NBN announced this week that over half of the nationwide rollout is now complete, meaning that regardless of what you think about the current state of the NBN, half of the people reading this can connect, and probably should.
Don’t forget you have options when you switch. Findings from a Choice survey also released this week (convenient timing) showed that despite Telstra having far more customers than any other RSP, it also has amongst the lowest customer satisfaction. Respondents who use Telstra for internet believe Telstra offers below average customer service and represents poor value for money. And yet, they remain rusted on to the big T. What is it they say about the definition of insanity?
And for what it’s worth, Dodo customers weren’t much happier.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/01/nbn-changed-the-names-for-its-tiered-plans/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/08/Ethernet.jpg” title=”NBN’s New Speed Names Explained” excerpt=”We’ve known the National Broadband Network (NBN) plans to be structured around five “tiers” of connectivity based on download and upload speeds offered by NBNco. It appears the company has renamed the plans and taken one of the tiers out. Here’s what you need to know.”]
The point is, if you think your RSP is poor value for money, it’s time to move on. And if you have less tech savvy family members who feel trapped because they don’t feel confident to make a switch, it is your duty are a card-carrying geek to step in and help out.
To wit, here are the cheapest NBN plans for all the available speed tiers. Keep an eye on the setup costs as these differ a great deal from provider to provider.
NBN 12 (100GB+, no contract, WiFi modem included)
Amaysim has a great deal if you get in before the end of July, otherwise little-known Teleron is good value for money. If you’re looking for unlimited data in your plan, prices start from about $55 to $60 per month. Click on View Full Results to find those plans.
NBN 25 (100GB+, no contract, WiFi modem included)
Crowd favourite Internode makes the cut for plans with 25Mbps downloads, though Teleron still has more data for a few bucks less each month. Again, you don’t have to add much to the bill to get unlimited data; Amaysim is cheapest at $60 per month.
NBN 50 (100GB+, no contract, WiFi modem included)
AusBBS is at the bottom of this list, but is probably the pick of the litter. Not only does this plan include unlimited data, but the setup costs are comparably quite low.
Aussie Broadband is another good option, and if you need more than 100GB of data each month you can add another $10 and up this to 500GB per month.
NBN 100 (100GB+, no contract, WiFi modem included)
When it comes to ‘Superfast’ NBN, MyRepublic is the talk of the town, and it’s easy to see why. $70 per month is a great price for NBN 100 and unlimited data, plus the setup costs are pretty reasonable too. AusBBS is the next closest for a matching NBN 100 plan with unlimited data, and it costs $85 per month.
Of course, price is only one aspect of a good NBN plan, so leave a message in the comments if you have a personal experience to share. Especially if you’ve had a positive experience. There’s so much negative press about the NBN at the moment, it’d be nice to hear from people who are having a good time with it.
Joe Hanlon is Publisher at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website. He’s been writing about phones and plans for far too long.