NBN Co to demand home internet price hike, but figures kept secret by ACCC until after election

The NBN has been blasted for demanding massive internet cost hikes – and the real amount is being kept secret until after the election.

Home internet prices will soar in a sneaky post-election cost-of-living bombshell to be dropped as soon as Monday.

Industry sources say NBN Co will demand price rises of up to 20 per cent on some smaller data plans, adding to consumers’ hip pocket pain amid rising interest rates.

The secret new prices NBN Co wants to charge retailers including Telstra, Optus and TPG, are contained in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

NBN Co sent through a redacted version of the price-hike paper, which in April forced the ACCC to delay its release until after the election.

NBN Co’s submission to the ACCC, known as the Special Access Undertaking, will lock in price rises to 2040.

The ACCC must sign off on the price increases for NBN Co, which pays its chief executive Stephen Rue $2.6m a year.

NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue is paid $2.6m a year - but the NBN is about to demand a big price hike. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

The $60bn NBN network has been plagued by cost blowouts, as well as revelations taxpayers footed the bill for senior executives to play with Lego as part of “agile” training sessions.

New Zealand rolled out its high-speed broadband at a cost of $1200 per premises in 2021, while Australia’s NBN Co spent up to $4400 per premises.

It’s understood that larger distances in Australia, as well as leasing payments to Telstra, added to the cost of the rollout here.

But retail prices for NBN are much cheaper there than in Australia as a result of their efficient rollout – Spark offers 859Mbps for $A90 a month including Netflix.

Telstra charges $140 a month for 700Mbps, with higher wholesale costs paid to the NBN Co passed on to customers.

Telstra spokesman Steve Carey said the NBN was being underused and urged a review of wholesale prices.

“We want NBN Co to be successful. But we need a way forward that delivers more certainty for the market, better services for customers, and sustainable returns for retailers – without excessive profits for NBN Co,” he said.

Antony de Jong, chief executive of Vocus Retail, which owns Dodo, iPrimus, and Commander, said there was a risk “low-income Australians” were “ignored and left behind.”

Mr de Jong said customers were being pushed “on to expensive and unnecessary higher-speed plans.

An NBN Co. technician working on a fibre distribution cabinet. Picture: Cole Bennetts/Bloomberg

James Rickards, general manager of external affairs at TPG Telecom, said NBN Co’s prices become more expensive “year on year”.

“We need a pricing structure that makes broadband more affordable and accessible for all homes and businesses – not one that adds to the cost-of-living pressures,” he said.

Aussie Broadband chief executive Phil Britt told an industry conference recently the “entire industry is holding their breath” as it waited for the price hikes.

RMIT University’s Associate Professor Mark Gregory said it was another sign of the NBN Co’s “gross incompetence”.

He demanded the full price-grab list be released immediately.

“This directly affects families – Australians have got a right to know before the election, not after,” Prof Gregory said.

Optus declined to comment until the report to the ACCC was released in full.

NBN Co was unable to comment while it was in caretaker mode during the federal election campaign.

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Originally published as NBN Co to demand home internet price hike, but figures kept secret by ACCC until after election