Last month, changes were made to wholesale costs of NBN plans, which saw prices fluctuate across almost every speed tier. We speculate that it’s a subtle NBN Co effort (or push) to get more people onto faster internet plans but with the benefit of potentially paying less for it.
Customers with 50Mbps — or slower — NBN plans have more than likely received an uptick in their monthly bill, while others on 100Mbps plans or faster might have saved some extra pennies this month. So far, however, we’ve found that only four providers have passed on savings to customers at the time of publishing. These providers are Aussie Broadband, More, Tangerine and iPrimus.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean these providers offer you better value than other ISPs. Some telcos still offer outstanding deals, despite not slashing their prices. We’ve conducted a thorough deep dive into the price cuts and why you might need to shop around below. But first, here’s the plans we recommend:
Don’t need Ultrafast internet? An NBN 250 will still hold you in good stead, especially with regard to game downloads and streaming 4K content on multiple screens. My favourite NBN 250 plan right now is Flip’s Super Speed offering.
If you’re not an avid gamer or you’re unsure if you need superfast speeds, then I’d suggest looking into Exetel’s NBN 100 plan.
NBN prices: before and after wholesale cuts
Row 0 – Cell 0 | NBN 100/20 (before) | NBN 100/20 (after) | NBN 250 (before) | NBN 250 (after) | NBN 1000 (before) | NBN 1000 (after) |
Aussie Broadband | AU$99 | AU$95 | AU$129 | AU$119 | AU$149 | AU$129 |
iPrimus | AU$90 | AU$90 | AU$115 | AU$110 | AU$145 | AU$130 |
More | AU$99 | AU$94 | AU$119 | AU$115 | AU$144 | AU$135 |
Tangerine | AU$89.90 | AU$84.90 | AU$109.90 | AU$104.90 | AU$129.90 | AU$124.90 |
Average cost per tier* | AU$92.10 | AU$90.69 | AU$117.56 | AU$112.81 | AU$140.30 | AU$134.70 |
* average monthly prices as of January 24, 2024.
So far, Aussie Broadband has offered the biggest price cuts for its customers. Before wholesale pricing, its NBN 1000 plan would have set you back AU$149 p/m but now it’s been slashed to just AU$129 p/m — that’s a saving of AU$240 annually.
More’s NBN 1000 plan dropped from AU$144 p/m to just AU$135 p/m. For CBA customers, who receive an extra 10% off NBN plans, it comes down further to AU$121.50 per month, costing AU$1,093.50 annually. However, More only advertises 350Mbps evening speeds, so it could be worth signing up for its NBN 250 plan to have less disparity between maximum speeds and what you may theoretically achieve.
iPrimus made some significant changes to their NBN prices last month too, with prices starting at AU$130p/m for an NBN 1000 plan — just an extra AU$1 more than Aussie Broadband above. Tangerine — a regular provider of affordable NBN plans — offers customers some great value for money coming in at AU$104.90p/m for its NBN 250 plan after the introductory offer ends.
Now that wholesale price changes have come into effect, we hope that more internet providers may join the aforementioned four and pass on savings to customers. However, we aren’t entirely sure if or when that may happen, so it may be time to reassess your monthly plan. If you’re shopping for a better price, you can check out our best NBN deals page or take a look at the best 5G internet plans currently available.