Mozo — Tom’s Guide’s sister site for financial advice — has revealed its 2023 Expert Choice Award (MECA) winners for broadband, with the headline news being that Australians could save over AU$1,000 by switching their NBN.
You don’t have to switch to a slower speed either, as Mozo’s expert team of analysts compared a number of factors across all speed tiers and found the biggest savings to be had were on NBN 25, NBN 50 and even the superfast 250Mbps NBN 250 plans.
The MECA couldn’t have come at a better time in Australia, when interest rates continue to rise, placing extra financial burden on millions of households. But according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) most recent broadband provider market share report, Telstra — arguably the biggest telecommunications provider in Australia — commanded a 42% share.
Yet Telstra’s NBN plans regularly feature as some of the most expensive. This begs the question, why are more Aussies not switching an essential connection to save money?
Smaller providers leading the affordable charge
If you’ve ever previously checked out our roundup of the best NBN plans, you should be aware that smaller, sometimes lesser-known providers feature regularly as they offer a service that is on par with — or occasionally better than — the bigger-name NBN providers in the country. And they manage to do so whilst charging a fraction of the cost, perfectly highlighting the fact it really does pay to shop around.
Using the 50Mbps NBN 50 plans as a prime example (this is currently the most popular speed tier for Aussie customers) Mozo’s research found the most expensive plan at this speed over the first 12 months was AU$1,758.40. However, the cheapest plan, from Flip, was just AU$713.40, representing a saving of AU$1,045. These prices reflect the first 12 months of a plan and do include introductory offers over the first six months, and are also reflective of the plan prices that were correct as of April 8, 2023.
In fact, Flip regularly features at the lower end of the budget spectrum and as a result won Mozo’s Broadband Provider of the Year for the second year running. Other winners across Mozo’s award categories included Tangerine, Spintel, Leaptel and MyOwnTel, which took the win in the Ultrafast NBN 1000 category.
Providers pushing for Superfast signups
One stat that particularly caught our attention was the savings potential in the 250Mbps NBN 250 category. While there are savings of up to AU$440 to be made on other high speed plans, the potential savings of AU$1,030 on NBN 250 could indicate that some providers are keen for customers to upgrade their plan. NBN 250 plans can only be accessed by customers who have either a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection at their home.
If you don’t have either of these connections but are champing at the bit for faster download speeds at home, then you may be eligible for the NBN FTTP upgrade. The NBN Co announced an extensive list of suburbs earmarked for the upgrade earlier this year, and if yours is included, then all you’re required to do to get the free upgrade is to sign up for an NBN 100, NBN 250 or NBN 1000 plan. With the savings potential being the greatest on the 250Mbps speed tier, this could be the best option to go for.
Check out the most popular NBN 250 plans in the widget below and click through on any that strike you as offering particularly great value. While the majority of NBN providers will offer the free upgrade, it isn’t a guarantee. Be sure to check on retailer websites for information regarding the free upgrade.
The Mozo Experts Choice Awards 2023 winners in full are as follows:
- Broadband Provider of the Year: Flip
- Standard Broadband (NBN 25): Flip, Mate, Spintel, Tangerine, Accord with Officeworks, Vocal
- Standard Plus Broadband (NBN 50): Flip, Leaptel, Spintel, Tangerine, Vocal
- Fast Broadband (NBN 100): Flip, Dodo, Exetel, Accord with Officeworks, Kogan, Mate, Spintel, Vocal
- Super Fast Broadband (NBN 250): Flip, Exetel, Mate, Superloop, Tangerine
- Ultra Fast Broadband (NBN 500): Leaptel
- Ultra Fast Broadband (NBN 1000): MyOwnTel
- Fast Plus Broadband (NBN 100/40): Flip, Mate
- 5G Home Broadband: iiNet, Internode
