These early NBN 500 plans have me super excited for the official rollout – and it's just 2 weeks away

A young man looking excited while sitting at a table using a laptop.

(Image credit: Future)

Some of the biggest changes to the NBN since its launch are just around the corner, with planned NBN speed upgrades going live from Sunday, September 14.

When they do, millions of homes in Australia with fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coax (HFC) connections will be eligible for major speed boosts, either to their current plan or by upgrading to NBN 2000 plans, with a theoretical maximum download speed of 2Gbps.

The best of the speed boosts in my opinion, however, come with the arrival of NBN 500 plans – an upgrade to the current crop of the best NBN 100 plans, giving them a 5x speed boost to a maximum of 500Mbps. In my mind, 500Mbps download speeds will be more than enough for the majority of Australian homes, and given they’re set to arrive at no extra cost (in theory), they’re on course to offer the greatest overall value.

Great value today

Cementing my argument has been the early launch of three NBN 500 plans from reputable providers Exetel, Spintel and Tangerine. All three are incredibly competitively priced, costing less than a few NBN 25 plans that are 20x slower. Exetel comfortably takes the crown for the most affordable plan, and so, I’m now waiting in suspense for the wider rollout from other providers to see if anyone undercuts it.

If you want to get ahead of the pack, the three providers mentioned are the only ones to currently offer an NBN 500 plan. And as also mentioned, you’ll need an FTTP or HFC connection to take advantage of them. If you don’t have either of these connection types, then you may be eligible for the free fibre upgrade program, which will see the necessary equipment installed at your premises. You can activate this upgrade via your chosen provider when you order your NBN 500 plan.

The plans to get

Exetel One Plan | 500Mbps | AU$80p/m

Exetel’s 500Mbps plan was among the very first to launch, setting the benchmark for cost in the process with the low price of AU$80p/m. There’s no introductory discount, but considering the monthly charge is on par with NBN 25 plans (and lower than the average for NBN 50), I’m not complaining. Exetel also throws in some extra perks, including further speed boosts up to 1Gbps for AU$1 per day, and the ability to drop to 12Mbps and save AU$1 per day, ideal for when you’re away from home for extended periods.

Spintel Home Turbo | 500Mbps | AU$74p/m (first 6 months, then AU$84.95p/m)

Spintel’s plan is also competitive, saving you a little extra over the first six months compared to Exetel. The telco is a favourite of mine here at TechRadar, and it receives generally favourable reviews from customers. You also have the option of bundling a mobile SIM plan with up to 50GB of data and saving AU$3 per month compared to purchasing separately.

• AU$74 minimum cost
• AU$$953.70 first year cost
• AU$$1,019.40 ongoing yearly cost

Tangerine Speedy Max | 700Mbps | AU$68.90p/m (first 6 months, then AU$88.90p/m)

Tangerine’s plan has the cheapest introductory cost, but subsequently also has the most expensive ongoing cost. If you sign up today, however, you’ll benefit from slightly increased speeds of up to 700Mbps, before being migrated to the 500Mbps tier from September 16. You also have the option of bundling a mobile SIM plan with up to 150GB of data and saving 10% on the bill. Do note that SIM plan prices will increase from September 16, but the amount of included data also increases.

• AU$68.90 minimum cost
• AU$946.80 first year cost
• AU$1,066.80 ongoing yearly cost

All of these three NBN 500 plan offerings are easy to recommend, although I’d argue Exetel’s is the most attractive. As mentioned, I’ll be keeping an eye on what happens in a couple of weeks when the remaining RSPs launch their own.

See more Computing Deals

Max is a senior staff writer for TechRadar who covers home entertainment and audio first, NBN second and virtually anything else that falls under the consumer electronics umbrella third. He's also a bit of an ecommerce fiend, particularly when it comes to finding the latest coupon codes for a variety of publications. He has written for TechRadar's sister publication What Hi-Fi? as well as Pocket-lint, and he's also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi and Audio Esoterica magazines. Max also dabbled in the men's lifestyle publication space, but is now firmly rooted in his first passion of technology.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Great value today

The plans to get

You might also like