Millions of Aussies to be stuck with higher internet bills – what it means for you

Millions of Australians will be hit with an increase in their internet bills in the latest blow to families amid a national cost of living crisis.

NBN Co increased its wholesale prices for residential plans on July 1, with the major telcos to pass the increases on to households.

The cost of the more affordable NBN 25Mbps plans and the faster NBN 50Mbps options will increase by around $5 a month.

The increase comes less than a year after customers achieved a similar increase, taking the total increase to between 10 and 13 per cent since October, the Courier Mail reported.

The latest price hike will affect around 70 per cent of homes, with Telstra’s standard NBN plan rising to over $100 a month for the first time.

Telstra, Optus, Aussie Broadband, Dodo, Superloop, iPrimus and Exetel have told customers of the July price hike and other telcos are likely to follow.

Australia’s largest internet service provider Telstra has increased the price of its fastest 50Mbps NBN plan from $100 to $105 a month.

The 25Mbps NBN plan has increased from $85 to $89.

While the prices of standard NBN plans will rise, some more expensive and faster ones, including NBN 250Mbps and 1,000Mbps, will actually fall.

For example, Telstra’s NBN 1000Mbps plan is set to drop by $20 a month.

Shadow Communications spokesman David Coleman accused the federal government of being “completely out of touch with the cost of living pain that families are going through”.

“Unbelievably, the Albanian government has supported massive NBN price increases, which have been deliberately designed to hit households with low-cost plans the hardest,” he said.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland dismissed the Coalition’s criticism, arguing NBN wholesale prices for the cheapest NBN plans were ‘cheaper today than they were 12 months ago’.

Over the next four years, the NBN will receive an increase of 2.4 billion dollars from the Albanian government, with Ms. Rowland says privatization was not an option.

Joel Gibson, from telecoms comparison site WhistleOut.com.au, told 9News NBN Co is trying to push Aussies to opt for higher internet speeds and said those higher speeds are not necessary.

“For a typical family of four, a standard NBN 50 plan is enough,” he said.

The ACCC’s ‘Netflix Test’ has revealed that 99 per cent of Standard NBN plans can stream Netflix in HD on 4 screens simultaneously.’