Some of the biggest changes to the NBN since its launch are just around the corner, with planned NBN speed upgrades going live from Sunday, September 14.
When they do, millions of homes in Australia with fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC) connections will be eligible for major speed boosts, either to their current plan or by upgrading to NBN 2000 plans, with a theoretical maximum download speed of 2Gbps.
The best of the speed boosts in my opinion, however, come with the arrival of NBN 500 plans – an upgrade to the current crop of the best NBN 100 plans, giving them a 5x speed boost to a maximum of 500Mbps. In my mind, 500Mbps download speeds will be more than enough for the majority of Australian homes, and given they’re set to arrive at no extra cost (in theory), they’re on course to offer the greatest overall value.
Great value today
Cementing my argument has been the early launch of three NBN 500 plans from reputable providers Exetel, Spintel and Tangerine. All three are incredibly competitively priced, costing less than a few NBN 25 plans that are 20x slower. Exetel comfortably takes the crown for the most affordable plan, and so, I’m now waiting in suspense for the wider rollout from other providers to see if anyone undercuts it.
If you want to get ahead of the pack, the three providers mentioned are the only ones to currently offer an NBN 500 plan. And as also mentioned, you’ll need an FTTP or HFC connection to take advantage of them. If you don’t have either of these connection types, then you may be eligible for the free fibre upgrade program, which will see the necessary equipment installed at your premises. You can activate this upgrade via your chosen provider when you order your NBN 500 plan.
The plans to get
All of these three NBN 500 plan offerings are easy to recommend, although I’d argue Exetel’s is the most attractive. As mentioned, I’ll be keeping an eye on what happens in a couple of weeks when the remaining RSPs launch their own.
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