At this point “the NBN sucks” is on its way to being a phrase that Australian etymologists will study for centuries. Our dissatisfaction with the National Broadband Network really comes down to speed, or the lack thereof. Slow rollouts, slow downloads, and even slower improvements.
There is no doubt that many of us are sick of waiting for the NBN to get better, but while we’ve been waiting the telcos have come forward with an actual viable alternative that just might make you hate your internet connection a bit less.
5G home broadband
For those who follow the world of telco, or who weren’t in a bunker for the last couple of years, 5G should sound familiar.
The latest generation of mobile connectivity has been long awaited for its promise of high download speeds, and affordability. There are also other reasons why you might remember hearing people talk about 5G over the past two years but we don’t need to talk about those again. Right? RIGHT?
Anyway, 5G is not only available on most flagship phones now but also as a home broadband service, and a promising alternative to the NBN. The Big Three telcos have released 5G plans, and some of the smaller TPG group providers have followed suit. We’re sure that this is just the beginning, and more smaller providers will start to offer 5G wireless plans as well.
But if speed is the issue, what does 5G home broadband have when pitted against the NBN? The fastest widely available NBN speed tier is NBN 100, while 5G plans are either capped at download speeds of 100Mbps, or advertise typical evening speeds of around 250Mbps on uncapped options. We’re looking at at least double the speed. Does that mean double the price though?
The short answer is no.
For comparison, these are the three cheapest NBN 100 plans available now. Below that are the capped speed 5G plans with the same max download speeds, that are currently available through our database.
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#1
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MATE
No Worries nbn 100/20
$60/mth
Min. cost $60
Link not supplied
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#2
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Tangerine Telecom
Fixed Wireless Value Plus
$62.90/mth
Min. cost $62.90
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#3
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Moose NBN
nbn 100/20 Premium FW
$63.80/mth
Min. cost $63.80
Link not supplied
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Optus charges $79 per month for download speeds of 100Mbps on 5G, while NBN 100 plans start at around $69 for the same speeds. It is important to note that most of these cheaper NBN 100 plans have promotional pricing. Once these discounts expire after around six months the price goes up to between $79 and $90.
While we don’t currently have the smaller provider’s 5G plans available through our site, we can tell you the Spintel charges $69 for 5G at 100Mbps. TPG charges $69.99, and iiNet and Internode both charge $74.99. All of these options are cheaper than most undiscounted NBN 100 plans.
When looking at uncapped 5G plans, the most apt comparison for these 5G speeds is to look at NBN 250 plans. These NBN 250 plans are advertising typical evening speeds of around 200Mbps, while uncapped 5G can theoretically get up to 1Gbps download speeds. Currently Optus advertises typical evening speeds of 210Mbps, while Telstra's range is between 50Mbps and 600Mbps.When testing Telstra’s plan we got downloads as fast as 400Mbps, consistently
Once again below you’ll see the cheapest NBN 250 plans, and the uncapped 5G plans available through the WhistleOut search engine.
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#1
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Tangerine Telecom
Fixed Wireless Speedy
$65.90/mth
Min. cost $65.90
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#2
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Southern Phone
nbn Superfast
$75/mth
Min. cost $75
Link not supplied
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#3
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Superloop
nbn Fixed Wireless Home Fast (250/20)
$75/mth
Min. cost $75
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Telstra’s uncapped 5G broadband goes for $85 per month, and Optus’ is $89 at the moment (though that price does go up to $99 after the first six months). On the other hand, the cheapest NBN 250 plans start from $89 during the promo period, and can cost as much as $124.99 once the discount period is over.
Not everyone will be able to get a 5G home broadband plan right away. Australia's 5G networks are growing but they are not ubiquitous as of yet. Telstra's network covers over 75% of the Australian population and Optus' covers 1.2 million households. Vodafone and the rest of the TPG group's 5G network does cover 85% of the nation's 10 largest cities, but most of that uses standalone 5G (SA 5G), which no devices support as of yet in Australia.
Any 5G plan you are looking to sign up for will only be available if you have 5G with that provider, in your area. If not you will, unfortunately, need to wait until the networks grow further. Check whether you have coverage through our coverage map below.
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