Millions of Australians are set to see their internet bills rise in the latest blow to households amid a national cost-of-living crisis.
NBN Co raised its wholesale prices for residential plans on July 1, with major telecoms companies passing the increases on to households.
The cost of the most affordable NBN 25Mbps plans and the fastest NBN 50Mbps options will increase by around $5 per month.
The increase comes less than a year after customers suffered a similar increase, bringing the total increase to between 10 and 13 percent since October, according to the mail reported.
The latest price increase will affect around 70 per cent of households, with Telstra’s standard NBN plan rising to more than $100 a month for the first time.
Telstra, Optus, Aussie Broadband, Dodo, Superloop, iPrimus and Exetel have all informed customers of the July price increases and other telcos are likely to follow suit.
Australia’s largest internet service provider, Telstra, has increased the price of its fastest 50Mbps NBN plan from $100 to $105 a month.
The NBN 25 Mbps plan increased from $85 to $89.
NBN Co has raised its wholesale prices for residential plans from July 1, with major telcos passing the increases on to Australian households.
While prices for standard NBN plans will increase, some of the most expensive and fastest plans, including NBN 250Mbps and 1,000Mbps, will actually go down.
For example, Telstra’s 1000Mbps NBN plan is expected to drop by $20 per month.
Shadow Communications spokesman David Coleman accused the federal government of being “completely out of touch with the pain of the cost of living that families are experiencing.”
“Incredibly, the Albanese Government has backed massive NBN price increases that are deliberately designed to hit families on low-cost plans hardest,” he said.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland refuted the Coalition’s criticism, arguing that NBN wholesale prices for the cheapest NBN plans were “cheaper today than they were 12 months ago”.
The cost of the most affordable NBN 25Mbps plans and the fastest NBN 50Mbps options will increase by around $5 per month.
The NBN is expected to receive a $2.4 billion funding boost from the Albanian government over the next four years, and Ms Rowland said privatisation was not an option.
Joel Gibson, from telecoms comparison site WhistleOut.com.ausaid 9News NBN Co is trying to incentivise Australians to opt for faster internet speeds and said these higher speeds are not necessary.
“For a typical household of four, a standard NBN 50 plan is sufficient,” he said.
‘The ACCC’Netflix Test‘has found that 99 percent of standard NBN plans can stream Netflix in HD on 4 screens simultaneously.’
