Updated June 21, 2018 13:21:23 The Federal Government has announced its intention to give a free national broadband package to Australians in 2019.
The Coalition is proposing a national broadband network of up to 1 gigabit per second, which would cover approximately one million homes and businesses.
But what does that mean for Australians?
In 2018, the Coalition promised a free nationwide broadband package for every Australian.
In 2017, it said it would give a package of up from 2 gigabit to 1.5 gigabit.
However, it’s now revealed the NBN is only getting 1.2 gigabit in 2019, leaving Australians with no choice but to pay for a slower internet.
While the Coalition says it is offering a free broadband package, the reality is it’s not a free plan.
With only 1.8 gigabit a month, the NBN does not offer any guaranteed speed or even a guarantee of speed at all.
As the NBN rollout continues, the Government will also be offering a cheaper package, offering up to 3 gigabit or up to 50 megabits per second.
However, the pricing will be capped, meaning if you are lucky enough to get a package you’ll pay more than the $20 per month it costs to get 4 gigabit from the NBN.
And while it’s a free NBN, it does not give Australians the right to switch providers.
Instead, the Federal Government will only offer NBN customers the option to buy their own private broadband.
It will then charge the NBN to offer you the same speed for that price.
In 2018 the Coalition also announced it was dropping the cap on monthly prices for new customers, but that hasn’t stopped Australians from paying more for their broadband.
On average, the average price for a household is $60 a month.
In 2017 a typical Australian household would have paid $80 a month for their NBN service, while in 2018 they would have had to pay $150 a month to upgrade to the NBN and get 4.5 Gbps.
On top of that, the price of a house could be $300,000 higher, meaning a household could have had a monthly bill of $400,000.
So what is the real cost of a basic NBN service?
The cost of the NBN will depend on your location, your location’s speed and the location of your home.
If you live in the Northern Territory, it will be $100 a month less than it would be in the Western Territory, and $30 a month more than in Victoria.
If you’re located in Tasmania, it could be closer to $100 per month.
If your home is in New South Wales, it might be closer than $60 per month, but closer still.
According to a report by the National Broadband Network Company, there is a 1.6-1.8 per cent average difference in monthly bills between a house in Sydney, which has a 1 gigabyte a month speed cap, and one in Brisbane, which doesn’t.
In summary, the more expensive the NBN package is, the higher your monthly bill will be.
And what’s worse, it doesn’t help that the Government’s fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology is still not installed in many parts of the country.
For example, the federal government hasn’t put FTTN in all its metropolitan areas.
FTTN has a 10-year lifespan, so if a fibre optic cable is disconnected for any reason, you won’t get your money back.
This means many Australians have no choice about upgrading to the cheaper NBN service.
In 2019, the National Government will be making it easier for you to get the same speeds for less.
Instead of paying $60 for a monthly service, you’ll be able to upgrade for free.
You’ll also be able upgrade at no extra cost to a faster, more affordable package.
What do you think about the NBN?
Have you ever bought a home on the NBN, or had your broadband speed capped?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
