If you’re running a business in regional Victoria, your internet connection isn’t just a utility. It’s the backbone of everything from EFTPOS transactions to cloud accounting to video calls with suppliers. And in 2026, you’ve actually got choices. Real choices, not just “whatever NBN tier is available in your area.”

Let me walk through what’s actually available and what makes sense for different types of businesses.

The NBN Landscape in 2026

NBN has improved significantly in regional areas over the past two years. The fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) rollout has reached more towns, and the fixed wireless network got a capacity upgrade in late 2025 that’s made a noticeable difference.

Here’s where things stand for the main regional centres:

• Ballarat and Bendigo: Most business areas now have access to NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plans on fibre. If you’re in the CBD or main commercial strips, you’re likely on FTTP.
• Geelong: Excellent coverage across most of the city. Business-grade plans with static IP addresses are widely available.
• Horsham, Ararat, Hamilton: Mixed. Town centres generally have decent fixed-line NBN, but businesses on the outskirts may still be on fixed wireless.
• Smaller towns: Fixed wireless is still common, though performance has improved with the 2025 upgrades.

For businesses on NBN fixed wireless, the realistic speeds are now 50-75 Mbps download and 10-20 Mbps upload on a good day. That’s enough for most small business needs, but it can struggle during peak hours and bad weather.

Starlink Business: The Regional Wild Card

Starlink Business has been a genuine option for about eighteen months now, and uptake in regional Victoria has been strong. The business tier runs about $220 per month (plus the $900 hardware cost), which sounds steep until you consider what unreliable internet costs you in lost productivity.

The headline speeds are 100-350 Mbps download, and in my experience talking to regional businesses using it, the reality is usually around 120-200 Mbps. The latency sits between 25-50 milliseconds, which is fine for video calls and cloud applications but not ideal if you’re doing real-time remote access to city-based servers.

Where Starlink really shines is reliability in areas where NBN fixed wireless drops out during storms or high-usage periods. A farming equipment dealer near Stawell told me he switched to Starlink after the third time his NBN fixed wireless went down during harvest season, right when every farmer in the district was trying to order parts.

The downsides? The dish needs clear sky view. Trees, buildings, and even heavy clouds can temporarily affect performance. And the upload speeds (typically 15-25 Mbps) can be limiting for businesses that need to send large files regularly.

5G Fixed Wireless

Telstra and Optus both offer 5G fixed wireless in some regional areas, though coverage is still patchy outside the major centres. If you’re in central Ballarat, Bendigo, or Geelong, it’s worth checking.

The attraction is speed. 5G fixed wireless can deliver 200-500 Mbps in good conditions. The challenge is consistency. The signal degrades with distance from the tower and can be affected by building materials and terrain.

Pricing is competitive, usually $75-100 per month for business plans, but watch the data caps. Some plans that look cheap have 500GB or 1TB limits, which might not be enough if you’re doing a lot of video conferencing or cloud backups.

What to Choose for Your Business

Here’s my practical recommendation based on what I’ve seen work:

Retail and hospitality (cafes, shops, pubs): NBN fibre if available. You need reliable EFTPOS and POS systems more than you need raw speed. Get the NBN 50 or 100 plan and save your money for a good Wi-Fi router.

Professional services (accountants, lawyers, real estate): NBN 100 or 250. You need reliable upload for cloud document management and video conferencing. Make sure you get a business-grade plan with priority support.

Agriculture and rural businesses: Starlink Business. If you’re outside town and depending on fixed wireless, the reliability improvement alone is worth the premium.

Trades and mobile businesses: A combination approach works well. Keep your office on the cheapest reliable NBN plan and invest in a good mobile data plan for when you’re on the road. Telstra’s business mobile plans with 200GB+ data are usually the most practical.

Manufacturing and warehouses: This depends on your location. If you’re in an industrial estate with fibre access, NBN 250 with a business SLA is the way to go. If you’re rural, Starlink plus a mobile backup is your best bet.

Don’t Forget the Router

Whatever connection you choose, don’t plug it into the router your ISP provided for free. A business-grade router like a UniFi Dream Machine or even a decent consumer mesh system will make a noticeable difference to Wi-Fi reliability throughout your premises.

Budget $300-500 for a good router setup. It’s one of the best investments you can make in your business technology.

One More Thing: Redundancy

If your business literally can’t function without internet, and in 2026 most can’t, have a backup plan. The cheapest option is a mobile hotspot on a different network from your primary connection. If your NBN goes through Telstra infrastructure, get your backup on Optus, or vice versa. Starlink is an excellent backup if your primary is terrestrial, and vice versa.

The days of having no choice are over. Take advantage of the options and pick what actually fits how your business works.

Dave Mitchell covers technology news and trends for regional Victoria.