"The growth of 4K televisions combined with faster internet speeds means Australians are watching videos in amazing quality and clarity, creating a much better entertainment experience than five years ago," Kotatko says.

"Because of this improved experience, as our customers move over to faster speeds on the NBN, we’re seeing their data usage increase."

The average Telstra household now consumes 196GB per month, breaking down to 210GB for homes on the NBN and 153GB for those still on ADSL.

The national average is likely higher considering that Telstra has just over half of the Australia home broadband market, but its premium pricing means that homes with hefty download requirements are likely to find better value for money elsewhere.

The release of Telstra's annual download figures comes as the telco overhauls its broadband plans and upgrades more customers to unlimited deals.

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Over the past fortnight Telstra has upgraded around 600,000 fixed-line broadband customers to unlimited data allowances at no extra cost, meaning the telco now has more than two million customers on unlimited fixed-line plans. Unlimited prices start at $89 per month with 50Mbps download speeds.

Telstra has been slow to embrace the idea of unlimited data deals but the move to the NBN is creating a level playing field which is forcing the telco's hand, says Finder.com.au telecommunications analyst Alex Kidman.

Of the fixed-line broadband plans on Finder, one third offer unlimited data; including 53 per cent of ADSL plans and 28 per cent of NBN plans.

Rivals can undercut Telstra's 50 Mbps unlimited data deals by at least $20 per month, Kidman says, without the need to lock into a long-term contract as with Telstra. The proposed merger between TPG and Vodafone could also drive down prices.

"Telstra has been the big holdout when it comes to offering widespread unlimited plans," Kidman says. "It has maintained its premium pricing but very slowly and begrudgingly moved towards offering more unlimited deals."

Embracing unlimited data means that Telstra's rivals can no longer use their unlimited deals as a key differentiator, he says. Instead, rivals are forced to compete in other areas where Telstra's size and market dominance still work to its advantage.

"Telstra highlights its typical evening NBN evening speeds to help it stand out from cheaper rivals, which becomes a more important factor once everyone offers unlimited downloads," Kidman says. "Not every telco publishes these real-world evening speeds, even though the ACCC would like them to do so.

"Once unlimited downloads is no longer a big issue, Telstra can also focus on its ancillary services like sports streaming deals and its smart home hub. You're not going to buy data-hungry devices like smart home cameras if you're worried about it burning through all your data so you can't watch Netflix."