It’s only natural that we want to get the most out of every financial decision we make. One area I hold dear – and where bang for buck really matters – involves NBN plans. The potential value available to millions of Australians has increased exponentially in the past month following the arrival of the NBN speed upgrades in September, which bring supercharged home internet connections to eligible homes at no extra cost.
I’ve talked before about how affordable NBN 500 plans are and why they’re ultimately my top choice for anyone looking to achieve impressive download speeds without breaking the bank. However, if you want or need download speeds over 500Mbps, you may be tempted by an NBN 750 plan.
If that’s you, stop what you’re doing and listen for a moment. While the new speed tier might look good on paper, in my opinion the more financially savvy decision is to upgrade further to one of the top NBN 1000 plans. Allow me to explain…
Upgrading can save you money
It is reasonable to assume that the more a particular product or service offers, the more you will have to pay for it. Across most product categories this is true, but NBN plans are a completely different animal as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are ultimately free to charge whatever they want.
It’s because of this that if you shop around (don’t worry, you don’t actually have to because I’ve done the legwork for you), you can secure a lightning-fast gigabit internet plan for the same price as a slower 750 Mbps plan. In fact, you can even save up to AU$34 per month by upgrading your plan.
The mathematics
Don’t you believe me? Let me take my favorite example of an NBN 1000 plan from Buddy Telco. The fledgling provider is just over a year old, but its gigabit plan has remained a favorite of mine ever since it launched, and it’s maintained its exceptionally affordable AU$99 monthly fee.
In comparison, only two of the 16 NBN 750 plan providers I monitor charge less than AU$99 – Flip (AU$89.90) and Kogan (AU$94.90).
The next cheapest providers are TPG, iiNet and Dodo, all of which charge AU$99.99 – or exactly the same Buddy prices for a plan that delivers up to 250Mbps at higher speeds. I know where I’d rather spend my money.
You can see more of the most popular NBN 1000 plans with our readers in the price comparison tool below.
The caveat
Now all this talk of super fast internet speeds might sound wonderful, but to get them you need to make sure you connect to the fixed NBN via a fiber to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) connection. If you’re not connecting via any of these right now, there’s a good chance you live in a suburb that’s eligible for the free fiber upgrade.
If you’re eligible, you can contact your chosen NBN provider to see if they can activate the upgrade for you. However, Buddy can’t arrange the upgrade for you, but its parent company Aussie Broadband can. To sign up for a Buddy plan with the upgrade, you must first take out a plan with Aussie Broadband (or another eligible provider) and then switch back to Buddy once the equipment is installed.
The takeaway
All this goes to show that there really is good value to be found across all NBN speed tiers if you know where to look. And while an NBN 1000 plan may be more cost effective than a 750Mbps alternative, my money is still on NBN 500 plans as the best option for most people.
You can see the current most popular NBN 500 plans with TechRadar readers in the price comparison tool below.
