MyRepublic Australia's Managing Director Nicholas Demos and CEO Malcolm Rodrigues in their Sydney office. Credit:Steven Siewert "We're purpose built for the NBN and everything we do is around NBN-based architecture, creating the first, true NBN product." He says the incumbents have long confused customers with data limits and speed tiers, two things MyRepublic doesn't bother with. It's instead offering unlimited data at the fastest speeds possible, up to 100 Mbps. When asked about the "up to" caveat, Nicholas Demos, MyRepublic Australia's managing director, said it depended on the NBN technology the customer was connected to.

Singaporean internet start-up MyRepublic is "purpose built" for the national broadband network. Credit:Glenn Hunt If a customer has a "fibre to the home" connection, they can get 100 Mbps. He says Australian telcos have been "lazy", with the sector lacking innovation and competition. Internet firms have faced repeated accusations that they are failing to address concerns over the material being published on their platforms. Credit:Bloomberg "They've taken their existing product and moved that across to the NBN. It's not that the NBN can't give you faster speeds, it's because the incumbents have sold customers into that through lack of innovation," Mr Demos said.

​MyRepublic's plan is priced at $59.99 a month. A similar telco offering is about $100 a month, or $60 a month for ADSL-type speeds. When asked about competition mid last year, Telstra's outgoing chief executive David Thodey said it was tier-three disrupters including MyRepublic the company worried about more than TPG or Optus. "We are seeing more innovation at the tier three level at the moment [with] more start-ups like MyRepublic from Singapore ... and that is where we are really focusing," he said. During MyRepublic's early years, Telstra considered making an investment, but the two "didn't see eye to eye". Last week, Fairfax Media reported that in a ranking of 26 countries based on the respondents' level of satisfaction with high-speed broadband, Australia came in at number 23, followed only by Brazil, Peru and Italy.

And in March, a separate report found Australia had dropped down to 48th place in a global average broadband connection speed rankings list. Mr Rodrigues said NBN had "lost its way a bit" but also the incumbents weren't offering "true" NBN products. "We're coming in and being disruptive, and I think in six months time, the other guys will follow," he says. "Telstra, TPG and the others will start talking more about speed, talking about 100 Mbps, rather than 30 Mbps, and their prices will come closer to ours." Sarah Palmer, NBN's executive general manager of product and pricing, says it welcomed MyRepublic's entry into Australia.

"As a wholesaler, we look forward to working with MyRepublic to help ensure their customers have an excellent experience on the NBN network and enjoy the benefits of fast broadband," she says. "Depending on where you live and if your area is NBN ready, there could be more than 40 internet providers in Australia to choose from." Pressure has been building between NBN and telcos ever since the government business enterprise introduced a connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) charge of $20 per Mbps per month. This price was approved by the competition watchdog and comes on top of an access charge of about $24 per line per month and inter-connection fees. Telcos say the CVC charge is holding back the super-fast speeds that everyone wants to see. John Stanton, head of telco peak body Communications Alliance, didn't provide direct responses to MyRepublic's claims but said it welcomed additional competition.

"The reality is that telecommunications markets the world over are increasingly exposed to disruption – not just by new market entrants, but also by rapid technological development and the emergence of powerful new phenomena such as the Internet of Things," he says. "Not being privy to the details of how My Republic plans to pursue its business model within the Australian broadband framework, I can't comment on that." Loading There are more than 3 million homes and businesses that are able to connect to the NBN, with around 1.3 million already connected and enjoying the benefits of access to faster internet services. MyRepublic's Australian office has about 50 staff. Its call centre is based in Australia.