Australian Broadband Data Demand: data demand on the nbn™ network eases as COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift

• Australian Broadband Data Demand report highlights on the main nbn wholesale service:
  • Weekly download throughput peak of 11.8 Terabits per second (Tbps) recorded on Friday, 5 June during the Evening Busy Hours
  • Weekly upload throughput peak of 0.93 Tbps recorded on  Monday, 1 June during the Evening Busy Hours

Peak data demand on the nbn’s main wholesale access service has eased as Australians start returning to schools and workplaces, although peak throughput on the main nbn wholesale access service remains above the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

Figures from that latest Australian Broadband Data Demand report show that for the week from Monday, 1 June to Sunday, 7 June, peak download throughput (the measure of data flowing through the nbn™ access network) during the busy evening period increased by 6 per cent to 11.8 terabits per second (Tbps) on the main nbn wholesale service, compared to the last week of February (which nbn measures as its normal pre-COVID-19 baseline).

Australian Broadband Data Demand is a weekly report into the peak throughput recorded in a week during daytime business hours, early evening hours and busy evening hours

Peak download throughput during the week beginning Monday, 1 June also increased compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline during daytime business hours, up 8 per cent to 8.4Tbps, and during early evening hours, up 7 per cent to 10.5Tbps, on the main nbn wholesale service.

Although still above pre-COVID-19 levels, peak data demand across all three key times has seen a fall compared to the previous week. This reduction in data demand follows NBN Co’s recent announcement that it has extended its offer to provide internet providers additional data capacity at no extra cost until 19 August. 

Downstream network usage

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline, peak upload throughput on the main nbn wholesale service in the evening busy hours for the week beginning 1 June increased by 20 per cent to 0.93Tbps. Peak upload throughput in the early evening hours increased 31 per cent to 0.91Tbps; and peak throughput during daytime business hours increased by 70 per cent to 0.85Tbps.

Upstream network usage

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 baseline before social distancing measures were implemented, downstream network usage on the nbn main wholesale service during business hours on 5 June 2020 was 24 per cent higher (as shown in the graph below at 11am) than pre-COVID-19.

Downstream network usage over 24 hours

Upstream network usage on the nbn main wholesale service during business hours on 5 June 2020 was 70 per cent higher (as shown in the graph below at 11am) than the pre-COVID-19 baseline.

Upstream network usage over 24 hours

The Australian Broadband Data Demand report is updated weekly on nbn’s Transparency dashboard at: www.nbn.com.au/updates

For tips on how to make the most of your nbn connection and to learn more on what NBN Co is doing to support Australia through COVID-19, please visit: www.nbnco.com.au/campaigns/covid-19

Notes to editor:

- These metrics represent the upstream/downstream throughput peak each week, across the following three distinct periods:

o    Business hours - Monday to Friday 8am to 4:59pm

o    Early evening hours - Monday to Sunday 5pm to 7:59pm

o    Evening busy hours - Monday to Sunday 8pm to 11:59pm

- For Business Hours, the peak is determined by taking the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15-minute increment for downstream throughput, and from the busiest 30-minute increment for upstream, between Monday to Friday. The Early Evening Hours and Busy Evening Hours figures are recorded using the same methodology, but over a seven day period.

- TC-4 is nbn’s standard wholesale broadband service that is designed primarily for general internet and standard data services across all access technologies.

- NBN Co considers the throughput peak metric for our TC-4 service as the most appropriate measure for growth in data flowing through the network as it shows when network use is at its highest in each defined period in a week for our wholesale access service most used for residential broadband services.

- This graph shows TC-4 usage (measured in terabits per second for both upstream and downstream) over a 24 hour period (using Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight time on the dates shown in the key). It compares the results from those two dates against a corresponding 24 hour period from nbn’s pre-COVID-19 baseline on 28 February 2020 (the last week of February). Each marker on the x axis represents an hour period in the day. The y axis shows, for each of the 60 minute periods in that 24 hour period:

o    The downstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest downstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 15 minute increment in that 60 minute period.

o    The upstream throughput measure calculated by recording the highest upstream throughput for our TC-4 service from the busiest 30 minute increment in that 60 minute period.

- The terabits per second (Tbps) value is rounded to one decimal place. The percentage increase is rounded to the nearest whole number.