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Bendigo Telco NBN, ADSL and Mobile Broadband Plans Compared

Bendigo Telco provides broadband services not only to residents of Bendigo, but to customers right around Australia.

How does Bendigo Telco compare?
Bendigo Telco NBN plans
Bendigo Telco ADSL plans
Bendigo Telco mobile broadband plans
Why should you consider Bendigo Telco?

Though it might sound like a small, local-only business, Bendigo Telco is actually part of an Australia-wide organisation made up of telecommunication providers supplying Internet and phone services across the country. These providers are:

  • Bendigo Telco
  • Tastel
  • South East QLD Telco
  • Central Coast Telco
  • Goulburn Valley Telco
  • VicWest Telco

Despite the different names, each of these providers offers the exact same services. This makes it easy to compare all their broadband plans in one fell swoop, with the results relevant regardless of where you live. For simplicity, however, we'll be referring to Bendigo Telco from here on out.

Bendigo Telco's portfolio covers a broad range of Internet and phone services. Along with NBN and ADSL plans, the telco offers home phone services delivered using both the traditional landline network as well as Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. For Aussies on the go, Bendigo Telco also supplies mobile broadband plans operating on the Optus 4G network.

Bendigo Telco NBN plans

NBN plans with Bendigo Telco are provided over fibre to the premises (FTTP), fibre to the node (FTTN), fibre to the building (FTTB), fibre to the curb (FTTC) and fixed wireless connections only.

Bendigo Telco offers just three NBN plans, with the ability to sign up on a month-to-month or 24-month basis.

  • NBN Starter, which comes with a Basic NBN connection and 100GB of data for $69 a month
  • NBN Standard, which comes with a Standard Plus NBN connection and 500GB of data for $79 a month
  • NBN Super, which comes with a Standard Plus NBN connection and 2000GB of data for $89 a month

If you're looking for something faster, you can upgrade the Standard or Super plans to a Premium NBN connection for an extra $20 a month.

On a month-to-month contract, you'll need to pay a one-off set-up fee of $170 when you sign up with Bendigo Telco. That fee is waived on a 24-month contract. Cancel your 24-month contract early, however, and you'll have to pony up a $220 early termination fee.

If you want to add a VoIP service to your NBN plan, $10 extra a month will get you unlimited local and standard national calls.

Apart from that, there are no further upfront costs attached to Bendigo Telco's NBN plans. All come with a free Wi-Fi modem-router bundled in, and there are no excess usage charges either – if you use up all your monthly data, your Internet speed will simply drop to 1Mbps until the start of your next billing cycle.

Bendigo Telco ADSL plans

Bendigo Telco provides both standalone ADSL plans and home phone and ADSL bundles. The former requires you to have an existing landline phone service active at your house, whether it be supplied by Bendigo Telco or another provider. The latter comes with home phone line rental and pay-as-you-go calls bundled in, so no existing service is required.

Standalone ADSL plans operate on a month-to-month basis, while the ADSL bundles are locked to a 24-month contract. Both are available with either a 100GB data cap or a 1000GB data cap. Pricing is as follows:

  • Standalone ADSL 100GB - $50 a month
  • Standalone ADSL 1000GB - $60 a month
  • ADSL Home Bundle 100GB - $75 a month
  • ADSL Home Bundle 1000GB - $85 a month

A one-off connection fee of $150 applies to the standalone ADSL plans; the 24-month bundles waive this fee. Cancel one of the ADSL bundles before the two years is up, however, and you'll have to pay an early termination fee of $150.

Regardless of your chosen plan, if work has to be done installing a new telephone line or relocating an existing one as part of the connection process, you will have to cover the cost of that too. These charges can range from $60 up to $299 depending on the scale of work involved.

By default, no modem is included with any of Bendigo Telco's ADSL plans. If you require one, Bendigo Telco can supply one for an additional upfront charge.

Exceeding your monthly data limit on either the standalone ADSL plans or ADSL bundles won't incur any penalty fees. You'll instead have your Internet speed slowed to 256kbps for the remainder of your current billing cycle.

Bendigo Telco mobile broadband plans

Powered by the Optus 4G network, Bendigo Telco's mobile broadband plans come in both month-to-month and 12-month varieties. While monthly pricing is the same irrespective of contract length, opting for a 12-month contract gets you bonus data to use every month.

Five plans are available:

  • Flexi Small, which comes with 5GB on a month-to-month contract or 8GB on a 12-month contract for $20 a month
  • Flexi Medium, which comes with 8GB on a month-to-month contract or 15GB on a 12-month contract for $30 a month
  • Flexi Large, which comes with 15GB on a month-to-month contract or 25GB on a 12-month contract for $45 a month
  • Flexi XLarge, which comes with 50GB on a month-to-month contract or 60GB on a 12-month contract for $60 a month
  • Flexi XXLarge, which comes with 70GB on a month-to-month contract or 90GB on a 12-month contract for $80 a month

There are no other upfront costs associated with Bendigo Telco's mobile broadband plans. You will have to pay an early termination fee if you sign up for a 12-month contract and cancel your service before the year is up, however. This fee differs depending on your chosen plan and can be as much as $310.

