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iiNet Broadband: NBN and ADSL plans compared

iiNet is one of Australia's leading NBN broadband providers. Here's everything you need to know about iiNet's plans, pricing and inclusions.

How does iiNet compare?
iiNet fixed-line NBN plans
iiNet fixed wireless NBN plans
iiNet satellite NBN plans
iiNet ADSL plans

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As one of the longest-running Internet providers in Australia, iiNet has built quite a name for itself. Not only does it provide high-speed fibre Internet over the National Broadband Network (NBN), it has its own ADSL network separate from Telstra's available in select areas across the country.

But no matter what technology they use, all of iiNet's broadband plans share a few things in common. They all support both no lock-in, month-to-month contracts as well as 24-month contracts, and all but the slower satellite plans can be bundled with the streaming service Fetch to consolidate your Internet and entertainment costs into one bill.

iiNet also provides both traditional landline as well as Voice over IP (VoIP) phone services alongside its broadband plans, with select plans offering unlimited local, national and even mobile calls to boot.

iiNet fixed-line NBN plans


iiNet provides fixed-line NBN connections using fibre to the node (FTTN), fibre to the premises (FTTP), fibre to the building (FTTB) and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) technologies. It splits these plans into three speed tiers: Basic (nbn 12), Turbo (nbn 50) and Max (nbn 100). Within those tiers, the different call and data inclusions available are as follows:

Basic plans

  • NBN 500 Basic. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and 500GB of data for $59.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Basic. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and unlimited data for $69.99 a month.

Turbo plans

  • NBN Liimitless Turbo LN. Includes unlimited local and standard national calls as well as unlimited data for $79.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Turbo LNM. Includes unlimited local, standard national and mobile calls within Australia as well as unlimited data for $89.99 a month.

Max plans

  • NBN Liimitless Max. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and unlimited data for $99.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Max LN. Includes unlimited local and standard national calls as well as unlimited data for $109.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Max LNM. Includes unlimited local, standard national and mobile calls within Australia as well as unlimited data for $119.99 a month.

Following guidance from the ACCC, iiNet provides estimates of typical Internet speeds on its plans during the peak evening hours of 7pm to 11pm. For the Basic plans, the expected peak-hour average is 10.3Mbps; for Turbo plans it's 44.0Mbps; and for Max plans it's 82.7Mbps.

For more information on the extras iiNet offers on its fixed-line NBN plans, click here.

iiNet fixed wireless NBN plans


For Aussies living outside the range of wired NBN, iiNet provides fixed wireless plans at both 12Mbps and 25Mbps. These plans come in four varieties:

  • NBN 500 Basic. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and 500GB of data at 12Mbps for $59.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Basic. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and unlimited data at 12Mbps for $69.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Boost LN. Includes unlimited local and standard national calls along with unlimited data at 25Mbps for $79.99 a month.
  • NBN Liimitless Boost LNM. Includes unlimited local, standard national and mobile calls within Australia along with unlimited data at 25Mbps for $89.99 a month.

For more information on the extras iiNet offers on its fixed wireless NBN plans, click here.

iiNet NBN satellite plans


If you're living in an area of the country ineligible for a fixed-line or fixed wireless NBN service, a satellite connection is likely your only option for high-speed Internet. iiNet offers three such plans rated at nbn 12 for speeds between 5Mbps and 12Mbps:

  • NBN Satellite 150. Includes 30GB of peak-time data and 120GB of off-peak data for $39.99 a month.
  • NBN Satellite 200. Includes 45GB of peak-time data and 155GB of off-peak data for $49.99 a month.
  • NBN Satellite 250. Includes 60GB of peak-time data and 190GB of off-peak data for $59.99 a month

Like most satellite providers, iiNet defines peak time as between the hours of 7am and 1am, with off-peak filling the six-hour gap between 1am and 7am.

If the default 12Mbps connection isn't fast enough, you can upgrade any of iiNet's satellite plans to an nbn 25 connection with speeds between 5Mbps and 25Mbps for an extra $5 a month.

