It’s only natural that we want to get the most out of any financial decision we make. One area close to my heart – and where value for money really matters – is NBN plans. The potential value available to millions of Australians has increased exponentially over the past month following the arrival of NBN speed upgrades in September, which supercharged home internet connections for eligible households 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 who wants to achieve impressive download speeds without breaking the bank. If you want or need download speeds above 500 Mbps, you might be tempted by an NBN 750 plan.
If this is the case for you, stop what you’re doing and listen for a moment. While the new speed tier may look good on paper, in my opinion, moving a step further to one of the best NBN 1000 plans is the most financially sound decision. Let me explain…
Upgrading Can Save You Money
It’s fair to assume that the more a particular product or service is offered, the more you’ll have to pay for it. In most product categories this is true, but NBN plans are a whole different beast because Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are ultimately free to charge whatever they want.
That’s why if you shop around (don’t worry, you don’t have to, because I’ve done the legwork for you), you can get a super-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.
Mathematics
You don’t believe me? Let me take my favorite example from an NBN 1000 plan from Buddy Telco. The new provider is only a little over a year old, but its gigabit plan has remained my favorite since launch, maintaining its exceptionally affordable AU$99 monthly rate.
In comparison, of the 16 NBN 750 plan providers I monitor, only two 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 – exactly the same price Buddy charges for a plan offering up to 250Mbps of extra speed. I know where I prefer to spend my money.
You can see more of the most popular NBN 1000 plans with our readers in the price comparison tool below.
The warning
Now, all this talk about super-fast internet speeds may sound wonderful, but there’s one caveat: to get them you need to make sure you connect to the NBN via a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) connection or a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) connection. If you’re not connecting via either at the moment, there’s a good chance you’ll be eligible for NBN Co’s free fiber upgrade program.
If you’re eligible, you can contact your NBN provider to confirm if they can activate the upgrade for you – also note that you’ll need to order at least one NBN 500 plan to sign up for the program. Buddy confirmed to us that currently it is not equipped to handle upgrades for you, but its parent company Aussie Broadband can. In other words, if you are not yet on FTTP or HFC and want to sign up for this Buddy plan, you will need to first sign up for a plan with Aussie Broadband (or another eligible provider) and complete the upgrade process, and SO upgrade to Buddy once the new NBN equipment is installed.
Takeaways
All of this goes to show that there is actually good value to be found in 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 remains on NBN 500 plans as being the better option for most people.
You can check out the most popular current NBN 500 plans with TechRadar readers in the price comparison tool below.
