Media Release, 01 August 2018

Telstra has been named the fastest broadband provider nationally in Australia on both mobile and fixed networks in the 2018 Speedtest® Awards by Ookla®, a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network speed testing and analysis.

Channa Seneviratne, Executive Director Network Infrastructure and Engineering, said the results reflected Telstra’s commitment towards delivering the best experience for our customers.

“We have won the award for the fastest mobile network nationally from Speedtest every year it has been run since 2015 and this has helped ensure Australia is consistently in the top 10 for mobile broadband speeds in the Ookla Global Index. What is particularly pleasing this year is we have also been named fastest ISP nationally,” said Mr Seneviratne.

“Our win in fixed speeds reflects the investment we have made in delivering an improved performance across our ADSL and HFC networks and on the nbn.  We have boosted speed tiers on HFC and nbn, provisioned more capacity from nbn co and upgraded backhaul networks, which has flowed through to an improved experience for our customers.

“This fixed network result with Ookla is consistent with the fact we have placed at the top of the Netflix Speed Index every month for the past five months.

“On the mobiles side, we continue to expand the reach of our 4G technology, which is now available to over 99% of the population.  On top of that our rollout of gigabit capable^ 4GX in major cities and 4GX upgrades around the country, means 93% of the population now has access to double the speeds that were available when we first turned on 4G in 2011.

“The rollout of these new wireless technologies has meant we have been named in the Speedtest award as Australia’s Fastest Mobile Network nationally for the first half of 2018.

Globally, more than 20 billion user initiated tests have been conducted from Speedtest.  In Australia, the Ookla Speedtest Awards are based on the performance of all major network operators in the six months from 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2018 and measured across more than 481,000 users and 1.7 million tests for the mobile award and over 9.8 million users and 15.8 million tests for the fixed network award for our fixed broadband services.

Network leadership is central to the Telstra2022 strategy and is being underpinned by around $5 billion in mobile network investment over the three years to 30 June 2019, consistent with previous guidance, to enhance the capacity, capability and reach of Telstra’s network.

The results of this investment can be seen in Telstra’s performance measures like the Speedtest by Ookla results as well as the continued expansion of our coverage footprint and leadership in developing and deploying new network technologies, including LTE-Broadcast and our preparations for 2Gbps enabled LTE and 5G.

“We have set ourselves the target of leading in all key network performance surveys and the latest Ookla results are a positive sign of our progress on this goal,” said Mr Seneviratne.

“No survey or measure is perfect and each have their limitations.  But what matters most is consistently winning in credible surveys especially on the more important metrics of data speed and performance.  That is where Telstra shines through across more than a dozen different awards in recent years and where we are committed to continuing to lead.”

* Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data for Q1–Q2 2018. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

^ Telstra’s gigabit enabled coverage is available in the Sydney and Melbourne CBD plus ~4km, Adelaide CBD plus ~3.0km, Brisbane and Perth CBD plus ~2km and a number of additional sites in selected high traffic areas. Typical customer speeds will be less.

Ookla Speedtest methodology

With millions of tests taken using Speedtest every day, Ookla has developed a robust and comprehensive view of worldwide internet performance. We have established an accurate and consumer-relevant methodology using extensive data analytics to determine the best fixed and mobile networks around the world. Our unbiased, data driven approach controls for extraneous variables and ensures an equitable accounting for all user initiated tests.