Yahoo Finance NBN plans leaving low-income earners out of pocket $120 a year
Australians paying for low-speed NBN plans are likely paying $10 a month more for their plan than they would for an equivalent ADSL plan, the consumer watchdog has warned.
Low-income earners who are likely purchasing the basic 12-megabit service are worst-hit as they are now paying close to the price of an ADSL 50-megabit service.
This is due to the NBN’s wholesale pricing structure, which has seen the cost of a basic 12-megabit service surge in the last six months, the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims said on Monday.
Related story: Optus, Vodafone, Telstra customers: Your loyalty is costing you ‘hundreds’
Related story: Budget welfare-energy backdown deliberate
Related story: How this NSW woman reduced her power bill to ZERO
“To give one example, Optus increased its asking price for new customers acquiring an entry-level NBN plan to $80 per month — a $20 increase. Extraordinarily, this was $10 more expensive per month than its 50 megabit plan,” he said.
“There is a fundamental question of fairness here for those on low incomes,” Sims continued.
He warned that NBN Co has “lost its anchor” as it’s no longer tethered to price competition with ADSL plans. And, he argued, consumers are likely the ones to pay the price, with some forced to suffer the higher fees.
“We are quite possibly charting a course that favours meeting NBN Co’s revenue projections, at the expense of the NBN’s potential to benefit the economy, and consumers,” he said.
“In this regard, what would help in addressing our concerns would be for NBN Co to revisit its entry-level bundle offer, or introduce a new offer, so that there is healthy competition at the $60 price point for the supply of an unlimited NBN broadband plan with busy hour speeds that compare favourably to what was available on ADSL.”
Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.
