Seniors Broadband Plans

NBN

This is Australia’s new national broadband network (which is what the letters stand for!). It’s being built by the federal government as a way of replacing the very old telephone network across the entirety of Australia, making sure it works for decades into the future and providing much faster speeds to meet future needs as well.

You’ve probably heard or read about the NBN in the news – it’s become a bit of a political football – but ultimately, everyone will be connected to it, and it will handle not only your broadband internet, but your home phone line as well. There are various different ways of connecting to the NBN, but you don’t get to choose which one you get – that will be decided for you based on where you live. The whole idea is to make it simple and easy to get connected and, for the most part, it does. You do, though, have some options to choose from when signing up, which we’ll get into detail about below.

ADSL

For decades, people have been using the existing phone network to connect to broadband, and ADSL is the technology that allows it all to work. With the NBN rolling out to more and more areas at a rapidly increasing pace, ADSL is becoming rarer, but it’s still available for those who need it. If you still have your regular home phone and haven’t been asked to switch yet, then ADSL is likely to be your best option. It has its inconveniences – mostly the length of time it can take for it to get set up once you order a service – but it’ll still do just fine until the NBN comes along.

Cable

Cable broadband operates through the pay TV cables that run past your home – the ones on the poles owned by Optus or the ones in the ground owned by Telstra and used for Foxtel. For many years it provided an alternative method of getting broadband if you were lucky enough to have a cable in your street. With the arrival of the NBN, the Optus cable network is being decommissioned and the Telstra cables will become NBN cables, with Foxtel eventually leaving them. Some parts of the NBN will move onto these cables, but you can still connect to cable broadband through Telstra and Optus in the meantime.

Mobile, Fixed Wireless and Satellite

Far less common – and usually only used when there’s no other alternative – these types of broadband can help get people in remote areas connected even though there’s no suitable cable running past their home. The NBN will use fixed wireless and satellite where it needs to, while mobile broadband (basically home broadband connecting via the mobile phone network) can be used anywhere but is generally only a temporary measure while you wait for a more permanent connection.

NBN Small Broadband Bundle – Southern Phone

A hugely respected provider that’s based in regional Australia and puts its profits back into the communities it serves, Southern Phone has a range of well-priced bundles to suit a wide range of needs. This one gets you an NBN 12 speed broadband connection with a 100GB/month data allowance, and a home phone line with unlimited local and national calls – all for the modest price of $55 per month.

Aussie Broadband Seniors NBN Bundle

Another much-liked company based entirely in Australia, Aussie Broadband is renowned for their great customer service and high quality broadband network, and they’re also one of the few providers that tailors plans especially for seniors, including a range of plans for just the home phone by itself on the NBN, for those who get switched over to the NBN but don’t want broadband! However, for those that do, this $65/month bundle gets you NBN 25 speed broadband with a 100GB data allowance, and a home phone service with unlimited local and national calls.

Telstra Essential Bundle

Also using the NBN 25 speed tier, this bundle from Telstra suited for Seniors gives you access to Australia’s largest network combined with the quality and reliability that millions of Telstra customers have come to depend on. You get a 100GB data allowance, and a home phone line with unlimited calls within Australia, including calls to mobile phones (a rare inclusion, and one to go for if you call friends or family on their mobiles a lot). You also get the latest Telstra modem which offers backup from the mobile network in case of an outage. It’s a great value bundle at $69/month for everything.

iPrimus 100GB Bundle

This one’s better value than you’d think from the name – because despite its official data allowance being 100GB per month, they’ll double that to 200GB if you agree to a 24-month contract. Alternatively, you can choose to stick with 100GB but get unlimited local and national calls on the supplied home phone line (otherwise, it’s a well-priced pay-as-you-go service). This bundle is available for $60/month on the NBN 12 speed tier – but for only $10 more, you can jump up to NBN 50 and enjoy some extra speed for not very much more money!