Australian Internet Retailers / ISPs Q1 2026 Call Centre Rankings
These results show how effectively Australian internet providers handle new customer enquiries, plan comparisons, and connection or switch requests — based on real mystery shopping calls assessing what customers experience when setting up new internet services or exploring alternatives.
Each call is evaluated across more than 80 CX metrics aligned with the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards . This provides a consistent, independent, and data-driven assessment of how well internet providers convert enquiries into sales while delivering a clear, professional first impression.
For ISPs, these results matter. Every unanswered call, long wait, or confusing product explanation represents lost revenue and wasted acquisition spend.
Our benchmarking pinpoints where friction occurs — and how the best providers turn customer interest into confident sign-ups. Through ACXPA's Internet / ISP Benchmarking Services, providers can identify execution gaps, improve sales effectiveness, and reduce customer acquisition costs through better CX design.
Executive Summary – Australian Internet Service Providers Q1 2026
Australian ISPs maintained their position as the leading customer experience sector nationally in Q1 2026, ranking 1st of 7 sectors with an Overall CX of 60.60%. While this result represents a modest decline from the previous quarter, ISPs continue to outperform all other sectors assessed by ACXPA.
The quarter revealed contrasting performance across the two core metrics. Despite ranking 2nd of 7 sectors nationally for Accessibility, the sector experienced deterioration in this measure, with most ISPs facing longer wait times and extended customer journeys before reaching live agents. A notable exception was Telstra Internet, which improved significantly after 10 consecutive quarters in last place.
The standout story was Agent Mastery, where ISPs led all sectors nationally and showed quarter-on-quarter improvement. The sector excelled particularly in how effectively agents build rapport and identify customer needs — the Engage and Discover competencies of the ACXPA Contact Centre CX Standards, which also assesses how agents Educate, Close, and create lasting Impact.
ACXPA reports what customers experience, not what companies report internally. This mystery shopping methodology captures the customer perspective without examining operational factors such as staffing levels, technology investments, or business decisions that may influence these outcomes.
🏆 Top Performers
Optus Internet won Overall CX with 67.50%, up from 46.80% in Q4 2025 — an increase of 20.70 percentage points and ranking 5th nationally. This remarkable turnaround came after Optus finished last in the sector for Overall CX in both Q3 and Q4 2025.
iiNet won Accessibility with 78.40%, despite declining 14.20 percentage points from Q4 2025 and ranking only 9th nationally. The sector-wide deterioration meant that a score of 78.40% was sufficient to win in Q1 2026, whereas Dodo Internet required 94.50% to win the prior quarter. Accessibility measures how easily customers can connect with a live agent, including Average Wait Time, IVR navigation, and Calls Answered Percentage.
Optus Internet won Agent Mastery with 68.80%, up from 43.30% in Q4 2025 — an increase of 25.50 percentage points and ranking 2nd nationally. Optus had been last in the ISP sector for Agent Mastery for the prior two quarters. Agent Mastery measures the quality of soft skills and customer experience during live conversations with agents.
TPG Internet won Average Wait Time with 00:05, down from 00:16 in Q4 2025 — ranking 2nd nationally behind ENGIE (00:04). This marks TPG's second win in the last three quarters, having also recorded the fastest wait time in Q3 2025.
⭐ Key Wins
🚀 Optus Internet achieves dramatic turnaround
Optus Internet delivered exceptional improvements across multiple metrics, winning both Overall CX with 67.50% (up 20.70 percentage points) and Agent Mastery with 68.80% (up 25.50 percentage points). After finishing last in the ISP sector for Agent Mastery for the prior two quarters, Optus ranked 2nd nationally in Q1 2026.
📈 Sector leads nationally in Agent Mastery
The ISP sector ranked 1st of 7 sectors nationally for Agent Mastery with 58.40%, up 2.60 percentage points from Q4 2025 and up 6.20 percentage points year-on-year.
⚡ TPG Internet maintains exceptional wait time performance
TPG Internet recorded an Average Wait Time of just 00:05, down from 00:16 in Q4 2025, ranking 2nd nationally behind ENGIE (00:04).
🎯 Sector excels in Engage and Discover competencies
The ISP sector ranked 1st of 7 sectors nationally for both Engage (47.00%, up 3.70 percentage points) and Discover (65.70%, up 8.30 percentage points), demonstrating strong performance in building rapport and identifying customer needs.
📞 Strong performance in call answering
The ISP sector maintained strong performance with 92.60% of Calls Answered Percentage, ranking 1st of 7 sectors nationally. Three ISPs — iiNet, Telstra Internet, and TPG Internet — achieved perfect 100.00% call answering rates.
🔄 Telstra Internet reverses Accessibility decline
After finishing in last place for Accessibility for 10 consecutive quarters, Telstra Internet ranked 4th with 74.20%, up 16.20 percentage points from Q4 2025.
