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Half Price (Free to Targeted Customers) Premium Speed Boost on NBN ($30 Value) to Existing Telstra NON-NBN HFC Cable Customers

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I thought I'd share an offer I recently received from Telstra - free speed boost upgrade (to 100/50) as a current Telstra non NBN HFC Cable customer.

I am on a monthly plan 100/5 HFC from Telstra for $89, and I was offered a free upgrade to their 100/40 Unlimited NBN over HFC for $90 (no contract, no set up fees, no equipment fees) which is normally $30.

Currently Telstra offer their Standard Plus NBN 50/25 for $90 on a 24 month plan.

A $30 fee normally applies to upgrade to their Premium NBN 100/500

I rang Telstra whether this free upgrade offer applied to every one of their HFC non NBN customers, or whether it was targeted at me, and the sales representative said they are currently authorized to offer half price on the $30 speed boost to all HFC customers.

Note that I spoke to another rep just a few days ago about an Apple watch an iPhone plan from Telstra, which is when I was offered the $30 upgrade for free, if I switched to their NBN network (and this sales representative specifically told me that she was offering this to me because they are authorized to do so, unlike the pushy sales rep who told me they're authorized to offer only 50% off)

I said I wasn't ready (because of some of the horror stories I read about the NBN on Whirlpool) but I asked for a reference number so that I could get this deal if I decided to switch (I'll have to do it in the next year anyway as the old network is being switched off).

I think they offer this speed upgrade to encourage existing HFC cable to switch over now to their NBN network, which (even with the free speed boost) is more expensive than their 100/5 HFC unlimited plans, so there is a disincentive for current customers to switch.

With the free speed boost it is far more attractive to me to pay the $1 extra to increase my upload speed from 5 to 50 MBps.

You also get free phone line with free calls to landline and mobile calls in Australia, which makes this deal competitive with other providers (they also offer one free month for new customers but I'm not sure this free month would apply to me as a current Telstra internet customer).

Ps. This reminds me of the free speed boost upgrade from 50 to 100 MBps for their HFC customers which they offered a few months ago, but is now available on the NBN.

Pps. Note that I think this offer is not advertised, so you're unlikely to find it online.

The only way is to ring their sales department and see if you can get the speed boost for free, and say that you're not interested in half price off, because it's still more than what you pay now for essentially the same speed except a slower upload speed (so why switch?).

Ppps. that second rep was really pushy and rude too, I told him at the start, and several times during the conversation, that I was not ready to switch (especially at only 50% off), but that I just wanted to confirm the deal before I posted it online.

In the end he confirmed only 50% off, tried to get me to switch to their NBN (even started to play me their T&Cs which I would have to agree), but wasn't listening to what I was ringing about.

In the end he realised he wasn't going to upsell me anything, so he just told me that "in the future it's best not to call them about these things, until I was ready to switch, otherwise I was wasting not just my time, but theirs too", then hung up on me!

So I filed a complaint.

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  • +2

    I got this ages ago, by joining NBN and mentioning their NBN satisfaction guarantee, where you can cancel without penalties. Instead of cancelling, they gave me the free speed boost. I was satisfied with this. Currently paying $90 for unlimited internet and 100/50 speeds.

    • Currently paying $69 for nbn internet and 100/50 speeds.

      • Is that on telstra?

        • Yes with telstra
          I was on cable internet
          Did chat online and she said ,she will not change package
          She will just request transition to nbn

  • +1

    See the WP thread.
    If they don't give you 100/40 for the price you're paying for Telstra Cable, or around $90pm, tell them you're going to ABB or Superloop.

    https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2783653

    Was getting 113/5 at $88pm, they wanted $30 extra for premium speedboost on NBN HFC. Then offered "half price", I asked where to send the upgrade kit, then they confirmed free.

    • +1

      I did tell her that, to be honest, if I switched to an NBN plan without contract that would definitely be thinking other providers, such as Aussie Broadband.

