Australia’s second-largest telco for Internet services, TPG, has just launched new fibre broadband plans specifically for apartment buildings that promise up to 1Gbps speeds – a first for Australians living in apartment units – and which, on paper, comfortably compete with the best NBN plans.
The much faster speeds have been made possible thanks to a G.Fast upgrade rolled out across Vision Network – the TPG-owned network that is the largest NBN-competitor in the country – which essentially supercharges the existing fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) infrastructure (copper wires and all) to deliver near-gigabit speeds.
Previously, Australians who connected to the NBN via FTTB technology were only capable of achieving up to 100Mbps speeds, so the introduction of this new technology on TPG’s private network will likely come as good news for many. It’s claimed that Vision Network services reach approximately 400,000 households in Australia, 250,000 of which connect via its FTTB infrastructure.
But if the prospect of near-gigabit speeds wasn’t already enough, TPG has launched its new plans with some truly aggressive pricing, with plans starting at AU$54.99p/m for the first 12 months for a 100Mbps plan, and increasing to AU$69.99p/m for the first 12 months for its maximum speed plan, with typical evening speeds of 500Mbps.
The FTTB Max plan is theoretically capable of delivering near-gigabit speeds, and for context, an equivalent NBN 1000 plan currently has an average cost of AU$123.46p/m – AU$53 more than TPG’s FTTB plan. Prices do increase by AU$10 to AU$20 depending on the plan, after the introductory 12 month pricing comes to an end.
Interestingly, TPG’s FTTB 100 plan has a lower introductory cost than the slower 50Mbps plan, while the FTTB 250 plan has the same introductory cost as the 50Mbps option.
You can view the comparison in cost between TPG's new FTTB plans and the average cost of an NBN plan with equivalent speed in the table below. Note that the average NBN plan costs are correct at time of publishing and not taking into account the price increases which are expected to arrive soon.
| Download speed | TPG FTTB plan cost (after discount) | Average NBN plan cost |
|---|---|---|
| 50Mbps | AU$69.99 | AU$80.47 |
| 100Mbps | AU$74.99 | AU$90.14 |
| 250Mbps | AU$79.99 | AU$106.20 |
| 1,000Mbps | AU$89.99 | AU$123.46 |
TPG has also made it possible for customers to sign-up for either a no lock-in contract (as is usually the case with NBN plans) or they can lock in six months of service. By going down the latter route, customers can waive AU$100 of the setup fee, bringing it down from AU$129.95 to AU$30.
The only slight caveat is that these new TPG FTTB plans are only available for people who live in apartment blocks serviced by TPG’s Vision Network. To find out if you're eligible, you can head to TPG’s website.
What is G.fast?
The introduction of much faster speeds on TPG’s latest fibre plans has been made possible by G.fast, but what exactly is that? In essence, G.fast is a technology designed specifically to boost speeds and lower latency on copper networks, especially where it’s not possible or not cost effective to install new fibre optic cables – i.e. in apartment buildings.
It does still have some limitations, in the fact that the fastest possible speeds can only be achieved over short distances of copper cabling. The longer the copper cable between the main distribution node and the apartment unit, for example, the less likely that unit is going to be able to achieve the maximum possible speeds.
A TPG spokesperson told TechRadar that it works “by using higher frequency signals compared to traditional DSL connections. This enables it to carry more data, resulting in significantly higher broadband speeds, close to what you would get with a full fiber-optic connection, but over a shorter distance.”
They added that G.fast was actually enabled at the network level in 2022, but internet providers needed to make “changes on their end, such as software updates, billing changes and modem upgrades,” before Australian residents could take advantage of it.
You might also like...
- Check out our picks for the best NBN 1000 plans for the fastest speeds on the NBN network
- NBN Co teases two gigabit download speeds could be here by year end
- NBN Co wants to supercharge your NBN speeds with a completely free upgrade
