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Australian-owned Internet providers
Most NBN providers are Aussie-owned, but it may surprise you to see who hasn’t made the list.
Nowadays it can feel like there's an endless choice of NBN and Internet providers, from homegrown brands to companies that come from overseas. With mergers, acquisitions and new, smaller companies popping up all the time, it can be hard to know which Internet providers are Australian-owned.
Which Internet providers are Australian-owned?
While it might make sense that many Internet providers in Australia are fully Aussie-owned, many of them including Telstra and Origin Broadband have been publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
This means that instead of being completely Australian-owned, Telstra and Origin are only partially Aussie-owned since their ownership potentially includes shareholders from across the world.
Other major brands like Vodafone and Foxtel have also been through a number of mergers and acquisitions and are now part Aussie and foreign-owned.
The following providers are Australian-owned:
Compare NBN plans from Aussie telcos
We've listed the NBN plans in Finder's database that come from Australian-owned Internet providers below. You can use the filters to narrow down your search.
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Which is the best Aussie-owned NBN provider?
There is no singular Australian Internet provider that's considered the best. The best one will depend on what you're after in an NBN provider and plan.
Here's a breakdown of the most popular brands and their ownership story.
Activ8me
With a mission to connect "every corner of rural, regional and remote Australia" with leading-edge broadband and phone, Activ8me has empowered regional Australia since 2005. With the operating name of Australian Private Networks Pty Ltd, Activ8me was founded in 2002 and has a history of supporting the local community. This includes installing 301 satellite and solar-powered public telephones across regional Indigenous communities and being one of the largest nbn Sky Muster broadband providers.
Activ8me has kept the core of its operations Aussie, with an Australia-based call centre and headquarters based nearby in Melbourne.
Exetel
Standing out from most other providers as a family business, Exetel is today one the largest independent Australian-owned Internet providers. Originally run out of founder John Linton's basement over 15 years ago, Exetel has grown from its humble beginnings to servicing over 240,000 Australians and 12,000 businesses.
With a number of simple, easy-to-understand pricing and plans, the Australian-owned provider has a focus on customer service and support, with teams across Australia and abroad in Sri Lanka.
Goodtel
Goodtel is a newer Australian-owned Internet provider, offering Australians the opportunity to give back just by paying for their NBN plan. Formed in 2018 by Damien Gould, Goodtel has committed to social enterprise, with 50% of its profits offered to charities that help people in need and the planet.
Based in Melbourne, the Aussie provider has supported a range of local charities and efforts including the Drought Angels initiative with Aussie farming families and Childfund Australia.
Barefoot Telecom/Mate
Barefoot Telecom has been in operation as an Australian-owned-and-operated Internet provider since 2013. It has championed its local support team based in Western Sydney, with the promise of "local staff with a passion for providing phenomenal service".
The ownership group behind Barefoot Telecom founded the Internet provider Mate, a separate all-Aussie Internet provider. It currently shares its customer service team across both brands.
SpinTel
SpinTel is an Australia-based telco that has provided great value broadband and phone services to Aussies since 1996. Originally under the name Spin Internet services, the provider moved from Internet services to mobile broadband and mobile plans in 2011 while rebranding to SpinTel.
Based in Surry Hills, Sydney, the company today uses a mix of offshore support teams and local teams for escalations.
What does it mean to be Australian-owned?
For many Aussies buying Australian products or Australian-owned services is a choice that has value.
Buying Australian can definitely be positive for Australia's economy, as it helps keep telco profits in Australia and can support the employment of Aussies in local operations.
While different Internet providers have made this a point of difference in their branding and marketing, that doesn't always mean their operation or ownership is entirely local. Call centres and support teams are at times a mixture of offshore and Australian. For some providers, like Yomojo, these are completely overseas.
With larger Australian telcos that are publicly traded on the ASX, it can make the ownership structure quite complex, with shareholders potentially across the globe.
It's important to understand also that buying Australian-owned isn't always a guarantee of service quality or value, but rather another feature to consider when you're comparing NBN plans.
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