Right at the signal, NBN Co has confirmed wholesale price increases will take effect at the end of the new financial year in July, which in turn will affect many of the best NBN plans.
The news is not too much of a surprise, as the country’s largest broadband provider not only increased wholesale prices this time last year, but previously published a special access (SAU) regulatory framework in 2023, which laid out expected price increases in the next few years.
There is no significant reason to get panic as there are some little Good news to take from the latest message. This year’s increase in wholesale costs for the best NBN providers is less than it was last year – less than AU $ 2 per year. Month compared to AU $ 3 to AU $ 5 in 2024.
After these climbs we saw the cost of slower NBN plans – NBN 25 and NBN 50 – increase by up to AU $ 5 per day. Month. Conversely – and perhaps surprising – the retail cost of the fastest NBN plans remained either as they were or actually fell.
What to expect this year
So what does this mean for this latest round with wholesale price increases? The quick answer is: We do not actually know, as ISPs are free to adjust their plans as they find appropriate. We could see a similar answer that we did last year, where slower NBN plans may be becoming more expensive, while faster NBN plan prices could become even more affordable.
We have previously discussed how Gigabit NBN plans will be cheaper and faster than ever. Do they get cheaper still? Only time will show.
How much does NBN plans pass by?
The wholesale cost of all NBN plans, from the slow NBN 25 all the way through to the fastest NBN 1000 is all ready to see an increase. Depending on the speed, the wholesale plan prices rises between AU $ 0.66 to AU $ 1.71
Price increase? Perhaps. Speed increase? Definitely.
One of the reasons why NBN is planning May Become more expensive is due to NBN Co having previously confirmed that NBN 2000 plans will come in September. We do not yet know how much they will cost, but given the wholesale price for ISPs, AU $ 115 per Month, don’t expect them to be cheap.
Alongside their arrival, the best NBN 100 plans, best NBN 250 plans and best NBN 1000 plans all set to get a speed increase. However, this is only for customers who connect to the fixed line NBN networks via hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) or fiber to the premises (FTTP).
It has been suggested that the NBN plan prices should not rise with these speed gains, but again ISPs are free to do as they please. The very fact that the speed increases do not apply to everyone can help the case of prices that remain firm.
If you live in a household connecting via fiber to the node (FTTN) or fiber to curbs (FTTC), you are probably eligible for NBN CO’s free fiber upgrade program that will upgrade your equipment to FTTP needed to take advantage of faster download speeds.
What to do now
The best way to turn the price increase, at least temporarily, is to switch your NBN plan to a new provider by July. Most NBN providers offer six months of introductory discounts, and if you sign up for a new plan just before the price bump that comes into force, this promotion will be honored during the duration.
The ongoing costs may be susceptible to any potential increase, but as mentioned earlier, if you have an HFC or FTTP connection, you will also be set to a speed increase when your six-month discount expires. The reservation here is if you take an NBN 100 plan or faster. You can read more about the speed increase you can expect in our guide to NBN 2000 plans.
If you are considering switching, this is our current recommendations across the different NBN speed levels:
One important thing to note here is that our NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plan recommendations have removed any initial discounts and instead selected a fixed rate. We are watching these plans, especially the new fiscal year to see if any changes are coming.
