Right on cue, NBN Co has confirmed wholesale price increases will come into effect at the turn of the new financial year in July, which will, in turn, affect many of the best NBN plans.
The news isn’t too much of a surprise, as the nation’s largest broadband provider not only increased wholesale prices this time last year, but previously published a Special Access Undertaking (SAU) regulatory framework in 2023 that laid out expected price increases for the next few years.
There’s no major reason to panic, as there is some slightly good news to take from the latest announcement. This year's increase in wholesale cost to the best NBN providers is smaller than it was last year – less than AU$2 per month compared to the AU$3 to AU$5 in 2024.
Following those increases, we saw the cost of slower NBN plans – NBN 25 and NBN 50 – increase by up to AU$5 per month. Conversely – and perhaps surprisingly – the retail cost of the fastest NBN plans either remained as they were or actually decreased.
What to expect this year
So, what does that mean for this latest round of wholesale price hikes? The quick answer is: we don’t actually know as internet service providers are free to adjust their plans as they see fit. We could see a similar response as we did last year, whereby slower NBN plans might get more expensive, while faster NBN plan prices could become even more affordable.
We’ve previously discussed how gigabit NBN plans are becoming cheaper and faster than ever. Will they get cheaper still? Only time will tell.
How much are NBN plans going up by?
The wholesale cost of all NBN plans, from the slow NBN 25 all the way through to the fastest NBN 1000 are all set to see an increase. Depending on the speed, wholesale plan prices are increasing from between AU$0.66 to AU$1.71
Price increase? Maybe. Speed increase? Definitely.
One reason why NBN plans may become more expensive is because NBN Co has previously confirmed NBN 2000 plans are coming in September. We don’t yet know how much they’ll cost, but considering the wholesale price to ISPs is confirmed to be AU$115 per month, don’t expect them to be cheap.
Alongside their arrival, however, the best NBN 100 plans, best NBN 250 plans and best NBN 1000 plans are all set to get a speed boost. However, this is only for customers who connect to the fixed-line NBN network via hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) or fibre to the premises (FTTP).
It’s been suggested that NBN plan prices shouldn’t increase alongside these speed gains, but again, ISPs are free to do as they please. The very fact that the speed increases won’t apply to everyone could help the case of prices staying fixed.
If you live in a household that connects via fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC) then you're likely eligible for NBN Co's free fibre upgrade program, that will upgrade your equipment to FTTP, necessary to take advantage of faster download speeds.
What to do now
The best way to beat the price hike, at least temporarily, is to switch your NBN plan to a new provider before July. Most NBN providers offer six-month introductory discounts and if you sign up to a new plan just prior to the price bump coming into effect, this promotion will be honoured for the duration.
The ongoing cost may be susceptible to any potential increase but, as previously mentioned, if you have an HFC or FTTP connection, you’ll also be set for a speed boost by the time your six-month discount expires. The caveat here is if you take out an NBN 100 plan or faster. You can read more about the speed increase you can expect in our guide to NBN 2000 plans.
If you’re considering switching, these are our current recommendations across the different NBN speed tiers:
- NBN 25: Flip AU$39 p/m (first 6 months, then AU$57.90 p/m)
- NBN 50: Flip AU$64 p/m (first 4 months, then AU$73.90 p/m
- NBN 100: Spintel AU$65 p/m (first 6 months, then AU$81.95 p/m)
- NBN 250: Spintel AU$80p/m (for life of plan)
- NBN 1000: Buddy AU$99p/m (for life of plan)
A key thing to note here is that our NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plan recommendations have done away with any introductory discounts and instead opted for a fixed rate. We'll be keeping a close eye on these plans in particular come the new financial year to see if any changes take effect.
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