Bonus: NBN update

In this bonus episode of the Friends with Money Bonus Podcast, Vanessa Walker from Money Magazine interviews Jane McNamara of NBN about the upcoming accelerated speed plans starting in September. 

Jane discusses how these changes will benefit the growing number of connected devices in Australian homes and offers advice on leveraging end-of-financial-year sales to upgrade plans or in-home equipment. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Friends with Money podcast, brought to you
by Money magazine, creating financial freedom for Australians since nineteen
ninety nine.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, my name is Vanessa Walker. I'm the managing editor
of Money and I'm here for a shortened sweet Friends
with Money bonus podcast. My guest today is Jane McNamara,
the General Manager Media and External Comms at NBN, you know,
the people who provide our broadband internet infrastructure. Welcome Jane.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Great to be with you, Vanessa.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Now I understand some speed plans are being accelerated in September.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
That's right. So from September, NBN is accelerating our fast
speed tiers for those homes and businesses that are connected
in what we call our HFC and fiber to the
premises network. So any home and business in those areas
that is served by one of those NBN technologies is

(01:03):
going to be able to access these really accelerated download speeds.
It's a monumental leap for the NBN network, you know,
for Australians and indeed for the industry. When NBN and
the phone and internet providers partner together to launch what
we're calling our Accelerate Great program, from the fourteenth of September,

(01:27):
and what that means is for homes and businesses and
customers that are currently on what we call our one
hundred megabit per second download plan, this will be accelerated
to five hundred megabits per second, so we're talking about
five times faster download speeds, which is huge, and it
means that for those currently on what we call a

(01:49):
fifty megabit per second plan, just moving one step up
that speed ladder to one hundred megabit per second plan,
that leap of five hundred megabits per second or ten
times faster their current download speeds is going to mean
so much more for homes and businesses and all of

(02:10):
those internet connected devices that Australians love to use and
need to use. You know, currently we've got twenty five
connected devices in the average Australian home and that just
goes to show how much we love to be online
and that's going to keep growing to more than forty
by the end of the decade.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
So the fifty and one hundred megabit of second plans
are they the top tier plans people would be on
already and the lead up to September, so at.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
The moment you know, we're really seeing that Australians are
starting to move or have a different preference to their
NBIAN plan. So historically the most popular plan has been
fifty megabit per second plan, but since we've started to
really I guess, demand more of the NBA network and

(02:57):
use more data year on year, we've seen homes and
businesses have a stronger appetite for the one hundred megabit
per second plan, so that is increasingly becoming our more
popular plan.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
All right, and where are these zones that will automatically
get these upgrades?

Speaker 3 (03:16):
So for homes and businesses that are already subscribed to
the plans being upgraded, we will automatically provide those enhanced
or accelerated speeds through to the participating phone in internet providers.
Those on slower speed plans, however, who aren't connected via
our fiber to the premises technology will actually need to

(03:39):
order an eligible plan and this will trigger an upgrade
for eligible addresses, and you know, I guess the availability.
One thing that is really important to note is that
by December this year, we've got more than ninety percent
of NBN's fixed line customers, so about ten million homes
and businesses who will actually be able to access these

(04:01):
higher speeds. And if listeners are not sure what plan
they're on or what kind of technology they're currently connected to,
best advice is to jump on the nbnwebsite NBN dot
com dot au and check your address on the homepage,
or give your phone an internet provider a call.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Now, the end of the financial year is almost upon us.
How would you suggest that listeners get the best value
from any sales that are going to be happening in
the next month or so.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
Absolutely so. Look, as we all know, this is really
the last sales moment people can leverage to save money
upgrading their NBN plan or even on their in home equipment.
And you know, particularly before these speeds are accelerated in September.
And look, you know, competition has never been stronger or
more creative among you know, NBN phone and internet providers.

(04:56):
In fact, we've got more than one hundred and twenty
foone in internet provider that sell NBN plans to homes
and businesses across the country and they all want your business.
And so it's a good time to look at what
plan you're on. If you're not sure what plan you're on,
do chat to your phone in internet provider, ask them
if they can do your better deal, and also maybe

(05:18):
think about checking out some of the other phone internet
providers and seeing what they might be able to offer you.
We also know that there's some really great comparison sides
like binder Can Style, whistle Out and Tom's Guide, you
know that have done all the hard work for us
and they're constantly reviewing all the available plans. They crunch

(05:39):
the numbers for us, and they provide really good reporting
on which provider is offering the best value at any
given time. We also know that finding internet providers are
actually starting to bundle, you know, lots of products, so
you might be able to bundle things like your NBN broadband,
your mobile and even some streaming services that we're actually
starting to see and internet provider's offer and current endofinancial

(06:03):
year deals are offering up to thirty dollars off per
month for the first six months with no locking contracts,
and recent analysis has actually showed us that you can
save up to three thousand, six hundred dollars over five
years by testing the market. So a really good opportunity
to check your plan, think about whether you need a

(06:24):
high speed plan. You know, talk to your find an
internet provider and make sure you know compare what's available
to meet your needs and your budget.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
That's brilliant, Jane. Thank you so much. Money listeners. Never
set and forget compare plans, bring your providers, negotiate and
now is the time at the end of the financial year. Jane,
thanks so much for your expertise and insight. We appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
Thank you for having me, Thanks for listening to the
Friends with Money podcast. For credible, independent, and easy to
understand financial commentary, visit moneymag dot com today. You please
remember that the views and opinions expressed in this podcast
are general in nature, and further, independent advice and research

(07:09):
based on your personal circumstances should be sought before making
an investment decision.