Because latency can be an issue on satellite connections, iiNet offers a traditional landline phone service rather than a VoIP service for those wanting to bundle all their communication needs into a single plan. The basic pay-as-you-go phone service will set you back an extra $29.95 a month, while unlimited local, national and mobile calls will add $20 a month on top of that. For unlimited international calls to iiNet's 20 top countries, you'll be looking at an additional $10 a month.

Should you require one, iiNet will sell you a Wi-Fi modem for $89 if you sign up for a month-to-month satellite plan. Sign up for 24 months and iiNet will throw the modem in for free. You won't have to pay a set-up fee on a 24-month contract either, whereas signing up on a month-to-month basis will incur a one-off $99.95 activation fee. On the flipside, cancelling a 24-month contract before the full two-year term is up will mean facing an early termination charge of as much as $300.

iiNet ADSL plans


If you're one of the unlucky Aussies facing a year or more before the NBN rolls out in your area, ADSL is still likely your best choice for home Internet. At least with iiNet, when the NBN is eventually available to you, you'll be able to upgrade to an equivalently-priced NBN plan at no extra cost.

iiNet offers three ADSL plans, each of which includes home phone line rental bundled in at no extra cost. Here's what they look like:

  • ADSL2+ 500. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and 500GB of data for $59.99 a month.
  • ADSL2+ Liimitless. Includes pay-as-you-go calls and unlimited data for $79.99 a month.
  • ADSL2+ Liimitless LNM. Includes unlimited local, standard national and mobile calls within Australia along with unlimited data for $89.99 a month.

The key thing to note with iiNet's ADSL plans is that their pricing is heavily dependent on where you live. The above plans are available to anyone living within range of iiNet's ADSL network, but if you're outside that range you'll only be eligible for iiNet's off-net ADSL plans. Off-net plans are significantly more expensive and include far less data, making them practically impossible to recommend.

For more information on the extras iiNet offers on its ADSL plans, click here.

iiNet extras


Beyond its base plans, iiNet offers plenty of extras to choose from. If you make a lot of calls to friends and family overseas, for instance, an extra $10 a month will get you the International Call Pack with unlimited calls to the following 20 countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK and the USA.

Those looking to bundle an entertainment service with their Internet can take advantage of iiNet's partnership with the streaming service Fetch. For $5 extra a month on a no lock-in contract or $0 on a 24-month contract, you can upgrade your plan with a basic Fetch subscription including 30 pre-selected movies free every month. You'll still need to sign up for individual Fetch channel packs separately to access premium TV channels, however.

If you need it, iiNet will sell you an NBN-ready Wi-Fi modem for $89 with any of its no lock-in contracts. Alternatively, you'll score the modem for free if you sign up for 24 months.

Though most of its broadband plans are unlimited, you may need to watch your data usage if you opt for one of iiNet's 500GB plans. Should you use more than that 500GB in a month, though, iiNet won't charge you any excess usage fees. Instead, your Internet speeds will simply be slowed to 256kbps until the end of the current billing cycle.

Regardless of whether you sign up on a month-to-month contract or a 24-month contract, your monthly bill will be the same. On a month-to-month contract, though, you will have to pay a one-off $79.95 activation fee, while set-up is free on a 24-month contract. In exchange, signing up for a 24-month contract comes with a steep penalty of up to $300 if you cancel your service before the full two years is up.

How does iiNet compare?

With so many plans on offer, it can be difficult to weigh up how well iiNet compares with other Australian Internet providers. To make things a little simpler, we've split the plans out into categories and pitted them against the best contenders in each market.

It's also worth noting that we've used iiNet's month-to-month plans as the point of comparison, since its 24-month plans only differ in their set-up fees and the inclusion of a bare-bones Fetch service.

How do iiNet's fixed-line plans compare?
How do iiNet's fixed wireless plans compare?
How do iiNet's satellite plans compare?
How do iiNet's ADSL plans compare?

How do iiNet's fixed-line NBN plans compare?


iiNet is a little ways behind the competition in the fixed-line NBN space. Its cheapest offering – the 500GB Basic plan – clocks in quite a bit more expensive than similar 500GB plans from Spintel, Teleron or Exetel.

