If you live in Australia then you are certainly aware of the NBN network. For anyone reading this outside of Australia, the NBN network is the government rollout of telecommunications infrastructure to the majority of the population. A mixture of technology connection types was rolled out to premises'. Fibre to the Premises (FTTP/FTTH/GPON), Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), Fibre to the Node (FTTN/VDSL), Fibre to the Basement (FTTB/VDSL), Fixed Wireless (Licensed spectrum), and Satellite.
You might be wondering what Internet connection type provides the lowest ping to your local data centre? The short answer is none of the technology connection types NBN rolled out. The Internet connection type that provides the lowest ping is Active Fibre. Active Fibre is a fibre cable run to your house that isn't shared with any other house and is connected to its own port.
1st - FTTP Active Fibre
2nd - FTTP GPON
3rd - FTTC
4th - FTTN/FTTB
5th - Fixed Wireless
6th - 4G/5G
7th - Starlink
8th - Sky Muster
The most important factor in regards to ping to your local data centre is how many houses you are sharing the connection with. Each house has to wait their turn to talk on the network. The more houses you share the connection with, the more time you have to wait to get a chance to talk on the network. The more time you wait the higher your ping.
NBN FTTP uses a technology called GPON. NBN FTTP means you have a fibre cable run to your house, but this fibre cable is shared with other houses. Since this fibre cable is shared with other houses this means each house has to wait their turn to be able to talk on the network which adds ping.
NBN FTTC means an active fibre cable is run to the NBN DPU device in the pit outside your house. Copper pairs (ADSL/VDSL/PSTN) from your house are connected into the NBN DPU device. Since multiple houses connect to this same NBN DPU device via copper pairs it means they all have to wait their turn to be able to talk to the NBN DPU which adds ping.
NBN FTTN/FTTB means an active fibre cable is run to the NBN Node down the street. The NBN Node is then connected to an NBN Pillar. Copper pairs (ADSL/VDSL/PSTN) from your house are connected into the NBN Pillar. A lot of houses connect to this same NBN Pillar via copper pairs meaning they all have to wait their turn to be able to talk to the NBN Node which adds ping.
NBN Fixed Wireless:
NBN Fixed Wireless means there is a telecommunications tower with NBN antennas/radios on it. Houses are connected to this tower by installing a fixed wireless antenna/radio on the roof of their house. Each house has to wait their turn to be able to talk to the tower which adds ping. Wireless communications have more checks and balances to make sure the packet was received which adds ping.
4G/5G:
4G/5G means there is a telecommunications tower with 4G/5G antennas/radios on it. Users are connected to this tower by 4G/5G phones and routers. Each user has to wait their turn to be able to talk to the tower which adds ping. Wireless communications have more checks and balances to make sure the packet was received which adds ping.
Starlink:
Starlink means there is a satellite in low earth orbit. Houses are connected to this satellite by installing a satellite antenna on the roof of their house. Each house has to wait their turn to be able to talk to the satellite which adds ping. Wireless communications have more checks and balances to make sure the packet was received which adds ping.
NBN Sky Muster:
NBN Sky Muster means there is a satellite in orbit. Houses are connected to this satellite by installing a satellite antenna on the roof of their house. Each house has to wait their turn to be able to talk to the satellite which adds ping. Wireless communications have more checks and balances to make sure the packet was received which adds ping.
Conclusion:
The more houses you are sharing the connection with, the worse your ping will be to your local data centre.
The ping from your house to the data centre is a small factor that makes up the internet. Did you know that the internet is made up of fibre cables that run across oceans and countries? You can lower your ping by changing to an Internet provider that cherry-picks the lowest latency fibre cables.
We cherry-pick the lowest latency fibre cables to provide the lowest ping to game servers. We prioritise game traffic to provide stable ping as well. Remotely switch your NBN Internet connection over to us if you want the lowest and most stable ping.