Big nbn Price Increases Are Coming

GordonD on 20/09/2023 - 09:31
Last edited 20/09/2023 - 12:24 by 2 other users

NBN and the ISP have been arguing for a couple of years about what the next lot of NBN prices increases will look like. The ACCC was the referee. NBN wants one thing, everyone else another. As time has passed and scheduled increases have begun piling up without agreement, the ISPs have given up and given in.

NBN price changes by Christmas are now all but certain

So what's going to happen is that there'll be a restructure of prices later this year, followed by an indexation increase about 6 months later. The restructure of prices will give NBN what it wants, to push consumers up to higher speeds at higher prices so it gets more revenue. Wholesale pricing will be increased for lower speeds and the prices ISPs made more uncertain so there is a commercial incentive for them to stop offering them, or at least do so at barely lower prices than higher speeds.

NBN Co's commercial model has meant it has just become another Qantas, even before it is sold off. With its monopoly on fixed line telecomms services, it's scary what it's going to be like when it is.

Internet Broadband nbn

Comments

  • PensionerXXL on 20/09/2023 - 09:43

    viva la nbn govt nbn rebates.

    • HeWhoKnows on 09/10/2023 - 15:54
      -1

      5G home broadband is looking better and better (if its available in your area)

      Telstra told Kevin Rudd back in 2009 that wired internet was a dinosaur and that mobile technology was the future. Thats why they were happy to sell off all thier telephone wires to the Government.

      So it was viva NBN all the way back before it even started

  • Sammy2000 on 20/09/2023 - 09:51
    +1

    Internet access is like power, sure you can live without it but it's not comfortable. I would have liked decent speeds and connection before they upped the prices further.

    • bargaino on 20/09/2023 - 10:13
      +11

      Internet access is like power

      People talk about the "death spiral" of the electrical grid, as higher prices push people onto solar, reducing revenue while the grid infrastructure costs the same, so prices go up again. People shift more to solar, energy saving (a good thing environmentally), so far less energy sold, and the authorities must dramatically increase daily supply charge to pay for the grid (debt and maintenance). This leads households to get a battery and drop off the grid completely.
      The power grid ends up like the bus service in many places, abandoned by most people, relied on by the poorest, and massively subsidised.

      The same can happen with the NBN, as people who were on the cheaper plans get pushed onto alternatives such as LTE/5G. NBN death spiral.

      The NBN construction wasted far too much money. They are horribly inefficient, and still in massive debt, even though the gov't (taxpayers!) wrote off $31 billion last year!
      That is thousands of dollars taxpayer subsidy per household, but still the NBN is effectively insolvent, if the book were honest.

      • ESEMCE on 20/09/2023 - 10:50
        +5

        5G has nowhere near the capacity to support even a small fraction of NBN customers, so at some point the 5G alternative becomes (even more) unreliable and slower than NBN at a similar price causing customers to return to NBN.

        • bargaino on 20/09/2023 - 11:10
          +3

          It starts slow and scales up. They lay fibre and add cells much more cheaply than the NBN.

          Right now, I'm talking about the low-GB customers moving. People who use less than say 100GB/month.
          Mobile networks can take a significant chunk of the revenue, with a much smaller fraction of the bandwidth.
          If Starlink brings in a $49 tier in a few years, that is another nail.

          • Sammy2000 on 20/09/2023 - 16:37
            +2

            @bargaino: I think my NBN's fastest speed is slower than 5G, thanks to a node running on copper

      • Rob-4x4 on 21/09/2023 - 08:41

        Good points.

        More likely options like Starlink will be taken up Helping Elon to get richer..

        I have FTTP but no 5G mobile.. barely have 4G ..

        • bargaino on 21/09/2023 - 09:10

          Musk has got rich from high share-market valuations, which even he has said are crazy sometimes. Paypal only got greedy after he sold it, and the companies seem to be going for growth, not margins. If skylink scales up, especially if Starship succeeds (even without upper stage reuse), their internet could get a whole lot cheaper.

      • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 09:00

        The NBN construction wasted far too much money.

        The Liberal government wasted far too much money destroying a proven model to roll out Murdochs NBN-LITE, which was always going to need to be done over later, while paying for a functionally useless copper network that Telstra had deliberately run into the pavement the previous 10-15 years knowing what was coming.

