And now! Part two of our look at NBN prices offered to small businesses. We previously looked at entry-level NBN fibre plans for small businesses Now we’ve surveyed the fastest plans with the biggest data allowances from the same three dozen or so ISPs.
Here's the first part of this article for reference.
Remember that we’ve ignored ISPs that explicitly or implicitly disallow business use, so some well-known names are missing from our table. And we certainly make no claim that it is 100 percent comprehensive.
As far as possible, we’ve listed unbundled plans. But MyNetFone throws in its basic VoIP service, though no calls are included. Bundling voice and data can save money, so take that into consideration when selecting plans for your business.
The table below presents the high-end small-business-friendly plan advertised by each ISP on its web site. That usually means a 100/40Mbps connection and a terabyte or more of data.
Remember that this is just a general guide. We have not tested the services, and it is important to realise that the performance you’ll get over an NBN connection can vary with different ISPs. Also, there are too many fine details to allow us to draw any real conclusions. Do particular inclusions provide you with real value? Can you put up with slow speeds if your traffic is shaped (throttled) after exceeding your quota for the month? If not, are you prepared to pay more each month for a bigger quota just in case you have a busy month, or are you better off with the option of paying for a top-up every now and then? Or should you just pick a provider that offers unlimited plans?
Various sites purport to provide comparisons between NBN ISPs, but take care: the information they provide may not be up to date (for the record, our table was compiled in mid July 2015), and as with comparison sites in general, they may exclude ISPs that don’t pay one way or another to be listed, and the order may reflect the site operator’s interests rather than yours.
ISP |
Limit |
Per month |
Setup fees, delivery, etc |
Excess data |
Inclusions/Notes |
500GB |
$109.00 |
$91.95 |
Shaped |
||
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
Unlimited |
$60 |
$25 |
N/A |
25/5Mbps |
|
1000GB |
$115.00 |
$0.00 |
Shaped |
5 mailboxes |
|
2000GB (500GB peak, 1500GB off-peak) |
$99.95 |
$169 (tapers to $0 on contract) |
Shaped |
||
1200GB |
$90.90 |
$99 |
Shaped |
25/5Mbps |
|
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149.00 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
1TB |
$120.00 |
$100 (tapers to $0 on contract) |
Shaped |
||
1TB |
$99.95 |
$120 |
Shaped |
24 month contract. Modem included |
|
Unlimited |
$94.95 |
$100 (tapers to $0 on contract) |
|||
400GB |
$99.95 |
$0.00 |
Shaped |
||
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
1000GB (500GB+500GB off peak) |
$99.90 |
$0.00 |
Shaped |
||
2000GB |
$175.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.533/GB |
Prices assume 24 month contract. Unmetered data between 7pm and 7am. Can consolidate data allowances of multiple sites |
|
1000GB |
$144.95 |
$79.95 |
Shaped |
||
1200GB |
$99.95 |
$50 ($0 on 24-month contract |
Shaped |
||
1000GB |
$154.95 |
$99 ($0 on 24 month contract) |
Shaped |
5 mailboxes, static IP address and IPv6 prefix on request. Written SLA with credit if not met (conditions apply) |
|
Unlimited |
$89 |
$0 |
N/A |
50/20Mbps, 1 mailbox |
|
250GB |
$99.95 |
$0.00 |
Shaped |
Router, 5 mailboxes.Web space offered to residential customers cannot be used for commercial purposes |
|
1.05TB |
129,95 |
$199 ($0 on contract) |
Shaped |
Includes "basic voice" service - up to 2 concurrent calls, on DID number, all calls are extra, appropriate hardware required |
|
1000GB |
$150.00 |
$150.00 |
$0.0142/MB |
Free website |
|
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
1.3TB |
$149.95 |
$0.00 |
$5/GB |
||
Unlimited |
$120.00 |
$90.00 |
N/A |
||
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
2.4TB peak + 12TB off-peak |
$159.95 |
$0.00 |
From $2/2GB |
10 mailboxes. Web space offered to residential customers cannot be used for commercial purposes |
|
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
50GB |
$93.00 |
$0 |
Shaped |
24 month contract, must be bundled with phone service |
|
1.2TB |
$129 |
$149 |
Shaped |
||
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149.00 |
Shaped |
||
500GB |
$110.00 |
$251.00 |
$0.001/MB |
NB Telstra only quotes prices for 25/5Mbps. 24 month contract. Includes modem, installation, IPv6/56 static IP address range, IPv4 static IP address, domain name and DNS hosting. |
|
1000GB |
$149.00 |
$0.00 |
Shaped |
||
1.2TB |
$129.00 |
$149 |
Shaped |
24 month contract |
|
Unlimited |
$115.00 |
$160 (tapers to 0 on 24 month contract) |
N/A |
||
Unlimited |
$89.00 |
$0 |
N/A |
24 month contract. Subject to "reasonable use" which is not defined for NBN customers |
|
1000GB |
$144.95 |
$79.95 |
Shaped (extra data available, starting at $10/5GB) |
20 mailboxes, 1GB web space |
Some of the lowest-price plans in this table are cheap because they are slower than the 100/40Mbps maximum usually available with NBN services |
|
Setup fee includes any startup costs shown on the ISP's web site, including establishment fees, installation fees, and any mandatory hardware and delivery charges |
|
‘Off peak' times may vary significantly. Not all ISPs consider normal business hours to in the peak period, so take this into consideration. |
|
Many ISPs offer add-on phone services. While you don't have to take internet and phone service from the same provider, such bundles may provide better value |