While Australia’s best-connected suburbs enjoy gigabit fibre speeds, thousands of communities are stuck with the bare minimum. We analysed every suburb in our database to find the 20 with the lowest internet quality scores — and the results paint a sobering picture of the digital divide.
The bottom 20
| Rank | Suburb | State | Score | Tech Type | Speed Range | Premises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ku Ring Gai Chase | NSW | 1.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 1 |
| 2 | Douglas Daly | NT | 1.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 25 |
| 3 | Malpas Trenton | QLD | 1.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 16 |
| 4 | Booth | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 11 |
| 5 | Kowen | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 7 |
| 6 | Paddys River | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 32 |
| 7 | Rendezvous Creek | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 1 |
| 8 | Tennent | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 4 |
| 9 | Tharwa | ACT | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 39 |
| 10 | Abington | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 13 |
| 11 | Acacia Creek | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 13 |
| 12 | Afterlee | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 27 |
| 13 | Allynbrook | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 43 |
| 14 | Anabranch South | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 28 |
| 15 | Anembo | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 36 |
| 16 | Angledool | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 22 |
| 17 | Aratula | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 5 |
| 18 | Argalong | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 20 |
| 19 | Arkell | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 26 |
| 20 | Arumpo | NSW | 2.5 | Satellite | 12–25 Mbps | 14 |
Every single one is satellite-only
The pattern is unmistakable: all 20 of the worst-connected suburbs rely entirely on satellite internet. No fibre. No fixed wireless. No copper. Just Sky Muster satellite, capped at a theoretical maximum of 25 Mbps download — though real-world speeds are typically 12–20 Mbps with significant latency.
NBN’s Sky Muster satellite service was designed as a last resort for areas too remote or too sparsely populated for ground-based infrastructure. While it provides basic connectivity, satellite internet comes with inherent limitations that make it unsuitable for modern usage patterns.
Why satellite scores so low
PickNBN’s internet quality score factors in technology type, speed potential, fibre coverage, and connectivity rates. Satellite scores poorly on nearly every dimension:
Speed ceiling: Satellite tops out at 25 Mbps down / 5 Mbps up on the best Sky Muster plans. By contrast, FTTP suburbs can access speeds up to 1000 Mbps — that’s a 40x difference.
Latency: Satellite signals must travel approximately 72,000 km round trip to geostationary orbit. This creates a minimum latency of around 600 milliseconds — unacceptable for video calls, gaming, or any real-time application. Ground-based NBN technologies have latencies under 30 milliseconds.
Data caps: Sky Muster plans historically came with tight data allowances, though these have eased over time. Heavy users still face congestion-based slowdowns during peak hours.
Weather sensitivity: Rain, storms, and even heavy cloud cover can degrade satellite signals, causing dropouts and speed reductions. This is particularly frustrating in rural areas that experience severe weather.
The ACT’s hidden satellites
One of the more surprising findings is that six of the bottom 20 suburbs are in the ACT. The Australian Capital Territory leads the nation on average internet score (6.12), yet it contains pockets like Tharwa, Booth, and Paddys River that are entirely satellite-dependent. These are small, rural communities on the outskirts of the ACT that fell outside the fixed-line and fixed-wireless NBN footprint.
Small communities left behind
The other defining feature of the bottom 20 is their size. The average suburb on this list has just 17 premises. Some, like Ku Ring Gai Chase and Rendezvous Creek, have only a single registered premises. From NBN Co’s perspective, running fibre or fixed wireless infrastructure to serve a handful of houses doesn’t stack up commercially — so these communities get satellite by default.
NSW dominates the bottom
New South Wales contributes 12 of the 20 worst suburbs — not because NSW has worse infrastructure overall, but because it has the most suburbs (4,369) and the most geographic diversity. Remote communities in western NSW, the northern tablelands, and the far south coast are among the most isolated in the country.
Angledool, near the Queensland border in outback NSW, is a former Aboriginal mission with 22 premises. Anabranch South, along the Darling River, has 28 premises spread across vast pastoral land. These communities are hundreds of kilometres from the nearest fixed-line infrastructure.
Is there hope?
The Federal Government’s NBN upgrade program focuses on bringing FTTP to existing FTTN and HFC areas, but it doesn’t address satellite-dependent communities. For these 20 suburbs, the most likely improvement will come from:
- LEO satellite services like Starlink, which offer lower latency and higher speeds than Sky Muster
- 5G fixed wireless expansion from Telstra and Optus, which is gradually reaching some rural areas
- Future Sky Muster upgrades, though NBN Co’s satellite capacity is shared across approximately 400,000 premises nationally
The digital divide in Australia isn’t just between cities and the bush — it’s between suburbs with ground-based NBN and those without. Until satellite-dependent communities get access to terrestrial infrastructure, they’ll remain at the bottom of the internet quality rankings.