        FTFY.

        • bargaino on 17/10/2023 - 12:43
          -1

          As if the other bunch of clowns would have done any better :-(

          • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 13:20

            @bargaino: They literally did do better. Their proposed model was far cheaper, faster, had a better upgrade path, and is the one that we ended up reverting to as far as practicable.

            • bargaino on 17/10/2023 - 13:21

              @Ademos: It was better, but you are only looking at a small part of the problem.

              • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 13:39

                @bargaino: As a guy who's been in the biz for near 2 decades, yeah, no, im not.

                • bargaino on 17/10/2023 - 13:42

                  @Ademos: So you don't see any big problems with NBN Co, aside from the decision to use FTTN? :-)

  • ESEMCE on 20/09/2023 - 10:00
    +19

    Assuming this occurs, it's time for penalties to start rolling for NBN where its own service is incapable of achieving a customer's desired speed.
    It's one thing to price encourage customers to increase their plan speeds on service capable of an increase, it's another when customers would dearly love to get even 50mbps but are unable to due to shitty network design and technology choices made by NBN (I'm looking at you specifically FttN).

    • donga100 on 20/09/2023 - 10:04
      +15

      FttN should be illegal.

      • Mechz on 20/09/2023 - 10:35
        +17

        Yeah blame Tony and Malcolm for that one.

    • Loot N Plunder on 20/09/2023 - 10:33
      +3

      Assuming this occurs, it's time for penalties to start rolling for NBN where its own service is incapable of achieving a customer's desired speed.
      +1

      And how about us stuck on wireless NBN where we cant even achieve 50/5? an absolute joke of a network thanks to the liberal nationals.

  • HardQuiz on 20/09/2023 - 10:10
    +2

    A monopoly (from Greek μόνος, mónos, 'single, alone' and πωλεῖν, pōleîn, 'to sell'), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular thing.

    • Rob-4x4 on 21/09/2023 - 08:51
      +1

      Natural Monopoly ..

      "A natural monopoly is a monopoly in an industry in which high infrastructural costs and other barriers to entry relative to the size of the market give the largest supplier in an industry, often the first supplier in a market, an overwhelming advantage over potential competitors. Specifically, an industry is a natural monopoly if the total cost of one firm, producing the total output, is lower than the total cost of two or more firms producing the entire production. In that case, it is very probable that a company (monopoly) or minimal number of companies (oligopoly) will form, providing all or most relevant products and/or services. This frequently occurs in industries where capital costs predominate, creating large economies of scale about the size of the market; examples include public utilities such as water services, electricity, telecommunications, mail, etc.[1] Natural monopolies were recognized as potential sources of market failure as early as the 19th century; John Stuart Mill advocated government regulation to make them serve the public good."

  • Benoffie on 20/09/2023 - 10:14
    +3

    Have no doubt this will happen however they will want to be careful they dont do what they have previously done with government agencies and priced themselves into a corner.

    Competition from 5G and Starlink might see more people simply abandon nbn

    • Ade99 on 21/09/2023 - 07:29

      all part of the NBN "death spiral"

    • HeWhoKnows on 21/09/2023 - 21:33
      +1

      Correct!

      Telstra and Optus looking forward to these NBN rice increases so that can pounce with thier 4G and 5G home broadband alternatives.
      In fact if you can get 5G home broadband its both faster and cheaper than NBN at the same, if not better speeds.

      Vodafone too would be ramping up its 4G and 5G home broadband offers

  • Protractor on 20/09/2023 - 10:15
    +15

    Congratulations LNP voters. Your day has come

  • Rukiata on 20/09/2023 - 10:23

    were never getting good high speed net at good prices like USA. RIP. stuck on low speed because this costs so much.

    • ESEMCE on 20/09/2023 - 10:53
      +7

      You must be talking about a different USA to the one I'm familiar with.
      Their Internet situation is arguably worse (in price and/or performance) than ours in vast swathes of the country!

      • SBOB on 20/09/2023 - 11:04
        +5

        It's when you pick selected areas of the us with actual internet provider competition, and ignore the 95% of the country without it.

