NBN facing 5G threat from rivals

Cheaper, faster plans on offer

THE NBN faces a slide in demand as rival retailers ramp up the sales pitch on cheaper, faster 5G offerings.

More than a quarter of Australians consider their phone and internet costs to be unaffordable, a recent study from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network found, and retailers are now increasingly pushing wireless 5G plans which in many cases are superior – and less expensive – than those offered by NBN.

In May, TPG’s subsidiary brands launched a new $60 per month 5G home internet service that the telco said offers superior value compared to NBN’s 50 megabit per second plans and is particularly for customers keeping a close eye on their budget. Home 5G typically offers speeds of between 100 and 600 megabits per second, which in many cases is as much as 12 times the speed of NBN’s 50 megabits per second plans.

TPG executives say the migration of every 100,000 NBN customers back on to its own infrastructure represents around $50m in annual savings for the telco.

Since launching its 4G and 5G home broadband services last year, it has signed up more than 110,000 customers nationally. “The common message we hear loud and clear from our customers is how cost of living has become the number one issue for Australian households,” TPG executive Kieren Cooney said. “The shaky economics of the NBN has put real pressure on affordable, fixed-line broadband and this is exactly why we need great alternatives like 5G fixed wireless in the market,” he said.

According to Mr Cooney, two out of three customers switching across to TPG’s fixed wireless services are former NBN customers, and the telco expects over the long term that about 20 per cent of its customer base will take up wireless NBN alternatives.

It comes as NBN Co wants to lock in price rises until 2040, and double the price of entry-tier plans over the next decade, as part of a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Optus managing director Matt Williams said his telco was the first to launch the NBN wireless alternative, in 2019, and now has “many tens of thousands” of customers signed up to home 4G and 5G.

“The service has just got better and better,” he said.

Telstra executive Kim Krogh Andersen said every household is different and NBN and 5G services are complementary. “Our strategy is consistent, we believe in a connectivity agnostic approach for homes and businesses. In some areas it’s 5G, in others it’s NBN, and in the future we expect LEO satellite to be an option as well,” he said.

An NBN spokesman said NBN’s network currently carries more than 90 per cent of the nation’s data. “The NBN is the digital backbone of the nation and will continue to play a critical role in meeting consumer needs for high-speed data,” he said. “We believe the NBN network and 5G are complementary technologies now and in the future.”