Which is the best nbn® plan for me?

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• nbn® Speeds

• Data Allowances

• Contract or no contract?

When it comes to nbn® plans you are spoiled for choice. With the sheer number of options provided to you on the nbn®, it can be difficult to know what nbn® plan truly is best for your needs. You don’t want to pay for something that you don’t need, so taking the time to figure out what you will be using the internet for and what plan suits those needs, is time well spent.

Australia’s national broadband infrastructure has set out to level the playing field across the vast majority of the country so that consumers and businesses alike can purchase fast, reliable internet regardless of where they live and work.

There are a couple of things that you should consider when making your decision:

nbn® Speeds

There are seven different “tiers” that NBN speeds are sold at:

• 12Mbps download / 1Mbps upload

• 25Mbps download / 5Mbps upload

• 50Mbps download / 20Mbps upload

• 100Mbps download / 20Mbps upload

• 100Mbps download / 40Mbps upload

• 250Mbps download / 25Mbps upload

• 1000Mbps download / 50Mbps upload

The numbers refer to megabits per second (Mbps), and refer to the theoretical maximum download and upload speeds that may be attainable on each plan. So, a 25/5 plan would give you a 25Mbps download speed, and 5Mbps upload speed.

There are many factors to consider when it comes to choosing a speed, but here are some of the key questions you should ask:

How many people are in the house?

Each person or device that is connected to the internet syphons off some of the “speed” by splitting the signal. If it’s just you, and you’re using a single device, then that device will enjoy the entire connection. If there are four people each connected with two devices at the same time, however, then the internet signal is split eight ways, and that can significantly slow down the speed for everyone.

What will you use the internet for?

Email and social media don’t take up that much broadband speed (known as bandwidth), and even the slowest nbn™ plan will accommodate that. However, most people do more than that with their connection, like streaming video through the likes of Netflix or YouTube, and much more. Streaming needs at least 3-5Mbps alone. Everything you do online adds up.

As another example, a home office that’s connected to Cloud services might require 10Mbps. If you’re doing a lot of video conferencing, uploading files, working online etc., then you need to remember that the upload speed is just as important as download speeds. To calculate exactly what you need, you can use this handy tool. Just put in your household’s computer use and it will come back with the likely bandwidth usage. From that, you can work out what speed you’ll need to keep everything working as smoothly as possible.

When do I use the internet the most?

With some ISPs, evening speeds can be dramatically lower than the speed you can get during the day. If you’re going to be a heavy user of the internet during peak hours (between 7pm and 11pm), you’ll want to look at a nbn™ plan that can adequately suit the amount of internet you use.

Data allowances

Another major consideration when selecting an nbn™ plan is the data allowance. Some plans have “caps”, which means that once you use more data that was allocated in a month, your internet will be dramatically slowed until the next period of your nbn™ plan rolls around.

Other plans are “unlimited”, and though they’re guided by a “fair use” policy, it means you can stream, download files, play games online etc. without worrying about your data.

Data allowances are particularly important if you’ve got a gamer in the house. A single game download can be as much as 90GB now, so most capped plans can be swallowed up if you download too many games each month.

Contract or month-to-month?

One final consideration is whether you want to adopt a contract for your nbn® plan (generally 12 or 24 months), or go with a month-to-month option instead. A contract locks you into monthly payments with a significant early exit fee if you decide to leave. This option may not be ideal if you’re considering moving before the contract ends.

Month-to-month plans sometimes have an upfront account set-up fee. However, the month-to-month prices will be the same as the contract prices, so the decision is really up to you and what you feel more comfortable with.

Of course, you also want to select an nbn® plan from a reliable ISP that has a proven track record in offering quality support and communication with their customers. Aussie Broadband prides itself on putting its customers first with competitive pricing, award-winning support* and industry-leading communication.

Frequently asked questions about our nbn® plans

You've got questions? We've got answers. Here are our top asked questions about our nbn® plans

Q: Are there connection fees or charges?

A: We do not have any standard connection fees for our nbn® services. If you are in a new housing development or opt to have a new line connected you may be liable for an additional charge as dictated by the nbn®. This will be displayed before confirming your order.

Q: Will my home phone work on the nbn®?

A: The majority of Australians will have to move their phone across to the nbn® as the current infrastructure providing a landline service will be switched off 18 month after the nbn® becomes available. You will still be able to retain the same home phone number by porting it onto our new home phone plans but will be required to connect your phone handset via your modem. Depending on the nbn™ technology you’re connected to, you may be able to keep your landline using the existing copper connection.

Q: What hardware do I need for the nbn®?

A: Depending on the location, nbn® uses a mix of technologies to connect to the nbn® broadband access network. Some devices will need to be registered with nbn® directly such as medical alarms, monitored fire alarms, and lift emergency phones. Other devices to consider are security systems, fax and teletypewriter devices, EFTPOS terminals, health claim terminals, and existing landline phone services. To register your devices visit the nbn® website.

Q: How does the nbn® installation work?

A: If there has been a previous nbn® connection at your premises the standard time frame is 1-5 business days and there will be no additional work required by a technician. If your address has not been connected to nbn™ before the standard time frame can be anywhere up to 20 business days and is dependent on your nbn™ access technology type and technician availability. Your nbn® access technology will determine the exact method of installation for your technician.

For connections to premises that are already connected to the nbn® via FTTN/B or HFC technology there may be a small period of downtime when switching providers.
For connections to premises that are already connected to the nbn® via FTTP or Fixed Wireless technology, another port on the already installed network termination device will be activated in addition to any other active ports, so there should be no downtime.

For connections to premises that have not yet connected to the nbn® via FTTN/B or HFC technology there may be a small period of downtime when connecting.

For connections to premises that have not yet connected to the nbn® via FTTP or Fixed Wireless technology, new infrastructure will be installed which will not interrupt your current service.

Q: Why we’ve chosen to offer unlimited nbn® plans

A: In April 2018, we made the decision to offer unlimited plans due to new CVC bandwidth prices given by nbn™ Co. to internet service providers (ISPs). Before these new bandwidth amounts were offered, ISPs offering unlimited plans were a large cause of the congestion issues many Australians faced, and we refused to provide our customers with a negative experience by being part of the problem.

Now, we are able to offer unlimited nbn® plans that will not increase congestion on our networks, ensuring our customers receive the quality internet speeds and service that we are known for.