⚠ Overall CX Challenges
📉 Sector-wide Accessibility deterioration
The ISP sector's Accessibility averaged 75.00%, down 7.20 percentage points from Q4 2025 and down 10.50 percentage points year-on-year. Every ISP declined in Accessibility with the exception of Telstra Internet.
⏱ Average Wait Time rises significantly
Sector Average Wait Time increased to 01:50, up 36 seconds from Q4 2025 and up 1 minute 13 seconds year-on-year. The sector ranked 3rd of 7 sectors for this metric.
🚪 Total Time to Reach Live Person extends
Total Time to Reach Live Person rose to 02:36, up 48 seconds from Q4 2025. Combined with increased Menu Navigation Time (00:33, up from 00:24) and Total Time Spent in Menu (00:46, up from 00:36), customers faced longer journeys before speaking with an agent.
⚠️ Access Deductions surge
The percentage of Calls with Access Deductions jumped to 20.40%, up from 5.60% in Q4 2025, indicating increased accessibility challenges affecting one in five customer calls.
📊 Dodo Internet faces multiple challenges
Dodo Internet recorded their lowest-ever Overall CX score of 44.60% (down 17.60 percentage points), their longest-ever Average Wait Time of 03:22 (up 2 minutes 49 seconds), and came last in the sector for Agent Mastery (44.90%) for the 8th time in 11 quarters. They also recorded the lowest Calls Answered Percentage at 77.80%, down 22.20 percentage points.
📉 Aussie Broadband reaches record lows
Aussie Broadband recorded their lowest-ever Overall CX score of 57.40% (marking their third consecutive quarter of decline) and their lowest-ever Accessibility score of 71.60% (down 10.00 percentage points).
⚖️ Pressure evident but causes sit outside rankings
The data shows clear pressure points across access and interaction quality, but it does not explain why they are occurring. Broader increases in service demand and complexity may be contributing to these outcomes; however, ACXPA reports results from mystery shopping and does not attribute performance to specific operational decisions or constraints.
Recognising Call Centre Excellence for Internet Service Providers
Congratulations to the top-performing internet service providers delivering exceptional customer experiences via their call centres in Q1 2026.
These rankings are based on independent mystery shopping assessments, using real customer enquiries to evaluate how effectively providers support Australians looking to switch plans, connect a new service, or resolve pre-sales questions.
Recognition in these rankings highlights providers who stand out for their speed, clarity, and service quality – turning everyday enquiries into high-impact acquisition opportunities in a fiercely competitive market.
67.5% 65.9%
65.1%
44.6%Quarterly Trend
Overall CX
Internet Service Providers
The Overall CX Score is the most important metric in our benchmarking program – a single, weighted score that reflects how easy it is for customers to reach a contact centre and the quality of the experience once connected.
As the defining measure of customer experience, the Overall CX Score blends Accessibility (30%) and Agent Mastery (70%) to reflect both access and impact – with a greater emphasis on the agent's role in shaping outcomes. Penalties are applied for major breakdowns to ensure a true picture of performance from the customer's perspective.
Key Metrics Trend – Internet Retailers (12-Month View)
The chart below highlights a 12-month trend across three core CX performance metrics for Australian Internet Service Providers:
- Overall CX – A weighted composite score reflecting the end-to-end customer experience, factoring in accessibility, agent quality, and call handling efficiency.
- Accessibility – The ease of reaching a human agent measured across over 40 metrics, including ease of menu navigation, wait times, recorded messaging lengths and more.
- Agent Mastery – The quality and effectiveness of agent conversations delivered through soft skills and behaviours, measured across five core competencies and over 18 individual metrics.
Overall CX
This is the headline metric – representing the total customer experience across every stage of the call journey. It's calculated using a weighted combination of the Accessibility and Agent Mastery scores, providing a holistic view of how well ISPs are delivering end-to-end service during key sales interactions.
Accessibility
This measures how easily and quickly prospective customers can reach a real person. It includes navigating phone menus, clarity of options, queue times, and whether callers successfully speak with a representative. Higher scores reflect smoother, more customer-friendly access experiences.
Agent Mastery
This evaluates the quality and professionalism of frontline service. It includes how well ISP call centre agents greet, listen, explain plan options, handle moving enquiries, and support switching decisions – along with empathy, clarity, and overall service delivery. It's a direct measure of agent capability during high-value conversations.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that power these assessments.
Call Centre CX Quadrant – Australian Internet Retailers Q1 2026
This Call Centre CX Quadrant illustrates how Australian internet retailers compare in Accessibility (ease of reaching a live agent) and Agent Mastery (quality of customer interactions).
Striking the right balance is no easy feat – some internet retailers offer fast and easy access but fall short in agent skill or engagement, which can undermine the overall experience.
Others may deliver strong agent interactions but frustrate customers with long wait times or difficult IVRs before help is even reached.
The top-right quadrant represents CX best practice – internet retailers that make it both easy to get help and deliver high-quality conversations that drive conversion, reduce churn, and strengthen customer trust. ⚡️
