Tip 23: How to make sure you're getting the best broadband deal

Tip 23: How to make sure you're getting the best broadband deal

TELSTRA has launched its first home broadband bundles offering unlimited data as Australian households’ appetite for broadband data continues to grow.

From today, all customers on $99 and above home internet plans will receive unlimited data.

Existing customers on plans under $99 will also receive a major data boost, at least doubling their existing plan allowances automatically, Telstra said.

According to the telco, in the past year alone traffic carried over its fixed network has increased by 40 per cent as bigger downloads, streaming services and online gaming become the norm of home entertainment.

While unlimited broadband data is more common in other countries, Australian providers have been slow to offer it to consumers here.

Telstra has joined the likes of TPG and Optus, as well as a handful of smaller providers, who already offer unlimited home broadband packages but it’s been a long time coming.

For instance, back in 2011 Optus advertised “unlimited broadband” packages but in reality customers could receive either 15GB or 30GB of data allowance before the speed of their service was throttled back to 256 kbps, meaning you couldn’t download anything larger than a normal web page.

The existence of the condition was disclosed but only in very small print in the advertisements and understandably the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) took action against the telco.

Telstra executive for Consumer and Small Business, Vicki Brady, said as more households connected to the NBN streaming entertainment continued to grow in popularity, increasing the demand for data.

“Streaming entertainment content has become a way of life for Australians, with around two thirds of us now streaming our favourite shows. We’re also using more connected devices in the home than ever before with the rise of smart home technologies,” she said.

“Not having a data limit will provide peace of mind as Australians’ data habits continue to grow. That’s why we have launched unlimited bundles for new and existing customers on our $99 and above plans.

“We’re also giving existing customers on plans under $99 a major data boost, automatically at least doubling their existing plan allowances,” she said.