Choosing the wrong NBN plan could cost you hundreds
NEW analysis has identified some of the best NBN providers and choosing the right plan could save consumers up to $736 a year.
NEW analysis has found choosing the wrong NBN plan could cost you up to $736 a year.
With more than 150 providers of phone and internet services for NBN in Australia, and many different plans, it can be difficult to chose the best one.
Comparison site Mozo.com.au has looked at 282 plans from 100 providers and found big differences in price as well as terms and conditions.
While some comparison sites have been criticised in the past for not always listing all service providers, a Mozo spokeswoman confirmed to news.com.au the inaugural Mozo Experts Choice NBN Awards had looked at all retailers of fixed-line residential NBN plans — as listed by NBNCo — except for those that only covered a small area or did not offer products in the relevant categories.
“This includes all major operators and all the smaller ones too. Retailers did not have to have any relationship with Mozo,” she said.
Award winners were up to 36 per cent cheaper than the average NBN plan which could equate to huge annual savings as monthly NBN costs ranged from $49 to $155.
For example, a 50Mbps plan could range from as little as $50 per month to $106.
“Interestingly we found that there is little price difference between the monthly cost of contract and no-contract plans, however, some contract plans are armed with hefty cancellation fees,” Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said.
About 20 per cent of NBN plans make people pay out 100 per cent their contract if they want to cancel halfway through.
But no-contract plans could also be more expensive, as these plans were more likely to charge installation fees. While some providers do not charge for installation, others made people pay up to $265.
Exetel was awarded the title of NBN provider of the year as it provided good offers across a number of categories.
The awards assessed three speeds: 25 Mbps, 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps. Contracts also had to allow downloads of more than 250GB per month.
Judges looked at cost, monthly charges, lowest price modem available, contract options, cancellation fees, download limits, advertised speeds and technical support.
While data released yesterday showed more Australians were choosing to switch to faster plans, for those wanting to get the best deal, being realistic about what speeds you actually need is an important consideration.
Upgrading from a 25Mbps to 50Mbps plan should only cost you between $5 and $8 more per month, but it will cost you a lot more ($15-$20 per month) to bump up your speeds from 50Mbps to 100Mbps.
For those who want unlimited data, this can cost as little as $5 extra per month and may be worthwhile for heavy uses.
Plans that have data download limits will generally reduce speeds to 256 kbps, which is incredibly slow, if you exceed your monthly limit.
“Choosing an NBN plan can be a real minefield which is why we launched the Mozo Experts Choice Award, to highlight the best value and help people find the best value NBN plans for their needs,” Lamont said.
“Given set-up costs and cancellation fees can vary it pays to research NBN providers and choose the best deal rather than just defaulting to your current broadband provider.”
WHAT PLAN SHOULD YOU GET?
When deciding what speed you need, Mozo experts suggested using this as a guide:
25 Mbps: This is best for small households with few connected devices used mostly for browsing emails, social media and basic video streaming.
50 Mbps: Ideal for medium households with multiple connected devices. It should cover you fro downloading and uploading medium-sized files, video calling and HD video streaming.
100 Mbps: Good for large households that have heavy internet users with many connected devices. Will cover downloading and uploading large files, cloud storage and 4K video streaming.
For more information on the winners and details of other categories, go to mozo.com.au.
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