According to the ACCC, if you have an internet connection in Australia, there's a high probability that you're one of the 4.1 million who have an active NBN 50 or 'standard' plan. Despite its popularity, it arguably has one of the highest average prices, with most plans costing the same or more as the best NBN 100 plans for half the speeds.
I typically spend most of my week fetching the best NBN plans worth your hard-earned cash and one shiny new internet service provider has taken the top spot in our NBN coverage as of late.
This good-boy provider, Buddy Telco, is an offshoot of the well-known ISP Aussie Broadband — and this isn't the first time we've highlighted their no-frills NBN plans. Using the same infrastructure as ABB, Buddy capitalises on its renowned network coverage, speeds and optimisations while remaining a budget-friendly alternative. So if you're looking for a premium service that's neatly wrapped in an inexpensive package, Buddy is hard to beat.
And just when we thought Buddy's attractive prices couldn't get any better, the telco has slashed its NBN 50 plan, down just AU$65p/m for the first six months. While it's not the outright cheapest plan on the tier, the price is well below the average of AU$82.85, even when the introductory offer ends. This means you could save up to AU$94.20 per year on average by switching to Buddy's plan. What a ripper deal.
When it comes to speed, we do feel the need to point out a teeny caveat in which this plan doesn't reach the theoretical maximums for the tier. However, after doing some digging, our research shows that most plans average around 49.63Mbps during the busy evening hours — meaning this plan isn't too far off the mark. However, if you need 50Mbps maximum speeds, we'd suggest looking at similarly priced options like Dodo's NBN 50 plan for AU$59.80p/m or Spintel's AU$66p/m plan.
It's also worth mentioning that Buddy Telco exclusively sells NBN services, meaning it doesn't provide or sell hardware such as modems. This means you'll more than likely need to supply your own. There’s also no telephone customer support, with all troubleshooting conducted through an AI-powered live chat on a browser or Buddy Telco's app. That said, if the chatbot can’t solve your problem, you will be assisted by a human to fix the issue.
If these factors are crucial to you having a great experience with your service, we'd suggest looking into other options where you can add a modem for an additional fee or simply call customer support. But if you're after a no-fuss, wallet-friendly plan, Buddy Telco could be a great choice for you.
If you're in the market for faster speeds, you can check out all of Buddy's offerings below:
