🏆 Australian Call Centre Rankings · Q2 2026
Australian Internet Retailers Q2 2026 Call Centre Rankings
Internet plans are close to interchangeable. Similar speeds, similar prices, similar networks — which means the phone call is often the only thing a customer has to judge one provider against another.
These rankings show how Australia's ISPs handle that call, based on real mystery shopping calls from people connecting a new service or comparing plans before they switch.
That call carries more weight than it looks. A customer choosing an internet provider is not only buying a plan — they are making a bet on what happens the day the service drops out, and this conversation is the only evidence they have to go on.
It is why some providers charge a premium on service rather than speed, and why customers pay it. Handle the enquiry well and you have made the case for your support before anyone has needed it. Handle it badly and you have made the opposite case just as convincingly.
Every call is independently assessed against 48+ CX metrics aligned to the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards, covering both how easily the caller reached a person and how well that conversation was handled. Nobody is told when we are calling, so what you see here is what a customer sees.
The stakes are simple. Switching an internet service takes one conversation, and the customer on the line has usually already decided to move. Every call that ends badly hands a connection to whoever they ring next.
Q2 2026 puts Internet first of the seven sectors we measure — the best-performing industry in the country. It also puts the sector last on the one measure that describes how the conversation actually felt. The full picture is below.
What you’re looking at. This is the public snapshot — the headline sector results, and a fraction of what each assessed call generates across 48+ individual metrics. ACXPA Members see considerably more: provider leaderboards, monthly and quarterly trends, lifetime averages, and provider-level results for a selection of ISPs.
But membership is still a view of the sector. It is not a view of you, and it does not open up the full dataset.
The only way to see your own contact centre’s complete results — and to benchmark against the specific competitors you nominate — is through our Internet Benchmarking Services.
Australian Internet Retailers · Q2 2026
Executive Summary
Australia's internet retailers finished Q2 2026 as the best-performing sector in the country. Overall CX averaged 62.9%, up 2.3 percentage points and 8.0 points clear of the 54.9% all-industry average.
Overall CX is the headline number: a weighted blend of how easily a customer reaches an agent and how well that agent handles the conversation. Every assessed call is scored against a defined standard of best practice, so 100% describes a call where nothing was missed.
The sector's strength is access, and the margin is not close. Accessibility averaged 83.4%, up 8.4 points and 17.4 points above the 66.0% industry average — first of the seven sectors we measure, and first by eight points over the next.
Up 2.3 points on Q1 2026 — the highest of any sector nationally, and 8.0 points above the all-industry average.
Average wait time fell from 1:50 to 0:59 against 1:52 nationally. Total time to reach a live person fell from 2:36 to 1:40, against 3:05.
Callers spent just 40 seconds in phone menus versus 1:12 across all sectors. Internet ranks first of seven on every one of those measures.
Most striking is what happened to failed calls. The share of assessed calls incurring an access deduction collapsed from 20.4% to 3.7% — against an industry rate of 20.1%. Four of the six providers answered 100% of calls within ten minutes.
The sector also opens conversations better than anyone. Internet ranks first of seven on Engage (47.0% against 33.4% nationally) and first on Discover (65.4% against 49.9%) — the competencies covering the first impression and the questions that establish what the customer actually needs.
Overall, Agent Mastery averaged 55.7% — second of seven sectors and just above the 54.1% industry average. But that number is carried almost entirely by the opening of the call, and it fell 2.7 points this quarter.
Then the picture inverts. Impact — empathy, control, clarity and energy in the conversation — averaged 50.5% and ranks last of all seven sectors, a full 20.2 points below the 70.7% industry average and a second consecutive quarter of decline.
The underlying behaviours show where it goes. Vibrancy scored 60.2% against 86.0% nationally, empathy 46.3% against 69.0%, and clarity 41.7% against 66.1%. Dodo (27.8%) and Optus (33.3%) recorded the two lowest Impact scores of any company in any sector this quarter.
Educate tells a similar story, slipping 4.4 points to 60.6% — sixth of seven sectors and below the 63.7% industry average for a second consecutive quarter. Close, at 51.5%, sits fourth of seven and just under the 52.4% industry mark.
TPG Internet (72.3%) led the sector and ranks 3rd nationally across all sectors. But the quarter's clearest lesson comes from the two providers moving in opposite directions: Optus rebuilt its front door and lost the conversation, while Telstra did precisely the reverse.
