It's been a busy week for the Aussie internet landscape, as this past weekend (Sunday 14 September) saw the introduction of three mega speed tiers to the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Refreshing two existing tiers for FTTP and HFC connections, and welcoming the fastest speeds theoretically possible with NBN 2000, these new entries have shaken up the market in more ways than one.
One entry in particular, NBN 750, has already impacted its predecessor, the NBN 250 tier, to a rather severe extent. Acting as a 3x speed boost to FTTP/HFC 250Mbps plans, the introduction of the new 'home superfast' tier, as per NBN Co, has already seen cuts to several NBN 250 plans in favour of the speed upgrade.
Out of the providers we monitor, only three telcos — Superloop, Dodo and iPrimus — have retained their 250Mbps plans for new sign-ups. That said, the latter two have indicated that their plans will transfer over to the new tier in October.
Plans on the NBN 750 tier will reach theoretical maximums of 750Mbps across all hours. I use the term 'theoretical' here for several reasons. Most notably, real-world speed data for this tier is still very much unknown, given its infancy. You'd expect 'typical evening speed' claims (e.g. what you'll realistically get during the busy evening hours) among NBN 750 providers to vary, much like they have done for NBN 1000 plans, which range from 700Mbps to 900Mbps.
Most providers on the tier are claiming between 500Mbps and 750Mbps, with a number of telcos sitting somewhere between the 640Mbps and 680Mbps range. Despite this data being preliminary, an average of 70Mbps and 90Mbps less than the plan maximum will, indeed, make a considerable difference to your internet connection.
Right now, 13 providers that we monitor have introduced 750Mbps plans. I've noted the introductory rates, yearly costs and estimated speed claims in the table below.
Provider | Introductory Price | Ongoing price | First Year | Estimated speed claims |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AU$74 | AU$89.90 | AU$951.60 | 750Mbps | |
AU$80 | AU$90.95 | AU$1,025.70 | 750Mbps | |
AU$84.90 | AU$94.90 | AU$1,078.80 | 640Mbps | |
AU$79.99 | AU$99.99 | AU$1,079.88 | 640Mbps | |
iiNet | AU$89.99 | AU$99.99 | AU$1,139.88 | 640Mbps |
AU$90 | AU$100 | AU$1,140 | 680Mbps | |
AU$82 | AU$109 | AU$1,146 | 750Mbps | |
AU$89 | AU$104 | AU$1,158 | TBC | |
N/A | AU$104 | AU$1,248 | 640Mbps | |
AU$91 | AU$121 | AU$1,272 | 719Mbps | |
Telstra | AU$105 | AU$129 | AU$1,404 | 600Mbps |
N/A | AU$119 | AU$1,428 | TBC | |
N/A | AU$129 | AU$1,548 | 500Mbps |
True speed information may be hard to determine for a few more months, but as for the most important factor, pricing, we've got the numbers to crunch. At the time of writing, the cost of an NBN 750 plan averages AU$106.55p/m, which is on par with the tier it is replacing. NBN 750 plans are also around AU$12 more than what you'll pay for an NBN 500 plan (AU$94.93p/m) and AU$12 less than an NBN 1000 plan (AU$118.38p/m).
Comparatively, when broken down into cost-per-megabit, it equates to approximately AU$0.14 per megabit. For context, the average per-megabit cost of an NBN 1000 plan is AU$0.11, and for NBN 500, it's AU$0.18.
Currently, the cheapest NBN 750 provider is Flip at just AU$74p/m for the first eight months before the price increases. Flip's plan is a mere AU$6 cheaper than the next best option, Spintel, at AU$80p/m (for 6 months, then AU$90.95). As we've mentioned above, there's currently no typical evening speed (TES) data available for NBN 750 plans; however, Filp's NBN 1000 plan does promise the fastest TES download speeds of 900Mbps, so we'd expect the new tier to be fairly competitive.
The most expensive providers on the new superfast tier are Telstra and Origin, both charging AU$129 ongoing. Don't be fooled by Telstra's current AU$14 discount, though, as in our experience, the introductory rate won't last long. These exorbitant monthly fees end in a whopping AU$1,548 yearly cost — a whole AU$596.40 more than Flip's first year cost.
Are 750Mbps plans good value?
While I speculate that more 750Mbps deals will come to fruition in the next few months, it poses the true question of whether this new speed tier is actually worth it. If you have an FTTP or HFC connection and have already signed up for a 250Mbps plan, then you might have been migrated over by your ISP to NBN 750 for the same price. But considering 750Mbps plans still average over AU$106p/m, the best way to save and secure high speeds is by switching to an NBN 500 plan.
NBN 100 plans received a 5x maximum speed increase to 500Mbps in the past week, and providers have largely kept the costs the same as before. If you're seriously considering the 750Mbps upgrade and already on a NBN 100 plan, you may already be satisfied with the pricing and speed claims of the NBN 500 tier, as it will quintuple your previous speeds. And if you’re already on NBN 750, you might want to consider downgrading to NBN 500, which should still theoretically double your current speeds and maximise your savings.
As noted, NBN 750 plans are exclusively available to FTTP and HFC connection types. If you're eligible for full fibre but haven’t upgraded already, you can sign up for NBN Co’s free fibre rollout via your preferred provider.
If you're considering the switch to one of the new high-speed plans, you can check out our readers' most popular NBN plans over 500Mbps in the widget below.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