      Still, she offered it to me, and said sales reps are authorized to give it for free (like you said many have already got it, but I didn't see it posted here).

  • +1

    It's not about the higher monthly charge, more so the payout per switch they're chasing from nbn

  • do you need a new modem, or will the telstra gateway modem (for cable) work with nbn hfc?

    • +1

      The Telstra Gateway will work.

    • +1

      I was told there would be no equipment or installation fee, so my guess is that if it's not compatible, they'll offer a compatible one free (but that's just the offer I got, and depending on the sales rep, and whether or not they can offer this, so you'd have to confirm with them).

      From memory, she said my equipment will be fine to use with the NBN, I have the HFC cable modem connected to the Telstra Smart Modem (gen 2 with 4G backup).

      From what I remember when I made the call when NBN became available in my area, is that there should be no downtime either.

      But all you have to do is read Whirlpool forums to know that's not always true, with some customers being stuck without internet for a month or more (this was before they stopped the rollout of HFC cable everywhere for I think it was about 6 months, so things may have changed, I suggest checking the Whirlpool forums for latest feedback).

      I received this equipment free when I switched from TPG to Telstra cable (I didn't have to pay yhen either, no equipment or installation fees, without contract too, just a few months ago).

      • Unless you already have the Arris NBN HFC modem, you'll need that when you have your nbn installation appointment.

    • You will need a new cable modem (Arris NBN HFC Modem) but not router.

      • I think you're right. I'll have to ring tyhem tomorrow, and see if they will supply it for free (she told me no extra fees, but I'll try to confirm with that particular device).

  • +2

    I got this last night actually , I was originally getting $10 off so paying $20 per month and noticed on my last bill it had dropped
    off so asked them to fix it and they said how about you get it for free from now - ummm ok thanks .

    • +3

      Ha ha, nice, another freebie from Telstra. Better check if hell has frozen over lol.

  • I had them ring me (TSA) a few days ago and I said i'm not swapping due to the speed drop and paying the same price, no hint or mention of a free speed boast or even a discount, unless TSA aren't authorised to give the discount, the guy was trying to convince me the 50 is good enough…I still have over a year for good deal to show up.

    • +1

      TSA used to be able to offer better deals than Telstra's own sales reps, not sure it's still the case.

      • Well I just had a TSA call again and offered the 50% off, so they can at least offer that, I then said that I know others that were offered it for free, no response…

  • From my following of the Telstra Broadband thread on Whirlpool, it is my understanding that people can negotiate premium speed boost for a maximum of 12 months with Telstra at the moment. After this your plan will automagically charge you an extra $30.

    • Thanks.

      She didn't tell me how long I would get the speed boost for free (so I assumed forever same as the free HFC boost).

      But, 12 months is enough time for me to switch, and then look around for something offering better value.

      • Please ensure that you keep transcripts of your offer for premium speed boost in the (un)likely event that they whack you with full freight on your first bill.

        • Yes. That happened a lot in a previous deal I posted (no set up or equipment fees on Telstra HFC cable on a casual plan).

          People were being put on on contracts, or had bills issued with wrong amounts, but all were resolved in the end afaik from the thread.

          Keeping a transcript of text communication, or getting a reference number from a phone sales rep (confirmed in writing by email) is definitely advised, and is the easiest way to resolve issues.

  • +1

    Plus vote for the effort! Good stuff OP!

  • Im on premium speed with telstra; what is that per mbs? Currently paying $79 out of contract. I would like to move my nbn socket, are there any rsp that are more like to organise a relocation? Telstra chat said look up yellow pages. (Its a townhouse so cant go through walls).

    • I'm not sure about moving NBN sockets, but have you considered a couple of powerline adapters instead of moving power sockets?

      I think that'd be a cheaper way of doing things, and your internet speed over powerline adapters can be almost as fast as an Ethernet connection, depending on the quality of the house wiring.

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