ACCAN presses NBN Co to make 50Mbps its basic tier

NBN Co’s “advocacy for faster speeds” should extend to customers on entry-level plans and take the form of a re-baselining of the minimum speed from 25Mbps to 50Mbps, Australia’s peak consumer communications body says.

ACCAN - the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network - has long advocated for minimum speed upgrades on the national broadband network.

In response to a consultation paper [pdf] on regulations affecting NBN Co between FY26 and FY29, ACCAN argued the wholesaler is too focused on introducing multi-gigabit plans.

It said there was a lack of evidence from NBN Co on who would take up these high-end services, and whether they really meet consumers’ needs.

Such plans are likely to help NBN Co meet financial targets, such as revenue and cost recovery.

NBN Co acknowledged at the end of last year that 50Mbps remains its most popular speed tier, and is expected to hold that position through to FY29.

The wholesaler argued that the entry-level plan should stay below 50Mbps, backing the existing 25/5Mbps service.

But given NBN Co has set September 2025 to introduce much faster plans for users on 100Mbps or more, ACCAN said that users on the most popular or on entry-level plans should not be left behind.

“In ACCAN’s view, increasing internet speeds for consumers means raising the baseline quality of service that all Australian consumers can access,” it wrote.

“While there is certainly capacity for investing in faster internet speeds at the gigabit level and above, ACCAN cautions NBN Co against pursuing this as a model for cost recovery, as most Australian consumers are unlikely to significantly increase their household expenditure on [greater than] 2 Gbps speeds for the marginal benefit.

“ACCAN recommends NBN Co to give greater consideration to increasing the speed, and reducing the price, of the entry-level offer, in order to secure faster internet speeds for Australian consumers who would benefit from the stricter price controls that such a plan offers.”

ACCAN added that it “does not consider 25/5 to be a fixed speed” in today’s age.

The advocacy body overall sought considerable extra detail from NBN Co on its financial and other forecasts for the FY26 to FY29 regulatory period, arguing there is scant detail to properly assess how NBN Co intends to spend or make money.