For a sector where switching is a phone call and plans are functionally interchangeable, the implication is pointed. Internet retailers have made themselves the easiest companies in Australia to reach. What happens after the customer gets through is now the only thing separating them.
ACXPA conducts this benchmarking by posing as prospective customers shopping for a new internet connection or comparing plans. We assess new-business enquiries that represent direct revenue opportunities, not fault reporting or existing-customer support, and score every call against the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards.
Sector Leaders
🏆 Top Performers — Australian ISPs Q2 2026
Overall CX — TPG Internet (72.3%)
TPG gained 6.4 points to 72.3%, taking the sector lead and ranking 3rd nationally across every sector we assess. It finishes 5.1 points clear of iiNet in second.
Unusually for this sector, TPG is strong on both halves of the call: 87.7% Accessibility and 65.8% Agent Mastery, the latter a third consecutive quarterly improvement. It also led Close at 74.1% and has answered 100% of calls within ten minutes for ten consecutive quarters.
Accessibility — Optus Internet (93.2%)
Accessibility scores the whole journey from dialling to speaking with a person — time in the phone menu, clarity of the options, how long the customer holds, and whether the call is answered at all (full definitions here).
Optus gained 17.8 points to a best-ever 93.2%, taking the sector lead for the first time and ranking 4th nationally. In practice: 40 seconds in the menu, a four-second wait, and every call answered — a live agent 44 seconds after dialling.
Both are among the fastest recorded by any company nationally this quarter — a wait time bettered only by one company in any sector. What happened to Optus after that point is covered in the Challenges section.
Agent Mastery — Telstra Internet (67.7%)
Agent Mastery assesses how effectively agents Engage (build rapport and take ownership), Discover (identify what the customer actually needs), Educate (explain plans, speeds and pricing clearly), Close (finish with confidence and a clear next step), and create lasting Impact through empathy and communication quality.
Telstra gained 6.5 points to 67.7%, taking the sector lead and ranking 4th nationally. It also led Educate for a third consecutive quarter at 70.8%.
Its standout was Discover at a best-ever 88.9% — level with the highest score recorded by any company in any sector this quarter. Telstra agents are asking better questions than anyone in the country.
🤝 First Impressions — TPG Internet (66.7%)
Engage covers the opening of the call — the greeting, taking ownership of the enquiry, using the customer's name, and building enough rapport that the conversation is worth continuing.
TPG scored 66.7%, up 11.1 points, and it is the highest Engage result recorded by any company in any sector this quarter.
Internet as a whole leads the country on this competency at 47.0% against a 33.4% industry average — a reminder that where the sector is good, it is very good.
📞 Answering Every Call — iiNet (100%)
iiNet answered 100% of assessed calls within ten minutes — in every one of the twelve quarters since we began tracking the sector. Only one other company in any sector, Brisbane City Council, has matched that.
It backed that up with a best-ever five-second average wait and 92.3% Accessibility, 5th nationally. TPG has now cleared 100% for ten consecutive quarters, with Optus and Aussie Broadband both returning to 100% this quarter.
What Improved
⭐ Key Wins — Australian ISPs Q2 2026
🥇 Internet is now the best-performing sector in Australia
Overall CX rose 2.3 percentage points to 62.9%, reversing Q1's dip and taking first place among the seven sectors we measure nationally — 3.5 points ahead of Energy and 8.0 above the all-industry average.
The sector also finished first on Accessibility, average wait time, total time to reach a live person, time spent in phone menus, Engage and Discover. That is six national firsts in a single quarter.
🚪 The front door is now barely there
Accessibility gained 8.4 points to 83.4%, 17.4 points above the industry average. Average wait time fell from 1:50 to 0:59, and total time to reach a live person from 2:36 to 1:40 — against a 3:05 national average.
Callers spent 40 seconds in phone menus — the lowest of any sector — and navigated 1.9 menu layers against 2.1 nationally. Where a bank caller waits 5:20 to reach a person, an ISP caller waits 1:40.
The clearest signal is failure rate: calls incurring an access deduction fell from 20.4% to 3.7%, against 20.1% nationally. Almost nothing now goes wrong before the conversation starts.
📞 Four of six providers answered every call
Aussie Broadband, iiNet, Optus and TPG all recorded 100% Calls Answered within ten minutes. Aussie Broadband and Optus both recovered 11.1 points to get there.
iiNet's record is the standout: 100% in all twelve quarters since tracking began. TPG has managed ten consecutive. At 94.4% the sector sits 11.2 points above the industry average.
