A month on from NBN 500 plan launches, this early bird provider is still my top pick

abdulmanannet77@gmail.comOctober 10, 2025

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A month on from NBN 500 plan launches, this early bird provider is still my top pick

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As an NBN expert for TechRadar, I make it my mission to constantly monitor plan prices. This has become even more vital since the NBN speed upgrades arrived in September, as there are now three new tiers to watch out for.

I’ve said before, I think NBN 500 plans are the best overall option for most Australian households and within that, one provider continues to stand out: Exetel.

Exetel was the first provider to launch an NBN 500 plan in late June, almost three months before the full official rollout which took place in mid-September. It can always be risky to be first to market with a new product, but in my opinion the telco’s pricing and added benefits are so good that they remain my first choice for anyone looking for a great value NBN plan.

Why do I like Exetel’s NBN 500 plan so much? This isn’t entirely down to cost, as several providers charge less for the first 6 months of service – Spintel’s plan is a minimum of AU$64/m for the first 6 months, for example. However, from the second year onwards, the Exetel One plan is consistently the cheapest and, among the thirty major providers that I monitor, the only one to earn less than AU$1,000 per year. For me this is excellent value for money.

Then you can factor in Exetel’s exciting perks, such as the ability to boost your download speeds to NBN 1000 levels for as little as an extra AU$1 per day and, conversely, the ability to ‘downgrade’ your plan to 12Mbps to save AU$1 per day (ideal if you’re away from home for long periods of time) and you’ve got yourself an NBN plan with plenty to offer. to offer.

Additionally, Exetel also offers a refer-a-friend program, where if you refer someone you know to Exetel – and that friend signs up for an Exetel NBN plan – you’ll both receive AU$1 off your plan each month for as long as you both stay connected. You can potentially add 30 friends and get free internet!

Compare this to virtually every other NBN 500 plan, where the only benefit is often an introductory discount for the first 6 months, and in my mind there is no better choice than Exetel.

Note that as with all new fast NBN tiers, if you want to sign up to this plan you must first ensure you have the necessary type of connection at home – fiber to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC). If you were on an NBN 100 plan before the September upgrades and have now been automatically migrated to a 500 Mbps plan, then you have the right infrastructure. If you want to upgrade to the Exetel plan, the process couldn’t be simpler.

If you don’t have the required connection type and are connecting to the NBN landline via fiber to the node (FTTN) or fiber to the curb (FTTC), then the good news is that you are probably eligible for NBN Co’s free fiber upgrade. To activate the upgrade, you can order the Exetel One plan through the telco, and they will take care of the installation process for you.

One last tip: to really take advantage of the improved speeds offered by the best NBN 500 plans, you may need to upgrade your Wi-Fi router to one that comfortably supports the faster speeds. Luckily, I also found some great mesh Wi-Fi systems with discounts as part of Australia’s October Prime Day sales.