NBN Hacker: How To Bypass Contracts And Setup Fees

Contracts kinda suck. While the telco industry is built on the back of two-year commitments, locking yourself into one provider for as long as 24 months never feels great. What if there’s a better deal? What if the service is terrible? What if you decide to abandon technology and live a nomadic life off the grid?

Thankfully, when it comes to NBN, there are a surprising number of providers who offer no-contract plans. Contract-free plans tends to be the most flexible NBN option: you can leave whenever you want, for whatever reason.

Most ISPs will offer to sell you a modem, but some will force you to buy a model they range. For the sake of simplicity, we’ve only included NBN providers where a modem purchase is optional, and where you won’t get hit with any upfront setup fees.
Here are some of the cheapest no-contract NBN plans with no setup fees:

NBN 50 plans with no-contract and at least 500GB

In most cases, you can get a contract-free NBN 50 plan for less than $70 per month. While the more “premium” providers can and will charge a little extra, there are plenty of plans priced between $60 and $70 right now.

Some of this can be chalked up to promotional pricing. Click Broadband and Tangerine will both give you your first six months at a discounted rate. MyRepublic has a discount offer that runs for your entire first year of service, while Flip TV has an introductory rate for your first three months.

These discounts cut the price of their respective plans by up to $10 per month, and since they’re contract-free, you can always leave as soon as the savings run out.

In terms of non-discounted pricing, Exetel has a 500GB NBN 50 plan for $59.99 per month. If you don’t quite need unlimited data, this is a great deal.

NBN 100 plans with no-contract and at least 500GB

The price spread between the cheapest and priciest NBN plans in this fastest speed tier is a little bit larger. Thanks to a promo, you can pay as little as $75.90 per month if you go with Kogan. This discount will apply for your first nine months; you’ll pay $85.90 thereafter.

If you don’t need unlimited data, Exetel could be a happy medium: you’ll pay $79.99 per month for its 500GB NBN 100 plan. This plan is discount-free, so your plan won’t suddenly go up in price a couple of months down the line.

At the pricier end of the spectrum, you’ve got NBN 100 plans from the likes of Aussie Broadband at $99 per month. While this might seem like a huge difference, Aussie Broadband boasts some of the NBN’s fastest peak hour speeds, so this premium could be worth it if you want consistently fast internet during high usage periods.

Alex Choros is Managing Editor at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.

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