Broadband and Internet Bundles – Which Provider should you choose?

It’s a great time to be upgrading your broadband plan. With the NBN rollout continuing, new providers have stepped onto the scene, adding some fierce competition. Internet providers were once complacent, they now have to compete to get your attention – and your dollars. One of the benefits has been an increase in value-adding extras in the form of bundles.

What Broadband Bundle Options are Available in Australia

When once your broadband plan was focused solely on price and data caps, there’s now a whole lot more to consider. Not only are the NBN speed tiers making their presence felt, but providers are now acknowledging that different people use the internet in different ways. The five ISP bundles featured here are all about the extra stuff. Just what kind of stuff depends on what you’re really looking for in a package. Lets look at the types of things we’re seeing in bundles.

Internet + calls

If you’re the sort of person who loves to sit on the phone for hours and chat with friends – and especially if most of those friends are on mobile phones – you’ll appreciate the bundles from several providers that take all the worry out of both the phone and internet bill in one neat little package for a fixed monthly fee.

Internet + entertainment

If you’re entertainment-minded, you can turn your attention to the grand streaming TV battle, involving the likes of Fetch TV, Netflix, Telstra TV, and Foxtel. Internet providers are battling it out on this front and want to give you broadband to stream and a subscription to watch it on. Most offerings seem to have become far more focused in recent times, providing sensible solutions at a great price, and acknowledging that with the rise of Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Now, people are using more data than ever before.

We’re also seeing the likes of Telstra making it easier for their customers to add a Netflix subscription to your account to keep all bills under the one payment. Easy!

Foxtel have recently started giving a Netflix subscription with their pay TV subscription while also adding a Netflix button to their remote control so the TV experience is more seemless between the two businesses.

Internet + cool gadgets

Once upon a time, ISPs used to hook up your internet and leave you to it. These days, every provider offers an NBN-ready modem with their bundles. To try and stand out of the pack, the quick ones are stepping up their offerings, including devices like set-top boxes, smart modems and more.

The Top Five Broadband Bundles

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll be focusing on bundles that feature unlimited data, preferably on the NBN.

Try a Telstra bundle with 1 month free

Telstra’s Entertainment Bundle really delivers. For just $99/month, you get unlimited data, a speedy NBN tier (40Mbps typical evening speeds), the latest Telstra Smart Modem with 4G backup, and a Telstra TV 3 set-top box.  This brilliant little box has a fine pedigree – it’s actually the acclaimed Roku streaming box that’s hugely popular in the US. It’s an app-based device that has support for all the major players – Netflix, Stan, hayu, and Foxtel Now. To sweeten the deal, this bundle also includes free unlimited local, national, and mobile calls within Australia, making it a bundle with something for everybody. If that’s not enough, you also get the first month of this bundle completely free and would only have to start paying for the succeeding months.

Southern Phone’s Triple Bundle

Southern Phone’s triple bundle plans make life easier by wrapping up all the essentials – internet, home phone and mobile – into one plan. Right now, customers are offered the Unlimited Triple Bundle. It includes unlimited internet on the 50/20 speed tier, unlimited local, national and mobile calls on your home phone, as well as 3GB mobile data with unlimited calls and texts. If you want to save time and manage your accounts with ease, Southern Phone’s Triple Bundle plans provide the perfect solution.

MyRepublic’s premium kind of value

At first sight, MyRepublic’s NBN plans are somewhat on the higher-end price-wise. But quickly you’ll realise that it’s the opposite. For starters, they focus on offering NBN100 plans, which start from $94.95. For under $100 on a premium speed plan, that doesn’t sound so bad at all. Considering all their plans are unlimited with a landline connection (pay as you go calls), MyRepublic actually offers some of the most valuable NBN plans in Australia. Contract terms are flexible, which is great. The difference between month-to-month and 12-month, however, lies on your need for a modem. If you already have your own, the no lock-in contract plan should work. But if you’re going to purchase one from MyRepublic, then you might as well sign up for 12 months to score a new modem for only $1.

Go for Belong Broadband

Belong provides value-for-money unlimited broadband plans, starting with unlimited NBN for as little as $55/month, or $65 when you upgrade the speed to NBN50. That’s unlimited data right there and you only need to add $5 extra per month to sign up with no lock-in contracts. If you’ve got a large family, get Belong’s fastest NBN plan with typical evening speed of 80Mbps for only $95/month to ensure uninterrupted browsing and streaming. Even better, Belong’s free $80 mobile credit scores you a mobile SIM card at no extra costs. For sure, Belong’s unlimited internet plans and free mobile credit make for a valuable package that every family needs. Not on the NBN yet? Belong’s ADSL plans include a phone line with limited service so your need for an internet and landline is combined in a one neat bundle.

Try Tangerine Broadband

Tangerine is one of the most flexible broadband providers currently out there in the market. They’re currently offering a 14-day trial where if you don’t like their service offering, you can get out of your contract. You will get an NBN bundle with free calls to local, national and mobile numbers, unlimited data, $10 off your plan each month for six months, and a modem that only costs $89.90. All of this with a typical evening speed of 21Mbps from only $64.90 per month.

How to Bundle Your Broadband with Streaming TV

Spend 5 minutes watching our video guide to all of the best broadband bundling providers in market, as well as the products they’re bundling.

Bundling makes it cheaper

When it comes to picking a bundle, start by understanding what you want and need. There’s a lot of competition in this space — which means there’s a lot of options available for the savvy shopper. But it can take a bit of digging to find exactly what you need.

The easiest way to make sure you’re getting value for money in your bundle is to compare the inclusions – and the price. And don’t forget, you can always call the provider to see what they might be able to throw in to sweeten the deal!

Lastly, make sure you check the fine print. Check out the service availability in your area. Give the critical information summaries a close look and make sure you have a good grasp on the total costs of any options or added extras. There are also setup fees, install costs, and early cancellation fees which can sometimes slip your notice. It might take a while, but it’ll pay off in the end.