Internet subscribers

IBISWorld forecasts the number of internet subscribers to lift by 1.4% during 2025-26, to reach 16.02 million connections. The main drivers of this growth have been the expanding population and continued rollout of infrastructure, allowing new users access through a variety of channels. NBN services have stabilised in recent years, to maintain overall internet usage. This reflects the market saturation from users that decided to replace older internet connection types, like ADSL, with NBN plans earlier in the period. Improved internet connection quality has raised the number of internet subscribers, as faster speeds can better service consumer and business demands. 50Mbps is still the most popular connection speed and subscriber plan. Nevertheless, users have looked to upgrade to 100Mbps services and above at a high rate this year, eating into the 50Mbps market share. Also, despite internet users consolidating their mobile connections into more streamlined plans, the total number of reported mobile services has risen, particularly among pre-paid service plans.

Consumers have also been slowly moving away from the main players and towards secondary retailers like Aussie Broadband, Superloop and Vocus. Cheaper offerings and alternative services have been appealing to younger Australian's and those with different use cases, with many of these retailers backed by the major player's networks anyway.

The total number of fixed connections differs depending on its type. Fibre connections are the dominant share of fixed connections, holding steady as non-NBN connections dwindle in recent years. In contrast, mobile wireless connections have seen steady growth on the back of a growing population and heavier reliance on mobile internet connections. Despite these behavioural trends, consumers have consolidated their mobile connections to mobile devices and more heavily rely on home wireless connections for other handheld devices such as tablets. This shift has subdued the number of internet subscribers.

Underlying demand for internet connections has shifted over the past five years. Consumers are leaning more towards mobile data than before, with mobile broadband falling slightly out of favour. Nevertheless, data download volume is rising on both fronts thanks to population growth and rising internet screen-time demand. The Australian workforce has become increasingly mobile, with many employees working between multiple offices and sites. As more employees have adopted flexible work practices, demand for mobile connections has climbed. Overall, the number of internet connections is forecast to rise at a compound annual rate of 0.3% over the five years through 2025-26.