TPG has quietly announced it’s soon increasing the price of some of its NBN plans by AU$5 a month, citing the rising wholesale cost being asked by NBN Co as the reason behind the change.
In our TPG NBN review, we praised the provider for its affordable pricing and good value, particularly on its NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans, but the price hike means this may no longer be the case, with costs set to increase on TPG’s NBN 12, NBN 25 and NBN 50 plans.
While TPG has not set a definitive date for the price rise, it has said that “plans will soon increase by AU$5 a month”. That means if you are an existing TPG customer, you’ll need to pay AU$64.99 for NBN 12, AU$69.99 for NBN 25 and AU$74.99 for NBN 50 in the near future.
If you sign up to one of these TPG plans now, you’ll pay the current listed price, but expect to be contacted by TPG with a new monthly cost once the increase takes effect. That said, the cost of TPG’s NBN 100, NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans will not be changing.
It's unclear whether other TPG-owned NBN providers (such as Vodafone, iiNet and Internode) will also be increasing their NBN prices at this stage.
Should you stay or switch?
Like most NBN providers in Australia, TPG’s NBN plans come on a no lock-in contract, so you’re able to change plans with the provider, or switch to a different ISP entirely with fairly minimal fuss. To avoid exit fees, give TPG 30 days notice of your intention to switch telcos.
If you’re keen to avoid paying more for your internet bill, there are a number of cheaper NBN plans available if price is your top concern, and even some that outperform TPG for speed (according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [ACCC]).
For a cheaper NBN 50 plan, we would recommend Spintel. It has an introductory price of AU$54 a month for your first six months, and an excellent ongoing rate of AU$64.95 thereafter. That puts this plan a good AU$10 under the average monthly cost (which is AU$74.97). On top of that, Spintel also reports a typical evening speed of 50Mbps.
An honourable mention must also go to Exetel, which is currently the top-performing ISP according to the ACCC’s broadband reporting. You can get an NBN 50 plan from Exetel for AU$53.95 a month over your first half year, with your monthly bill then increasing to AU$69.95 ongoing.
For a better-value NBN 25 plan, our top recommendation is Tangerine. For your first six months you’ll pay just AU$44.90 a month for the connection, before it increases to AU$59.90 ongoing. Given the average price of NBN plans in this tier is AU$66.32, Tangerine’s plan is quite comfortably the best overall value plan on offer at this speed.
Exetel also rates well in the NBN 25 tier, with a welcome price of AU$49.95, which moves up to AU$59.95 after your first six months on the plan.
If you’re currently on an NBN 12 plan with TPG, we’d strongly recommend switching providers. The planned price hike means you’ll soon need to fork out AU$64.99 for NBN 12, which puts it significantly above the average price of AU$57.78.
Exetel offers an NBN 12 plan for AU$49.95, which then jumps up to AU$59.95 after your first 12 months, but considering you can pay the exact same money for the telco’s NBN 25 plan, we wouldn’t recommend signing up. If you’re on an NBN 12 plan, weigh up whether you’re better off moving up to NBN 25 speeds.