📶 Optus rebuilds the fastest front door in the sector
Optus gained 17.8 points of Accessibility to a best-ever 93.2%, taking the sector lead for the first time in twelve quarters. Average wait time fell from 3:15 to 0:04 and total time to reach a live person from 4:05 to 0:44.
Both are among the fastest recorded by any company in any sector this quarter, and a return to the standard Optus set in 2024 before its access scores slipped. Its total experience time also fell 32% to 7:58, the shortest in the sector.
🗣 Telstra asks better questions than anyone in the country
Telstra took the sector's Agent Mastery lead at 67.7%, up 6.5 points and 4th nationally, and led Educate for a third consecutive quarter at 70.8%.
Its Discover score of a best-ever 88.9% is level with the highest recorded by any company in any sector this quarter, and Engage rose 15.3 points to 59.7%. For a sector whose weakness is the conversation, Telstra is the counter-example.
🎯 TPG leads the sector while setting a national mark
TPG improved 6.4 points to 72.3% Overall CX, 3rd nationally, and posted the highest Engage score of any company in any sector at 66.7%.
It also led Close at 74.1%, a second consecutive quarterly improvement, and lifted Agent Mastery for a third straight quarter. TPG is the only ISP currently improving on both halves of the call at once.
⬆ Dodo posts the sector's largest gain
Dodo improved Overall CX 9.1 points to 53.7%, recovering from its record low in Q1. Accessibility rose 6.6 points to 83.7% and calls answered recovered 11.1 points to 88.9%.
It remains last in the sector and has significant ground to make up on the conversation, but the direction reversed.
Where The Sector Is Losing Ground
⚠ Overall CX Challenges — Australian ISPs Q2 2026
💔 The best sector in Australia is the worst at making customers feel anything
Impact measures empathy, control of the conversation, clarity of explanation and energy — whether the call leaves the customer feeling looked after. Internet averaged 50.5% and ranks last of all seven sectors, a full 20.2 points below the 70.7% industry average.
It fell 4.8 points this quarter, a second consecutive decline. The behaviours underneath show why: vibrancy 60.2% against 86.0% nationally, empathy 46.3% against 69.0%, and clarity 41.7% against 66.1%.
Dodo (27.8%) and Optus (33.3%) recorded the two lowest Impact scores of any company in any sector this quarter. A sector that has removed almost every barrier to reaching an agent is losing customers on how the conversation feels.
📉 Optus fixed the queue and lost the conversation
Alongside the sector's best Accessibility result, Optus recorded the sector's steepest declines on almost every conversational measure. Agent Mastery fell 22.4 points to 46.4%, and Overall CX fell 7.1 points despite the access gains.
Close collapsed 44.5 points to 40.7%. Engage fell 23.6 points to 36.1%, and Impact fell 30.6 points to a worst-ever 33.3%.
Optus now answers in four seconds and then delivers one of the two weakest conversations in the country. Speed to answer is worth very little on its own.
🚧 Telstra fixed the conversation and lost the queue
Telstra made the opposite trade. While leading the sector on Agent Mastery, it recorded its worst access quarter in over a year. Accessibility fell 13.9 points to 60.3% — the lowest in the sector and 23.1 points below the sector average.
Calls answered within ten minutes fell 22.2 points to 77.8%, ending a four-quarter run at or near 100%. Average wait time rose from 0:07 to 1:37 and total time to reach a live person from 1:08 to 2:28.
Roughly one caller in five never got through to hear the best agent conversations in the sector. Telstra also recorded the sector's longest talk time (8:39) and total experience time (11:08).
📚 Educate is sliding across the sector
Educate — explaining plans, speeds, contract terms and pricing clearly enough for a customer to decide — fell 4.4 points to 60.6%. That is sixth of seven sectors and below the 63.7% industry average for a second consecutive quarter.
Aussie Broadband (52.8%) recorded a worst-ever result and a fourth consecutive quarterly decline. iiNet (56.9%) also posted a worst-ever score, down 5.6 points.
In a market where plans differ mainly on speed tiers, data handling and contract terms, an agent who cannot explain the difference gives the customer no reason to choose.
