Gold Coast's digital backbone strengthens: What's next for broadband and connectivity

The Gold Coast’s connectivity profile now scores 75 out of 100 as of May 2026, placing it 10 points above the median for indexed cities based on 2025 data, according to SpeedGeo statistics. That ranking reflects years of deliberate investment in a digital backbone that already includes Australia’s largest city-owned commercial LoRaWAN network, covering more than 1,300 square kilometres for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, as the City of Gold Coast notes on its website.

But the roadmap for what comes next is already being laid. The city’s SurfNetwork, a leading-edge fibre optic network featuring 100 kilometres of cable, more than 65 kilometres of fibre ring, and over 300 points of interconnect, is the core asset. That infrastructure is designed to support economic growth and wholesale carrier services, according to the city’s fibre network page. And it’s not sitting idle.

5G, public Wi-Fi and the carrier push

The region already offers free public Wi-Fi across the city and has partnered with Optus to enhance 5G technology coverage and network density using the city’s fibre network, according to the city’s telecommunications page. That partnership is a model for what could follow: carriers using the city’s existing physical assets to densify their mobile networks without starting from scratch.

On the fixed-line side, average broadband download speeds on the Gold Coast hit 87.7 megabits per second in the 12 months to March 2025, according to ZDNet. Virtualplatform was the fastest provider over that period, clocking an average of 145.6 Mbps. Those speeds are solid but not yet at the ceiling of what the city’s fibre can deliver.

The IoT and enterprise play

The LoRaWAN network, a low-power, wide-area technology ideal for sensors and smart-city applications, is already commercial and city-owned. Its 1,300-square-kilometre footprint makes it a rare asset for local governments anywhere in Australia. As more businesses and councils look to deploy connected devices, from smart parking to environmental monitoring, that network becomes a foundation for new products and services.

The city’s digital connectivity page frames the network as a tool for economic development. Combined with the fibre backbone, it gives the Gold Coast a tech infrastructure profile that most Australian cities don’t have. The challenge now is how aggressively that capacity gets used.

What comes next likely involves deeper integration between the fibre network and private carriers, more public Wi-Fi hot spots, and expanded IoT services for local government and business. The city has the physical plant; the roadmap is about activating it. For residents and businesses, that means faster, more reliable connections in more places, and a foundation for the next wave of gold-coast tech growth.