The one thing iiNet has going for it here is its lower minimum upfront cost, but if you factor in the cost of an NBN-ready modem, Spintel's plan works out cheaper since its minimum cost already includes the modem fee.

The results are similar at the unlimited data tier. iiNet's Liimitless plan stands out even more here, weighing in more expensive per month than unlimited NBN plans from Flip TV and Buzz Telco. The catch there, though, is that neither telco includes a phone service with its plans.

Spintel and Infinity do, however, and both their unlimited plans still work out cheaper than iiNet's:

The plans compared above are all bottom-tier nbn 12 plans, but the assessment remains valid at higher tiers thanks to some relatively consistent speed-boost pricing across different providers. Here's what the above providers charge per month to upgrade the speed of their NBN plans from the base 12Mbps:

iiNetSpintelTeleronExetelBarefoot TelecomInfinity TelcoBuzz Telco
25MbpsN/AN/A$10 extraN/AN/A$5 extra$10 extra
50Mbps$10 extra$10 extra$20 extra$5 extra$10 extra$10 extra$15 extra
100Mbps$30 extra$25 extra$30 extra$35 extra$40 extra$20 extra$20 extra

Should you plan on making regular calls with your NBN service, it's also worth comparing the pricing of unlimited call packs on competing NBN plans. Here's how iiNet's call packs compare against the competition:

iiNetSpintelTeleronHello BroadbandSouthern Phone
Unlimited local and national calls$10 extraN/A$10 extra$5 extra$10 extra
Unlimited local, national and mobile calls$20 extra$10 extraN/A$10 extra$30 extra

How do iiNet's fixed wireless NBN plans compare?


Most NBN providers don't distinguish between fixed-line and fixed wireless technologies with their NBN plans, opting instead to price them the same and simply deliver whichever is appropriate for a particular premises. iiNet, on the other hand, separates its fixed wireless plans such that there is less room to tailor a plan to suit your speed and data needs.

This leaves it at a slight disadvantage against other fixed wireless providers. Teleron and Southern Phone, for example, offer cheaper plans at the 500GB tier, with more flexibility for upgrading to higher speeds or adding on unlimited call packs:

The trend continues at the unlimited data tier. iiNet's unlimited fixed wireless plan struggles compared to the considerably cheaper offerings from Spintel, Barefoot Telecom and Flip TV:

Going all-in for a 25Mbps fixed wireless connection with unlimited local, national and mobile calls only knocks iiNet further down the ladder. Its top-tier Liimitless bundle is trumped by adding a $10 unlimited call pack onto Spintel's NBN Standard bundle, with the latter deal working out quite a bit cheaper per month. Or if you don't want to mess around with call packs, Barefoot Telecom's Mid bundle gets you the same speed and call inclusions at a lower monthly rate.

How do iiNet's NBN satellite plans compare?


Satellite Internet plans can be tough to compare since there are so many different permutations of on-peak and off-peak data caps that 1:1 comparisons aren't always possible. Nevertheless, grouping together similar plans provides a clear indication of where iiNet ranks against other Australian satellite providers.

While iiNet offers the same $5 a month upgrade from 12Mbps to 25Mbps that most other satellite providers do, its basic plans lack the value of its competitors'. Its two cheapest plans, for instance, include reasonably high off-peak data caps but only at the expense of lower peak-time data caps, making them attractive only to those who conduct most of their online business between the hours of 1am and 7am. For those who lead more regular hours, plans from SkyMesh, Clear and IPSTAR provide more data per dollar.

iiNet's satellite plans also suffer from high set-up costs on no lock-in contracts, whereas most other providers waive the set-up costs completely.

It's a similar case with iiNet's largest satellite plan. Not only do other providers offer data caps much higher than iiNet's 60GB/190GB on-peak/off-peak split, they do so at a cheaper relative price. For the same $65 a month as iiNet's plan, you can get 15GB of extra peak-time data with IPSTAR, for example. Alternatively, you could spend less per month with SkyMesh's 60GB plan and only lose 50GB of less-valuable off-peak data: