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Thereโs a new kind of peak hour happening in Australian homes. As technology becomes part of everyday life and home design, more devices and activities are sharing the home internet connection. Some are easy to spot. One parent is on a video call, another is working online from the backyard office, and the kids are gaming or streaming. Then there are devices you may not think about. Smart air conditioning, garden irrigation, outdoor lighting, smart garage doors and electric vehicle charging can all be connected and working quietly in the background.
That picture is becoming more common, and households may have more connected devices than they realise. The average broadband household now has 25 connected devices, more than triple the average of seven in 2013. That number is predicted to reach 45 by 2030, according to Omdiaโs Fibre Development Index Analysis.
On Sydneyโs north shore, one family of four is already well past that. Kristy and Marcus count over 120 connected devices in their home. Both work in hybrid jobs; their daughters, 11 and 13, are online for school, work, entertainment and near-daily video calls to friends and their grandmother in England.
Not that all 120, and counting, are awake at once. Most stay on standby until something needs them: the cameras kick in when someone walks up the path, the lights switch on when the sun goes down, the car charges when electricity is cheaper. Yet, their nbnยฎ connection supports their devices, tasks and schedules around the clock.
They do have one test before buying any new smart technology: would they use it every day? โA smart home isnโt about having lots of gadgets,โ says Kristy. โItโs the things that make family life easier, like smart lights, a doorbell camera or a smart lock. It becomes part of the house.โ The goal is not to make the technology the focus, but to help everyday life run more smoothly.
How can smart devices make daily life easier?
Convenience is the obvious draw. Security, energy efficiency and safety also help. Security cameras tell the family when a parcel has arrived, or when someone is at the door. A fingerprint lock on the garden studio means they no longer walk up from the house, tea in hand, to find theyโve left the key behind. A smart speaker can broadcast โdinnerโs readyโ throughout the house.
Smart lighting has made the biggest everyday difference, Marcus says. What began with a single $10 smart bulb expanded over several years to every light in the house.
After dinner, one press switches off the kitchen lights, dims the dining room and brings up softer lighting. The family can also choose brighter settings for video calls or adjust the mood before bed.
What affects Wi-Fi performance at home?
As more devices operate at the same time, the home internet setup behind them becomes more important. A smart light may use little data on its own. But when many devices connect to the Wi-Fi router at once, the demand can quickly build.
The scale of that change is clear in how much data households now use. Average monthly household downloads on the nbn network rose from 39.5GB in 2013 to about 574GB in 2026, more than 14 times as much, according to nbn. That growth makes it worth checking whether your internet plan and Wi-Fi router still suit the way you use the internet today.
As of 30 June 2026, 37 per cent of services on the nbn network were on plans offering speeds of 500Mbps or above, but the speed arriving at your house is only part of the story. If your Wi-Fi router came with a plan five years ago, ask your provider whether it still suits what youโre paying for, supports the number of devices in your home and continues to receive security updates. Some older Wi-Fi routers cap Wi-Fi at 100Mbps, even when the connection supports higher speeds. They may also be less able to manage many connected devices and data-heavy activities at the same time. Your plan, your Wi-Fi router, where it sits, and the size and construction of your home all shape what speed each device actually gets.
Marcus and Kristy have an nbn Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) connection and a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system to help extend their internet coverage around the home. They recently moved to a 1000Mbps (1Gbps) plan and adjusted their home internet setup. Since making those changes, they say the buffering they experienced in the past is no longer an issue.
โThere are four of us doing completely different things at once,โ says Kristy. โI might be on a work call, Marcus is in meetings in the studio, and the girls are playing music or FaceTiming friends. The difference now is, we donโt have to think about who else is online.โ
For Kristy and Marcus, getting that underlying setup right is what turned their house into a home. โWhen everything works together, you donโt really notice the technology,โ says Kristy.
Get your home internet up to speed
These simple home internet setup checks can make a big difference.
- Check your equipment: Older Wi-Fi routers may not support higher speeds or manage the number of connected devices and data-heavy activities now common in many homes. Check whether your router supports Wi-Fi 6 or a newer standard.
- Move your router: Your Wi-Fi router works best with a clear line of sight to the devices using it. Place it somewhere central, open and raised, away from cupboards, appliances, mirrors, fish tanks and other wireless devices.
- Test every room: Compare speeds beside the router and in areas where Wi-Fi feels slower. If possible, also test with an Ethernet cable. Strong wired speeds but weak Wi-Fi indicate a coverage issue.
- Extend coverage: If Wi-Fi performance drops away in parts of a larger or multi-storey home, a mesh Wi-Fi network could improve coverage.
- Connect directly: Use Ethernet cables for stationary devices such as televisions, gaming consoles and desktop computers when speed and stability matter most.
Find practical tips to improve your home internet setup and help it keep up with the way your household uses the internet today.
Your experience depends on your nbn technology, and factors outside nbnโs control (like your internet provider and plan, usage during busy periods, your Wi-Fi router generation and internet equipment setup, plus the number of concurrent online devices at your premises).
