive than TPG but highly rated for reliability.
• Superloop operates its own fibre backbone in Australia and Southeast Asia, which gives them more control over international routing. Popular with tech-savvy users and gamers.

Honest Answers to Optus Questions

Why is my Optus NBN slow in the evenings?

Between 7 PM and 11 PM, everyone on your local NBN node is streaming, gaming, and video calling. ISPs buy CVC (think of it as a pipe connecting your neighbourhood to the internet), and when demand exceeds the CVC capacity, speeds drop. Optus has improved their CVC provisioning significantly over the past two years, but FTTN suburbs with high density can still experience noticeable slowdowns.

Can I use my own router with Optus NBN?

Yes. If you have FTTP, connect your own router to the NBN connection box via Ethernet. For FTTN, you need a VDSL-capable modem. For HFC, you need the NBN-supplied connection device and can connect your own router behind it. Note that swapping away from the Optus modem means losing the 4G backup feature and any Optus WiFi Booster pod functionality.

What are Optus's "Typical Evening Speeds"?

The ACCC requires Australian ISPs to publish real-world evening speeds. As of 2026, Optus's typical evening speeds are: 48 Mbps (Home Standard/NBN 50), 97 Mbps (Home Fast/NBN 100), 230 Mbps (Home Superfast/NBN 250), and 800 Mbps (Home Ultrafast/NBN 1000). These are averages — your specific experience depends on your connection type and local congestion.

How do I contact Optus support?

Call 133 937 for technical support. The My Optus app (iOS/Android) is often faster for straightforward issues — it can run diagnostics on your connection, report faults, and show estimated resolution times for known outages.