🔻 Dodo finishes last on the two competencies that close a sale
Despite the sector's largest Overall CX gain, Dodo scored 22.2% on Close — a fourth consecutive quarterly decline and second-lowest of any company nationally — and 27.8% on Impact, the lowest recorded nationally, also falling for a fourth straight quarter.
It is also the slowest ISP to answer, at 2:40 average wait and 3:13 to reach a live person, against sector averages of 0:59 and 1:40.
⏳ Calls keep getting longer while the sector gets faster to answer
Sector talk time rose from 7:27 to 7:38, against a 6:23 industry average. Aussie Broadband recorded worst-ever marks on both talk time (7:01) and total experience time (8:32), and Dodo a worst-ever 10:11 total experience time after a 26% increase.
Aussie Broadband also lost the sector's Impact leadership after nine consecutive quarters, falling 20.8 points to a worst-ever 55.6%. Longer calls are not translating into better ones.
Recognising Call Centre Excellence for Australian ISPs
Congratulations to the Australian internet retailers delivering standout customer experiences through their call centres in Q2 2026 — a quarter in which this sector finished first of the seven industries we measure nationally.
These rankings are based on independent mystery shopping assessments, using real customer enquiries to evaluate how well contact centres handle Australians connecting a new service or comparing plans before they switch.
Recognition here reflects more than meeting expectations. In a market where plans are close to interchangeable and switching takes a single phone call, the providers at the top of this table are winning customers on the one thing competitors cannot copy from a price list.
72.3% 67.2% 62.2% 53.7%Quarterly Trend
Overall CX
Australian ISPs
The Overall CX Score is the headline metric in our benchmarking program — a single weighted score covering how easily a customer reaches a contact centre, and how well the conversation goes once they do.
The two are weighted deliberately. Getting through matters, but what happens next matters more — so the agent's handling of the conversation carries the greater share of the score.
Penalties are applied where a call breaks down badly, so a serious failure can't be averaged away by an otherwise reasonable interaction. The score reflects what the customer actually experienced.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that power these assessments.
Key Metrics Trend – Australian ISPs (12-Month View)
The chart below highlights a 12-month trend across three core CX performance metrics for Australian internet retailers:
- Overall CX – A weighted composite score reflecting the full enquiry experience, combining how easily the customer reached an agent with how well that conversation was handled.
- Accessibility – How quickly and easily a prospective customer can reach a real person to discuss a new connection or compare plans, measured across menu navigation, wait times, recorded messaging and whether the call is answered at all.
- Agent Mastery – The skill, clarity and confidence with which agents engage callers, establish needs, explain speeds, data and contract terms, and progress toward a connection, measured across five core competencies.
- 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 internet retailers are delivering end-to-end experiences during revenue-intent enquiries such as new connections and plan comparisons.
- Accessibility
- This measures how easily and quickly a prospective customer can reach a real person. It includes navigating phone menus, clarity of options, queue times, and whether callers successfully reach an agent. Higher scores indicate faster access, lower friction and fewer abandoned sales opportunities.
- Agent Mastery
- This evaluates the quality and professionalism of the conversation once contact is made. It measures how effectively agents qualify needs, explain speed tiers, data inclusions and contract terms, handle objections, and guide the customer toward a connection – along with empathy, clarity and overall service delivery. It's a direct measure of agent capability in a market where the plans themselves are close to interchangeable.
Learn more about the Australian Contact Centre CX Standards that underpin these assessments.
Call Centre CX Quadrant – Australian ISPs Q2 2026
This Call Centre CX Quadrant plots how Australian internet retailers compare on Accessibility — how quickly and easily a prospective customer reaches a live agent — against Agent Mastery, the quality, clarity and confidence of the conversation that follows.
The mystery shops simulate revenue-intent enquiries: a customer connecting a new service or comparing plans before switching.
Q2 2026 is the first quarter in which every ISP we assess sits in the upper half of the chart. As a group these are the easiest companies in Australia to reach, and the vertical spread that dominates other sectors has largely disappeared here.
That pushes the whole story onto the horizontal axis. TPG Internet and Telstra sit furthest right on conversation quality, from opposite starting points — TPG pairs it with near-effortless access, while Telstra's access score is much the weakest in the sector.
Optus and Dodo sit left of the halfway mark: reachable in seconds, but scoring below the midpoint on the conversation itself.
The top-right quadrant is where the commercial return sits: fast, low-friction access paired with a conversation good enough that the customer stops shopping. In a sector where the plans are close to identical, that conversation is the product.