The other cost to keep in mind on Bendigo Telco's mobile broadband plans is potential excess data charges. Use more than your monthly data limit, and you'll automatically be charged $10 for a credit of 1GB extra. Blow through that extra 1GB, and you'll be charged an additional $10 for another 1GB. This rate will continue until the end of your current billing period.

How does Bendigo Telco compare?

With so many broadband services on offer, Bendigo Telco faces plenty of competition in the battle for your dollar. Here's how it fares.

How do Bendigo Telco's NBN plans compare?
How do Bendigo Telco's ADSL plans compare?
How do Bendigo Telco's mobile broadband plans compare?

How do Bendigo Telco's NBN plans compare?

Bendigo Telco's NBN plans don't follow the typical structure favoured by its competitors. Rather than offering unlimited monthly data, Bendigo Telco enforces a fixed cap at every tier, making it a hard sell for those who prefer the freedom of unrestricted downloading.

Comparing similar 24-month Basic plans, MyNetFone, Dodo and Optus all offer cheaper alternatives that come with unlimited data plus a pay-as-you-go VoIP phone service at no extra cost. Meanwhile, Spintel, Exetel and Flip TV support shorter-term contracts on their unlimited plans while still beating Bendigo Telco with a lower monthly rate.

Mate Communicate is even more compelling, offering a no-lock-in, month-to-month plan with unlimited data and no set-up costs, giving you the freedom to cancel at any time without penalty.

Bendigo Telco's Standard Plus plans don't fare a whole lot better. Providers like MyRepublic, Exetel and Tangerine all offer unlimited data plans at a cheaper monthly rate, with MyRepublic even bundling in a VoIP phone service with unlimited local and national calls as a bonus.

Since Bendigo Telco also offers call packs for bundling with its NBN plans, it's worth comparing these too. Here, Bendigo Telco is again beaten on price by providers like Spintel and MyRepublic, though its charges are no higher than providers like MyNetFone and Infinity.

Bendigo Telco MyNetFone Infinity TPG Exetel Spintel MyRepublic
Unlimited local and national calls $10 extra $10 extra $10 extra N/A N/A N/A $0 extra
Unlimited local, national and mobile calls N/A $20 extra $20 extra $10 extra $10 extra $10 extra $10 extra

How do Bendigo Telco's ADSL plans compare?

Competition in the ADSL space has been on a steady decline since the rollout of the NBN, leaving Aussies with limited options for broadband delivered over the traditional landline network. Even with fewer alternatives, though, Bendigo Telco's ADSL plans are a hard sell.

Provided you already have an active landline phone service, Bendigo Telco's 100GB standalone ADSL plan isn't miles away from the competition. It's more expensive than Spintel's 100GB plan, and similarly-priced plans from Southern Phone and Ant Communications work out cheaper thanks to their included modems, but the differences aren't dramatic.

All that changes once you start comparing ADSL plans with larger data caps. Unlimited plans from Mate Communicate, Dodo and TPG outperform both Bendigo Telco's 100GB and 1000GB plans, with lower monthly rates and cheaper upfront costs.

Bendigo Telco doesn't stack up any better with its ADSL bundles. If you don't have much of a data appetite, Exetel and TPG offer 50GB on-peak/50GB off-peak plans at nearly half the monthly price of Bendigo Telco's 100GB plan, plus both lock you in for just 18 months instead of 24. If you'd prefer 100GB of anytime data, iPrimus and Start Broadband will provide you with it at a considerably cheaper rate than Bendigo Telco.

The competition only gets tougher when comparing unlimited ADSL bundles. Here, Bendigo Telco's 1000GB offering is no match for Exetel and TPG's significantly cheaper bundles. Mate Communicate also presents a compelling alternative, offering the freedom of a no-lock-in, month-to-month contract along with a cheaper monthly rate, no set-up fees and unlimited local and national calls thrown in to boot.

How do Bendigo Telco's mobile broadband plans compare?

Since Bendigo Telco offers different data caps for its month-to-month and 12-month mobile broadband plans, it's worth comparing both separately.

How do Bendigo Telco's month-to-month mobile broadband plans compare?
How do Bendigo Telco's 12-month mobile broadband plans compare?

How do Bendigo Telco's month-to-month mobile broadband plans compare?

Bendigo Telco does quite well for itself in the mobile broadband space, especially at the budget end. Its 5GB plan isn't the cheapest around, but it's within striking distance of leading plans from providers like Jeenee Mobile and Spintel.

Increased competition at the mid-tier data caps of 15-20GB causes Bendigo Telco to fall behind a little. Its Large plan still offers decent bang for your buck, but plans from Vaya, Lebara and Jeenee all deliver better value – though Lebara does use Vodafone's network instead of Optus, which could affect the reception you receive.

It's at the top-tier of mobile broadband plans that Bendigo Telco struggles most. Here, OVO and Optus take a comfortable lead with their 100GB+ plans, each of which clocks in cheaper per month than Bendigo Telco's XXL plan. As a bonus, OVO's plan comes with unlimited data-free streaming via OVOPLAY, while Optus offers data-free streaming of music on Spotify, Google Play Music and iHeartRadio.