NBN: the landline internet infrastructure in Australia
Australia’s fixed-line internet market is built on a single national infrastructure: the NBN, operated by NBN Co. It provides wholesale access to fibre, cable, copper and wireless technologies that connect homes and businesses across the country.
While there are over 150 registered ISPs, most Australians use one of a handful of major brands: Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet, Aussie Broadband and Dodo.
These providers resell NBN services but differ in pricing, support, peak-hour performance and contract flexibility. Outages may stem from NBN infrastructure itself or from the provider’s internal network systems.
Mobile network coverage and disruptions
Australia has three main mobile network operators (MNOs): Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone, part of the TPG Telecom group.
These networks cover between 96% and 99.7% of the population, depending on location and signal type (3G, 4G, or 5G). In addition, a wide range of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) such as Belong, amaysim, Boost, and Lebara use these networks to deliver low-cost mobile plans.
Mobile outages can result from tower failures, planned upgrades, extreme weather or broader network issues. They may impact mobile data, SMS, or voice services regionally or nationally.
What to do during an outage
If you're experiencing an outage, here are some useful steps:
- Check our real-time outage map to see if others in your area are affected. You can also report the issue and share your experience to help the community.
- Contact your provider if the outage doesn’t appear to be widespread — they may provide updates or run diagnostics.
- Use a temporary workaround:
- Reboot your modem/router if it's a local issue
- Activate mobile hotspot if your home connection is down
- Try Wi-Fi calling or messaging apps if mobile signal is weak
Most outages are resolved quickly, but if you’re left without service for an extended period, it’s worth requesting compensation or switching to a more reliable backup.