They say change is as good as a holiday. And since the current cost of living doesn’t allow for jetsetting these days, here’s a change that will actually put money back in your pocket.
According to a WhistleOut survey of 2,000 people, a staggering 43 per cent of Australians haven’t changed their internet plan in at least three years.
Alarmingly, this stat jumps to 69 per cent among those surveyed aged 54 years and over.
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When asked why, 38 per cent of all respondents believed changing providers simply wouldn’t be worthwhile in terms of potential savings.
This number rose to 65 per cent among the demographic aged 54 years and over.
In this context, half of those surveyed defined a ‘worthwhile saving’ as $40 to $50 per month.
As an example, Telstra’s current NBN 50 plan is available to new customers at $95 per month for the first six months, and $105 per month thereafter.
That averages to be $100 per month over the first year.
For comparison, Exetel’s NBN 50 plan with identical speeds is just $60.99 per month for the first six months, then $79.99 per month thereafter.
That’s an average price of $70.49 per month over the first year.
If you were currently on a Telstra NBN 50 plan, you would save an average of $29.51 per month (or $354.12 over the year) by swapping to Exetel and staying for 12 months.
This example is if you pay the full price when the discount ends, but remember most NBN plans are contract-free now.
This means by switching every six months, you wouldn’t ever pay full price for an NBN plan.
In this example, if you stayed for just six months and then swapped after the promo discount ran out, the savings rise to $34.01 per month (or $204.06 over the six month period).
Kogan, Tangerine, Moose and amaysim all have NBN 50 plans with promo pricing between $63 and $65 per month for the first six months.
So these plans could easily keep saving you money if you switched to one of them every six months.
Plus the higher the speed tier, the greater the savings.
Below you can compare a range of NBN 50 plans, the most common speed tier, sorted from least to most expensive, to find the best deal:
If you need something a little faster, here’s a selection of NBN 100 plans, sorted by price, for comparison:
The benefit of switching internet plans regularly
Staying loyal to a particular plan or provider doesn’t mean your plan price is locked in; in fact it’s actually the opposite.
New customers reap the best rewards.
If you’ve been on an NBN plan for three years or more, chances are the price will have risen several times already.
The amount you could save depends entirely on what NBN provider you’re with, what technology type your home uses and what speed tier you need.
But regularly switching internet plans is the best way for Australians to score a lower bill.
So why don’t Aussies shop around for a better internet plan?
One of the most common misconceptions surrounding internet plans is that changing providers is incredibly difficult or time-consuming.
But more often than not, you don’t even need to pick up the phone or chat to someone about switching.
Simply find a cheaper plan that suits your needs, follow the prompts online, and they’ll set everything up for you.
Once your new plan is good to go, you may need to cancel your previous plan if you haven’t heard from them during the process.
This is important so you don’t accidentally get charged for a service you’re no longer using.
Changing NBN providers usually happens within the day you place your order, with minimal downtime.
Christie Graham is Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, Australia’s mobile and internet comparison site.