    • mskeggs on 20/09/2023 - 10:54
      +5

      You might want to look around the USA a bit more before wishing their mess on us. Outside of a few good metro areas, their network is possibly the only setup worse than Australia's!

      • Rukiata on 20/09/2023 - 11:04
        -2

        but they have faster speeds?

        • ESEMCE on 20/09/2023 - 11:15
          +1

          *In some areas

      • Ade99 on 21/09/2023 - 07:30

        UK Country Side is another candidate

  • tp0 on 20/09/2023 - 10:25

    Half of the posters are telling us that the nbn is a monopoly, the other half saying competition will cause the nbn to collapse. Which one is it?

    The reality is a lot more boring. They co-exist. nbn for people who actually want a decent connection. 5G for those with no standards and are irrationally afraid of a no contract, no disconnection fee fixed line plan. Starlink for Elon fanboys and the 2% of premises where their only other choice is nbn satellite.

    • mskeggs on 20/09/2023 - 10:59

      Both.
      The trouble is the economics of delivering the decent connection relies on everyone who is happy with a slower connection also buying from NBN. So if 5g takes a substantial chunk of low speed, the price for decent speeds has to increase substantially.
      Starlink must be a god send in rural areas, but we would be very short sighted to place all our eggs in a musk basket as a country, so we'll likely need to keep funding a slower NBN sat anyway.
      Very "rock and a hard place".

  • Drakesy on 20/09/2023 - 10:30
    +9

    Taxpayers foot the bill then when it can't pay the crippled network back they privatise it only for the company that buys it to hold Australia to ransom…

    THANKS LIBS FOR HYBRIDISING THE CRAP OUT OF IT.

    Sounds fine to me.

    Lets not forget the millions of dollars in bonuses that were paid to the NBN bosses whilst the Liberal government tried to deflect and conduct a witch hunt after Australia Post and their piddly Cartier watches.

    • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 09:03

      Didn't we lose that incredibly qualified CEO as a result who stepped right into running one of the major global freight companies shoes, likely for a massive, massive raise?

  • woobiezarz on 20/09/2023 - 10:50
    +2

    I guess Mate Communications didn't get that memo…

    Today they've emailed out advising that my "best mates nbn 50/20" plan is changing to "Ripper 50/20" and going up $6/month.

    Maybe we're not 'mates' any more?!

    • jthurley on 21/09/2023 - 09:00

      Mate upped my mobile $5/mth a few days ago also. Have already moved on to be pastures.

  • SBOB on 20/09/2023 - 10:51
    +3

    Yearly indexing NBN costs, with no regard to any lowering of costs due to cheaper technology, wider utilisation, or external competition factors.

    That's going to be fun.

    Would be nice if the article clarified the rate of increase though, but then click bait doesn't work like that :)

  • Kinoodle on 20/09/2023 - 11:18

    Summary from Bard:

    The ACCC's revision of the special access undertaking (SAU) for the NBN is in its final stages, and the changes could be in place by Christmas.

    Most internet providers want the process to finish so they can move on, but there are concerns about the impact of the price rises on customers.

    Customers on speed tiers of 100Mbps or more will benefit from the new pricing model, but those on 50Mbps and below plans will face two price rises within six months.

    Some providers, particularly the smaller ones, are worried about the cost of implementing the changes, and there are concerns about how the changes will impact service quality on the lower speed tiers.

    Optus says that end users will have higher expectations of their NBN services over time, in terms of quality and performance.

  • garetz on 20/09/2023 - 11:27
    +3

    Our internet is the laughing stock of the developed world, in most places that are comparable to Australia they get gigabit speeds at half the price we are paying for 50/20.

    as soon as it was conceived and then the time it took to implement it was already obsolete.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/09/2023 - 11:37
    +6

    Australians voted for FTTN instead to FTTP and for a much higher price too. Maybe the people who voted against FTTP should've been the only ones who got the FTTN.

