Featured, News - Monday, May 3, 2010 14:02 - 10 Comments

Exetel’s NBN pricing: Cheap as chips

National ISP Exetel today outlined projected pricing on its National Broadband Network plans in Tasmania that was radically different from that offered on traditional ADSL broadband plans — such as a zero cost monthly plan at 25Mbps, with downloads charged at $1 per gigabyte.

“Subject to signing contracts, we would expect to offer 25Mbps circuits for $0.00 monthly access and $1.00 per GB downloaded on a 12 month contract,” the ISP’s chief executive John Linton said in an emailed statement. “50Mbps and 100Mbps services have yet to be priced but are expected to be $15.00/$25.00 per month plus $1.00 per GB downloaded.

However, Linton said as the NBN was the broadband market “starting again”, Exetel would not be interested in providing services to “heavy downloaders” — noting those users were subsidised by the broadband prices paid for the “over 60 percent of the market” that were characterised as “low usage” downloaders.

The ISP in late March pledged to join Internode, iiNet and Primus in seeking accreditation to resell fibre broadband services provided by the Tasmanian division of NBN Co in early stage rollout communities of Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point.

But it has taken quite a while for Exetel to negotiate contracts with NBN Tasmania to provide services to the areas. Linton said Exetel wouldn’t announce final pricing until the NBN Tasmania contracts were executed — “hopefully by the end of this week”.

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