With so many internet providers out there, finding the right deal for your needs can be tricky. With the help of our friends at WhistleOut, we’ve rounded up the best NBN deals suited to Aussie seniors.
Whether you’re just browsing Facebook of an evening or streaming the latest Hollywood blockbusters in 4K every night, the needs of older internet users are just as diverse as those of younger generations.
The National Broadband Network (NBN) can provide lighting fast speeds for transferring extremely large files quickly – but most internet users won’t need anything near this.
Knowing which plan is right for you can be difficult to work out with so many options available. You don’t want to end up paying too much for speeds you don’t need, but you also don’t want a subpar internet experience because your internet is too slow.
Speed is king now
In previous years, most internet plans differentiated themselves from each other via data caps (remember those?). Today, virtually all plans offer unlimited data, and the difference is in the speed of your connection.
NBN speed tiers are split into four broad categories: Standard (NBN50/20), Fast (NBN100), Superfast (NBN250) and Ultrafast (NBN1000).
The numbers listed next to the names indicate the download speed measured in megabits per second (Mbps).
Standard (NBN50)
This is by far the most common NBN speed tier in Australia, and also the one with the best deals.
A 50 Mbps connection should be enough to watch one 4K stream – or a few regular HD streams – with enough left over to browse the internet while you’re watching.
Fast (NBN100)
A step up from your standard connection, NBN100 is designed for multi-person households, heavy internet users and is the fastest speed most Australian homes can connect with, as the top two tiers are only available in select locations.
With up to 100 Mbps in download speed, this connection should be enough for everyone in the house to watch a separate movie in 4K, while one person works and another plays an online game.
It’s also a popular choice among live streamers and content creators if that’s your kind of thing.
Superfast (NBN250) and Ultrafast (NBN1000)
As mentioned, Superfast and Ultrafast connections are only available in select areas, namely in the centre of capital cities. Some suburban areas may be covered, so it pays to check with NBN Co to see if this is available in your area.
As the numbers suggest, a Superfast NBN connection can reach download speeds of up to 250Mbps, and an Ultrafast up to 1000.
These are crazy speeds, usually used by large-scale businesses with many people accessing the internet at once and is overkill for a residential home. Still, if you want to stream several 4K movies at once while streaming your reaction to your thousands of followers – then this connection may be for you.
Who is your home internet with? When was the last time you checked out the competition? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: This broadband hack can keep your internet costs low
I live in Wodonga, a regional town and get 270 day in, day out so not sure where you have obtained your “facts” from.
Wow, you are lucky, I live 25Km North of the Adelaide CBD and the Maximum I can get on a really good day is 50/12, on a bad day (very wet), it’s about 5/0.2.
The maximum Line Speed is rated at 60.1/20.6 !!
I am 600+ metres from the Node through very Old Copper. “Luckily” I am just about the only one on that run, as ALL my neighbors have various Microwave Antennas on their rooves !!
The NBN informed everyone in the street that they were going to roll out Fibre to the Curb along the street, that was about 5 Years Ago, and STILL Waiting.
I live in Wagga, and have my Internet thru Flipconnect.com.au (an Australian company based in Sydney, using the Optus network). I’m on the lowest rate of NBN 12 SENIORS for $47.90 per month. Being on my own, & not using streaming services, etc, I’ve never had any problems.
You don’t need the fastest and greatest, and the more expensive.