  • USER DC on 20/09/2023 - 12:21
    +2

    Been super happy for staying 2 years without NBN, ISP also prefer not doing NBN, and 5G/4G Home broadband instead.
    Been paying near full price after 1st year, ($69 ish for max 5G speeds on vodafone network) comparable to middle of [100/20 -200/50] NBN., 50Mbps cap plan not worth at only like $5 less than this 100 Mbps -unlimited plan.
    hopefully more people come onboard to ditch NBN crap, and move to 5G for better of all (except greedy, and useless crap government)

    • SBOB on 20/09/2023 - 12:40
      +5

      hopefully more people come onboard to ditch NBN crap, and move to 5G

      As it's shared spectrum, if anything you'd be hoping for the same or less people on 5g to ensure your performance remains high/consistent

    • Protractor on 20/09/2023 - 13:19
      +3

      Ooooh, yes,Yes everybody go 5G. It will NEVER slow down or bloat will it?

      Look what happened when the goons at iinet gave free netflix out.. So be real careful what you wish for.
      Our entitled lifestyles mean we will never keep up with demand and have an affordable sustainable internet. That applies to energy,water,free flowing transport,health/aged/child-care etc.

      Join them dots.

  • wannagrababargain on 20/09/2023 - 12:35
    +2

    50 Mbps seems to be "fine" for the average user. I don't get this gold plated solution mentality throughout NBN and the Electricity distributors. Indexing price rises is a joke - it assumes price before indexation was just and reasonable! I thought tech got cheaper over time. Paying way more for a basic NBN now than back in the ADSL2 days - and ADSL2 was run over an expensive, high maintenance copper network that was supposed to be solved by NBN replacing all that complicated and expensive crap with fibre optics.

    • ESEMCE on 20/09/2023 - 13:01
      +3

      Paying way more for a basic NBN now than back in the ADSL2 days - and ADSL2 was run over an expensive, high maintenance copper network that was supposed to be solved by NBN replacing all that complicated and expensive crap with fibre optics.

      But they didn't replace all that complicated and expensive crap. More than a third of the nation remains connected to that decrepit copper network running VDSL… We have Malcolm and Tony to thank for that. NBN have only started to replace the Copper with Fibre in select areas over the past few years.

    • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 09:05

      Horse and Cart was "fine" for the average user once too.

      There's all sorts of WFH stuff you can't do with 50mb, in an economy that doesn't build cars, has a time limit on mining, etc.

      AUS stands to offer services. I know how to run a full remote streaming corporate conference with a dozen guest speakers on a panel in a virtual set from my living room. I can't do it on 50 meg, without hosting it all in the cloud instead, and even then it's a stretch for quality monitoring. Just one example.

  • FoxJump on 20/09/2023 - 13:45
    +4

    Okay.
    time for me to
    a) talk to my neighbour about internet sharing
    b) buy an advanced router, set up one eth port vlan or my wifi AP/switches, and another ethernet port to his house, where he can have his own wifi AP
    c) setup QOS at the agreed split.

    i could do this with as many neighbours as my ethernet cable can reach.

    HA

  • netjock on 20/09/2023 - 13:48
    +1

    They better watch out because the higher you push the prices people might just go to something else because there is more room for someone to come in with something cheaper.

    • Protractor on 20/09/2023 - 15:43
      +3

      The greedy corporate pricks in this country don't work like that. Internet etc, fuel,groceries,rent. Only head one way. Even the alternative competition stick to plan A. That's why they always use self regulation and industry ombudsman. And that is why they own the govts arses and laugh at the ACCC,ACMA,TIO ASIC etc.
      This is one country where the big boys don't fear policy and penalty

      You're also relying on plebs to stand up for themselves. Not gunna happen. All too hard. We are drowning in apathy,fed by selfishness & greed.

      • Ademos on 17/10/2023 - 09:09
        +1

        My accountant once (profanity) up a filing deadline. The ATO took me to court and charged me with an offence for it. The penalty was ~$1k, essentially a federal parking ticket. I paid ~$4k for a full external audit. The net result was yes, the original filing was late, and had been wrong….but the ATO actually owed me $5k.

        Did the shiny new 14 year old ATO lawyer trying to feather his cap drop the prosecution? Did they (profanity). Their argument was "the offence was committed". Even the judge was like "you cannot be (profanity) serious". They were.

        A week later I read about BHP or someone "settling without admitting fault" for 50% off a tax bill worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

        Did I ever see the $5k? No, I didn't. My new accountant told me not to pursue it, as the company was now wound up post sale, and it might trigger a full 5+ year audit if I got insistent.

        Great times. Fantastic times.

