Bill Morrow, CEO of Australia’s NBN, has attributed much of the current customer dissatisfaction to internet service providers (ISPs).
The National Broadband Network (NBN) was built to boost the nation’s connectivity and provide the digital infrastructure businesses and households need. More than half of Australia can now access the NBN, and the service counts over 2.2 million paying customers. Despite that reach, a significant portion of users remain unhappy with their experience.
ISPs are ‘cutting corners’ by not buying enough bandwidth
Surveys show roughly 15% of connected NBN customers report disappointment with their broadband speeds. While Morrow acknowledges these concerns, he places responsibility primarily on ISPs for failing to meet customer expectations.
According to a position paper on the NBN website, Morrow argues that an aggressive price war among ISPs has distorted the market. In that environment, many providers prioritize rapid customer acquisition—what he describes as a “land grab”—over ensuring they can reliably deliver the speeds they advertise.
“We have a land-grab environment where retail prices are lower than what consumers are willing to pay,” Morrow says. “The large number of competitors going after the same customer has driven price to be the key attraction and seldom do you see any clarity around speed options or quality during the peak time of day.”
Independent research suggests consumers would accept slightly higher prices for a consistently better service. Instead, many ISPs offer similar marketing claims and low prices but fail to back them up in practice. Morrow contends that some providers are effectively “cutting corners” by purchasing insufficient contention or capacity on the NBN, which contributes to congestion and reduced speeds at peak times.
To address complaints, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned ISPs it may take enforcement action if advertised broadband speeds are not delivered. The watchdog recently recruited around 2,000 volunteers so it can monitor real-world broadband performance and assess whether providers meet their commitments.
Customer frustration on the NBN highlights several industry challenges: a crowded retail market focused on price, unclear product definitions and peak-time performance shortfalls. Solving these problems will require clearer promises from ISPs about expected speeds, better transparency around peak-time performance, and investment in sufficient capacity to match the services they sell.
At the same time, regulators like the ACCC can play a stronger role by testing actual speed delivery, enforcing truthful advertising, and encouraging better industry standards. Consumers can help by choosing plans that clearly state typical speeds during peak hours and by asking providers for evidence of real-world performance.
As the NBN continues to expand, aligning retail offers with network capability and improving visibility into performance will be essential to restore confidence among customers and ensure the network fulfills its promise as the backbone of Australia’s digital future.
Do you agree with Morrow’s comments? Share your thoughts in the comments.