NBN proposes five times faster internet at ‘no extra cost’

NBN Co wants to turbo charge the speeds of its three fastest tiers at no extra wholesale cost but some critics are concerned consumers will still have to pay more.

NBN has proposed to increase its download speed on its top-tier Home Fast plan five-fold to reach 500 megabytes per second and an upload speed of 20 megabytes per second.

The changes would “turbo charge” the internet speeds of NBN’s top products and be made available to about 9 million Australians, the telco said.

NBN’s proposal, if successful, would see new speeds added across three of its fast plans which would be available to customers who have fibre to their premises (FTTP) and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connections.

The government-owned telco said it plans to increase the speeds of its services across three major plans, and that it would come with no extra wholesale cost to retailers.

But some have raised concerns about whether costs could be passed onto consumers.

Shadow communications Minister David Coleman questioned whether providers would increase speeds without additional charges to consumers.

“NBN sells its service to retailers, who then sell the product to consumers. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland must explain (why) the Government said there are no increased costs to consumers, and (whether) the planned upgrades will actually be ‘free’?” he said.

Mr Coleman said any increased costs would make NBN’s service less competitive, noting it had already lost customers on its satellite service to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Customers of its Home Superfast product would see a download speed of between 250 to 750 megabytes per second and an upload speed of between 25 to 50 megabytes per second.

NBN Ultrafast customers would reach between a 500 to 1000 megabytes per second download speed and between a 50 to 100 megabytes per second speed.

An NBN Co technician installing a fibre-to-the-building connection in Sydney. Photographer: Cole Bennetts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

NBN said the proposal was to meet consumer demand for more internet connected devices and was possible thanks to higher speeds through fibre connectivity.

Its internal data shows data usage has doubled over the past five years with the average home owning up to 22 internet-connected devices, said chief customer officer Anna Perrin. “We predict that the average will grow to 33 connected devices by 2026 and 40 by the end of the decade.”

“Despite this explosion in data usage, many customers have remained on the same broadband plan for years. Our network monitoring suggests that some customers are potentially hitting their maximum speed on a regular basis. These customers may enjoy a better internet experience on a faster speed tier,” she said.

The move was welcomed by some providers, including Aussie Broadband whose managing director Phillip Britt said it was encouraging to see further steps toward a “high speed future”.

“Aussie Broadband is still understanding the details of NBN Co’s speed proposal, but on the face of it could represent one of the most exciting steps in technology adoption for Australian households and businesses,” he said.

Mr Britt said it was crucial investment was still made in regional areas. “It’s essential, however, that these announcements are paired with more investment in fixed broadband for regional Australians so the digital inclusion gap isn’t widened further,” he said.