        15 years later, it still shows up on police checks, which also makes them take 4 weeks to come back instead of 20 minutes.

        • reactor-au on 18/10/2023 - 10:31

          Grates my balls how unfair tax and revenue services are in just about every country, you can try do everything right and the one time you make a mistake they go at you like you tried to rob the vault at the Treasury.

  • Ruriko on 20/09/2023 - 20:42

    Yea got the email from telstra that they increasing the price for nbn on november :(

  • jrvb42 on 21/09/2023 - 08:30

    Already too expensive. I was hoping the price would fall so I could afford to get it installed. Apart from special 6 month offers, etc. - haven't had broadband since ADSL days. There should always be a $30/month option. And it's tech, so the prices should be falling anyways, right :)

  • reactor-au on 21/09/2023 - 08:32
    +1

    What about renters like me who can only get shit 50/20 DSL and refuses to pay the thousands to have nbn upgrade the landlords infrastructure? I mean obviously the landlord can't afford to fix the fence, Internet speed isn't anywhere on his list of concerns.

    I pay AussieBB $79pm for 50/20.

  • spydaboi on 21/09/2023 - 09:02
    +1

    Yesterday received email from Telstra advising my nbn monthly charge will increase $5 per month from November but can sign up to a $5 monthly discount for the next 6 months to 'ease the pain'

  • taradavey on 21/09/2023 - 09:35
    +1

    Already cancelled my streaming subscriptions because I can't afford internet good enough to stream video, next step will be to drop having home internet at all. Ahh well, here we go…

    • Protractor on 21/09/2023 - 09:54
      +1

      Reconnect with nature while we still have some

    • ozwog05 on 21/09/2023 - 13:56

      Which plan are you on? Just out of curiosity.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2023 - 15:09

    Just got an email from Belong advising that my NBN50 is increasing by $5 to $80 on 1st November.

    • fozzie on 08/10/2023 - 09:13

      Wow, that’s expensive. Exetel is $74.99 and I negotiated for 6 months at $63.99 plus unlimited international calls (which I don’t really use). I’m just hoping prices won’t go up, I think it’s already expensive!

      • [Deactivated] on 09/10/2023 - 12:03

        Yes a week ago I downgraded my Belong service to NBN25 for $65 monthly.
        So far I haven't noticed any performance difference whatsoever with streaming or browsing.
        I'm the only user so I guess NBN25 is adequate and I have been paying more than I needed to.

  • T-man on 01/10/2023 - 16:52

    I asked ChatGPT and got this response:

    “ If the government-owned internet provider is the only option in the country and they are increasing their prices, you might consider these steps:

    1. Contact Customer Support: Reach out to their customer service to understand the reasons behind the price increase and if there are any new plans or discounts available.

    2. Inquire About Alternatives: Ask if there are any lower-cost plans or packages that could better suit your needs.

    3. Advocate for Fair Pricing: Consider discussing the issue with your local representatives or government officials to express your concerns about the price hike.

    4. Look for Online Petitions or Community Actions: Sometimes, communities organize petitions or campaigns to address such issues collectively.

    5. Explore Satellite or Mobile Internet: Investigate if there are alternatives like satellite or mobile internet providers, even if they might have limitations.

    6. Monitor Regulatory Changes: Keep an eye on any regulatory changes that could impact the internet service market in your country.

    7. Consider Shared Plans: If possible, sharing a plan with neighbors or friends can reduce costs.

    Remember, in a situation where there's a monopoly, advocating for fair pricing and exploring alternatives are often the most practical approaches. ”

    The number 7 is probably a smart option, I will talk to my neighbours and see if they are willing to share the plan.

    • Nugs on 01/10/2023 - 17:12
      -1
      1. Hold protests
      2. Stage a coup
        .
  • branners on 18/10/2023 - 12:18

    Since sharing a neighbour's internet has been brought up on this threat… has anyone done that and would care to comment?
    Reason I ask is, cost of living is biting hard in my household. My neighbour works in the edu sector, sometimes from home, and gets home internet paid for, so they have the Rolls Royce Optus NBN service (240mbps I think).
    We already co-operate and share info on things like insurance deals, so I wonder whether running a router off their main service with a separate network for us would work?
    Their house is brick, about 8m from mine. Any tips?

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