NBN price hikes could impact up to seven in 10 homes

Up to seven in 10 homes could face NBN price hikes this July, with a Standard NBN plan set to cost over $100 a month for the first time ever at Australia’s biggest provider, Telstra.

But for those who are prepared to shop around, it’s still possible to get a Standard NBN plan starting from around $60 a month and averaging around $80 a month.

Telstra, Optus, Aussie Broadband, Dodo, Superloop, iPrimus and Exetel have contacted customers about July price hikes and others are likely to follow after NBN Co raised wholesale prices on Basic and Standard NBN plans, which cover 69 per cent of homes.

So far we know that Standard NBN 50 plans will go up by:

• $5 to $105/month at Telstra
• $4 to $89 at Optus
• $3.90 to $83.90 at Dodo
• $4 to $89 at Aussie Broadband
• $2 to $81 at Superloop
• $4 to $84 at iPrimus
• $1 to $79.99 at Exetel

On the other hand, some Fast and Super Fast NBN plans will actually come down in price from July, after NBN Co revealed plans to increase speeds on plans above 100Mbps at no extra cost – but only a minority of households will benefit from those price cuts.

At Telstra, for example, Standard NBN 50 will now cost $105/month but Super Fast and Ultra Fast plans will come down by $5-$20/month.

TELSTRA PRICE CHANGES

For households with an internet budget below $100/month, there are still some bargains available.

CHEAPEST NBN DEALS, JUNE 2024 (some prices may change in July)

For a typical four-person household, a Standard NBN 50 plan is enough: the ACCC’s “Netflix test” has found that 99 per cent of Standard NBN plans can stream Netflix in HD on 4 screens simultaneously.

NBN Co is trying to incentivise Australians to upgrade their speeds. 10 years ago, the average household had seven devices connected to the internet and used about 40GB of data a month. Now it’s 22 devices, and about 400GB of data.

Data demand and usage has doubled in the last five years, and NBN Co expects the number of devices to grow to 40 per household by the end of the decade.

But they need to read the room. A majority of Australians simply cannot afford bigger internet bills in the midst of a cost of living crisis that’s seen insurance premiums rise by 16 per cent in the past year and electricity prices by 20 per cent.

These price hikes couldn’t come at a worse time, but hopefully they’ll inspire more Aussies to switch and save on their NBN.

Joel Gibson is the author of EASY MONEY & KILL BILLS and a regular on TODAY, 2GB & 4BC. He also works with telco comparison site WhistleOut.com.au