iiNet internet review

Value for money

• NBN
• Satellite NBN
• Home wireless

Performance

According to the ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia Report in September 2023, iiNet delivered maximum speeds to customers 97.2% of the time during the peak hours of the day (7pm to 11pm). This means iiNet isn't delivering those speeds all the time. This put it 10th out of the 11 telcos in the report.

• Why this matters: The ACCC report measures speeds to help consumers see which NBN providers are providing reliable speeds in line with what they advertise. The maximum speed is the fastest speed achievable for an NBN plan. NBN 50, for example, will max out at 50Mbps.

Since the December 2022 report, iiNet has sat in the bottom 3 of the rankings in the reports each quarter. However, its overall performance percentage has improved. Its figure of delivering maximum speeds 97.2% during the busy hours of the day for September 2023 was the highest ever recorded for iiNet since the report's inception in April 2021.

iiNet's home wireless plans run on the Vodafone mobile network. In Opensignal's October 2023 report, which measures the experience of users on wireless networks, Vodafone users had an average download speed of 50.5Mbps. For specifically 5G download speeds, it was 102.5Mbps.

However, iiNet caps the maximum download speeds on its home wireless plans, so you're unlikely to reach those speeds in some instances.

• Keep in mind: Speeds can vary on mobile networks more than fixed-line networks due to several factors such as congestion, the location of the modem in your house and how close you are to a mobile network tower.

Customer service

iiNet's customer service team is easy to contact. You can get in touch with it by:

• Calling the broadband technical support line 24/7. Billing enquiries can be handled between 8am to 10pm AEST every day.
• Emailing to the relevant channel (sales, billing or technical support).
• Sending a message to the iiNet Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
• Using the iiNet support app.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman covers complaints data from phone and internet customers. In the 2023 Annual Report for the financial year ending June 2023, iiNet:

• Had 2.8% of all complaints, which was the fifth highest of all providers.
• Saw a 14.7% decrease in complaints compared to the previous year's report.

Bonus features

iiNet has a range of other features available to add on to your home internet plan.

Fetch TV and internet bundles

Customers on NBN 50 or faster, or the 5G home broadband plans, can opt-in for 24 months of Fetch Entertainment for free (then $5 a month thereafter).

This includes 30 pre-selected movies each month and you can get access to apps so you can have all your streaming in one place. You'll need your own subscriptions though for these streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video.

The set-top box Fetch Mini has an $89.99 set up fee though and you can add a range of channel packs from $6 a month which include things like sports, children's programming and lifestyle programs.

If you're not on an eligible iiNet internet plan you can still sign up to Fetch for $5 a month.

Mobile and internet bundle

Get a 120GB mobile SIM (40GB included + bonus 80GB) when you bundle your phone plan with any iiNet internet plan for $15 a month for the first 6 months then $29.99 a month after that.

You only get the bonus data on the 40GB SIM only plan, not with other data amounts.

4G back-up modem

While iiNet lets you bring your own modem, you can choose its $192 high-speed NBN modem with a 4G connection backup. If you stay with iiNet for 24 months, you won't have to pay anything, but if you leave before then you'll need to pay the remaining cost of the modem.

If you have a problem with your NBN connection and it drops out, your back-up modem will kick in and switch to a 4G connection with maximum speeds of 12Mbps. You can then stay connected to the internet while any problems with the NBN are resolved.

Call packs

You can add call packs for free on iiNet's NBN plans for pay-as-you-go calls. This is great if you have a home phone you use irregularly.

For an extra $5 a month you can get unlimited calls to Australian landlines and mobiles.

If you want to make international calls, you can pay $10 a month for unlimited calls to 20 international destinations chosen by iiNet.