How Much Is Too Much For NBN Access?

 title=Yesterday, shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull was quoted by Clancy Yeates in the SMH as saying NBN access was likely to cost Australians between $65 and $70 a month, yet that price is “extraordinary”. What the hell?

Despite the fact that those figures roughly equate to what us nerds were paying for early 512kb ADSL and that most Gizmodians would already be spending more than that each month, Turnbull has completely neglected to factor in the $30 a month almost every ADSL user has to pay for line rental already. Looking at Telstra’s cheapest ADSL2+ plan – $9.95 a month – the cost actually works out at about $69 a month when you factor in the modem and line rental, and that’s only if you have a Telstra mobile plan as well (working it out from the 24 month plan’s minimum cost of $1677.60).

Obviously there are cheaper options than Telstra. But to do away with line rental, you’re still paying at least $50, but without fibre speeds. So the step up to NBN speeds for a slightly higher cost seems a no-brainer.

But we still want to ask: How much would be too much for NBN access? What’s the most you’re willing to pay to get access to 1000Mbps speeds?