Maryland resident Michael James said broadband in his home ran at crippling speeds, no matter which service provider he used.

Mr James uses the internet to run his home business Able DJs, downloading music and updating his website.

He also runs the online 24-hour stream newcastlescan.com, which broadcasts the Hunter's fire, ambulance and SES radio feeds across the world.

Mr James said he was increasingly using his phone over his home computer for better service.

"It is six times faster to download something on my phone than on my computer," he said.

"With a 4G network we can get downloads with a 80Mbps connection."

The new Coalition federal government is midway through a 60-day review of the national broadband network, claiming it can be rolled out cheaper and quicker if the fibre cables only ran to the street corners instead of every individual home.

It is likely the government will piggyback existing copper telephone wires the rest of the way.

The government has promised a minimum speed of 25Mbps with the new plan, compared to 100Mbps under the previous Labor plan.

Two weeks ago internet download speeds at the James' residence dropped from an average of 4.9Mbps to 3Mbps.

Mr James' internet service provider sent out technical support, recommending an internal central filer, new lines for ADSL and a new phone.

The James family is using the internet more often and is increasingly frustrated by the limited speeds that interfere with its usage.

Mr James said he supported the previous federal government's fibre-to-the-premise plan but would be grateful for any kind of improvements.

This week internet download speeds at the James residence are about 4.3Mbps - a far cry from the two speeds promised by both sides of government as the national broadband network is rolled out across the country.

Results of the national broadband network review are due to be released in December.