Award-winning NBN provider Aussie Broadband has launched a new, digital-focused challenger telco with an emphasis on lower prices. Buddy Telco offers a range of NBN plans at various speed tiers, including an ultra-fast NBN 1000 option at a market-leading price.
Available from today, Buddy Telco’s plans include more basic NBN 25, family NBN 50, and faster NBN 100/20 and NBN 1000. Aussie Broadband Group Managing Director, Phillip Britt, said the decision to create an additional telco came from the brand’s desire to offer a simple, barrier-free NBN experience.
“We’re thrilled to launch Buddy Telco, a truly digital-first offering for Australians after a fast, no-frills internet service that’s always there when you need it,” he said. “The Buddy Telco app and website provides full self-service functionality, while the award-winning infrastructure and network behind Buddy ensures top stability and speeds when you need it most.”
What NBN plans are available from Buddy Telco?
At launch, Buddy is offering four NBN speed tiers, at the following prices:
- Standard NBN 25/10: $65 per month
- Value NBN 50/20: $75 per month
- Speedy NBN 100/20: $85 per month
- Zoomy NBN 1000/50: $99 per month
All plans include unlimited monthly data and be available to customers with an eligible fibre NBN connection. Customers will also be able to bring their own compatible modem/router to all plans.
Buddy Telco is currently offering new customers a $10 monthly discount on selected plans for their first six months. The NBN 100/20 plan is available for $75 per month, while the ultra-fast Zoomy NBN 1000 is just $89 per month. This offer is available until midnight, September 16, for new sign-ups only, terms apply.
The following table shows a all published Buddy NBN plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
How do Buddy Telco’s prices compare?
Compared to Aussie Broadband’s own pricing structure, Buddy is considerably cheaper. Aussie Broadband’s NBN 25 plan is currently available for $79 monthly, NBN 50 for $89, NBN 100 for $95 and NBN 1000 for $129 per month.
Customers who switch to Buddy can save anywhere from $14 to $30 each month when compared to the price of an equivalent Aussie Broadband plan. These figures don’t include the new customer discounts on Speedy and Zoomy plans.
To see Aussie Broadband’s full range of NBN plans, check out the table below.
The following table shows a selection of published unlimited Aussie Broadband NBN plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our internet comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
The biggest selling point for Buddy is the low standard price of its gigabit-speed Zoomy NBN 1000 plan. At just $99 per month, the Zoomy plan is one of the cheapest NBN 1000 offers available to residential customers, undercutting budget-friendly telcos such as Flip, Tangerine, Exetel and SpinTel.
For comparison, here’s how other NBN 1000 plans in Canstar Blue’s database stack up.
The following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 1000 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
Compare NBN deals below
The following table shows a selection of sponsored unlimited data Standard Plus Evening Speed (NBN 50), and Premium Evening Speed (NBN 100) plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners.
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $284) Typical evening speed of 100Mbps
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Unlimited Data/month |
$85.00 Cost/month |
Go to Site |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $89.99) Typical evening speed of 98Mbps
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Unlimited Data/month |
$79.99 Cost/month |
Go to Site |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $79.99) Typical evening speed of 100Mbps
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Unlimited Data/month |
$79.99 Cost/month |
Go to Site |
Unlimited Home Standard (NBN 50) Plans
The following table shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 50 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of standard monthly cost (excluding discounts), from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool above to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
Unlimited Home Fast (NBN 100) Plans
The table below shows a selection of published unlimited NBN 100 plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of monthly cost, from the lowest to highest, and then by alphabetical order of provider. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.
Buddy’s other three plans aren’t quite as competitive; if you’re after a budget NBN 25 plan, for example, you can find unlimited data beginning at under $60 per month from other providers. NBN 50 — the most popular speed tier in Australia — generally starts at just under $70 per month, with low-cost plans available from Kogan, Tomi and Flip.
The good news is that Buddy’s plans do offer some fast download speeds during the busy evening hours, with its NBN 1000 plan averaging 600Mbps (megabits per second) between 7pm and 11pm. If you’re an Aussie Broadband customer and happy with your plan’s performance, you’ll get the same speed and reliability from Buddy, just at a lower price.
What’s the catch with Buddy Telco?
Prospective customers may be wondering how Aussie Broadband can offer the same plans via Buddy, but at cheaper prices. All of Buddy’s NBN plans feature the same network infrastructure and management as Aussie Broadband, but with one key difference: the use of AI and self-service.
Buddy is digital-only and customers will need to sign up, manage and control their accounts via the telco’s Buddy app, or its website and live chat service. This means that users won’t have access to the same level of customer service offered by Aussie Broadband, including its 8am — midnight call centre.
Instead, customers with issues will primarily need to use live chat for any troubleshooting or technical support. The live chat uses automation as a first step to address issues; however, a Perth-based customer service team is available for additional support between 9am-5pm AWST (11am-7pm AEST). If a customer’s problem can’t be solved by Live Chat within these hours, it can be escalated to Buddy’s support team.
Buddy still offers many of the key self-help features available through Aussie Broadband, including outages information and connection management. Buddy customers also have the ability to upgrade and change plans through the app or website.
Depending on what you’re looking for from your NBN provider’s customer service, Buddy’s focus on automation and machine learning could be a worthwhile trade-off for cheaper monthly pricing. However, customers who prefer having easier access to call centre support — as well as more frills from their internet plan — may be happier with Aussie Broadband’s existing service.
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