Aussie Broadband Becoming Too Expensive? Alternatives?

I have been with AussieBroadband (NBN 50/20) for a rather long time - and no doubt they attend to and resolve issues rather quick. Despite them being slightly more expensive than other ISP's, I have been willing to pay the slight premium over others.

At that stage, it was perhaps a $5 difference a month.

Reviewing all available plans now, ABB is charging $79 for the 50/20 plan whereas others are having promotional offers of around $55-60 a month - this is almost a 30% price difference - which, to me, is significant.

Trying to do the right thing, instead of just jumping ship immediately, I thought I would reach out to ABB to see whether they are able to offer anything to reduce this price gap - be it on a time based promotional offer or not. Hence I sent an email out.

And this is the reply I received (direct copy+paste from email):

Unfortunately, we do not have any active promotions regarding existing customers, so the best we can offer you at the moment is $10 off per month for 12 months.

You are correct in that some providers have cheaper plans than we do at present, and that is because you are not just paying for the internet service, but also our customer service. If this $10 offer is not enough for you, and you do not value customer service as highly as you do whatever is cheapest, we wish you the best.

I certainly do not appreciate the last sentence in their response.

  • If I did not value customer service, I would not have reached out to them in the first place

  • It seems to me that ABB might be over their head thinking "they are big" and able to charge a significant premium over others?

What say you fellow Ozbargainers?

Time to walk?

or still worth the premium?

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Comments

      • A bit of both. I did use them before Superloop. I also did see someone (here or whirlpool) post information on the links they were using and it seemed a lot better than others. I haven’t used Telstra, but from what I’ve heard, I believe they are really really good, but again, massive premium.

  • +1

    More broadband 50/20 for $69 (discount for CBA card) . ongoing and don't need to churn providers. works for me

  • +5

    and you do not value customer service as highly as you do whatever is cheapest, we wish you the best.

    Even if I did, I'd transfer to another provider out of spite with a response like that :)

    I just switched from Exetel to Tangerine.
    NBN transfers are so easy I have no idea why you wouldnt jump around every 6-12 months anyway (if you're marginally tech savy enough to change a PPPOE password if applicable in your modem)

  • +1

    I'd just go the 6 month discount offers, it's very simple, no stress.

  • +2

    It seems to me that ABB might be over their head thinking "they are big" and able to charge a significant premium over others?

    Are they swimming with money though? It sure doesn't really seem like it.
    Their 1st half of the year was only $8.x million in profit which works out to being $10 per service they have (not limited to NBN but mobile/voice/backhaul etc.)
    Then when you divide the $10 by 6 for a monthly profit it's a grand total of $1.70! So if they dropped all services by the profit then your $79 drops to $77.30 per month.

    Once all core network upgrades are complete and their required investment spend drops then you can argue they are a greedy company. But that is still a few years away so what should they do in the meantime?

    • +14

      what should they do in the meantime?

      Maybe not be dicks to their customers…

      • +7

        Do you really think ending a conversation with a customer who keeps saying "but i can get it elsewhere cheaper" with the gentle encouragement that many they should go elsewhere is being a dick?:

        • +2

          Yes particularly as they are a listed company now and on the ASX.
          So the number one goal should be to just billed a huge customer list that they can then flog for a few billion a few years later to a private investment firm.
          They aren't a small company anymore so they need to grow the business as much as possible and make money for shareholders. Those are who matter now.
          They shouldn't be pissing off customers though as they aren't as big as Telstra.

      • +1

        Agreed. But It would be no skin off their nose to give say a 3 month free voucher for "customer service training deficiencies"- it enables everyone to be happy- all save face and never admit fault. Everyone knows customer service is spotty and generally mediocre no matter what industry. And everyone knows how hard it is to find good staff trainers.

    • +1

      IMHO your concept of their business model is flawed- in general companies borrowed more money than they need and intend to repay it quicker for a bonus, especially the interest savings. If they're clever, that have budgeted for an opening season of many rainy days before their plant begins to bear fruit- which is what any competent CFO would have enacted. There are also tax benefits to operating at a loss too. Or they may operate at a loss deliberately to offload their much increased in value since day 1 company, essentially capital gains but for a business concept, not a tangible product. Those people like Bryan Johnson who made a lot of add-ons for e-commerce were bought out millions to the dollar. Now their weirdness is financially enabled, but that's another story.

  • I have just done the same with Exetel but no reply to date.
    Found better deals with Flipconnect and Futurebroadband
    Reconfiguring the modem for the not so tech savvy like myself would be the only issue

    • +2

      This depends on the technology the provider uses for their network if its PPPoE then just a matter of entering a username and password into the modem and away you go. Otherwise if its DHCP / Auto just a matter of choosing Auto or DHCP in your Router and away you go as the connection is automatically configured.
      So not much in the way of customer service even needed from your ISP.
      I would argue the only providers that really need to provide actual customer service are those offering business grade services where an onsite tech is required to configure things. For those who aren't tech savvy.

  • +8

    I have just churned from ABB to superloop based on this thread.

    • +4

      Thinking of doing the same after reading that arrogant BS comment from ABB.
      I bought shares in ABB when they floated.
      As a shareholder, you don't get any dividends or preferential fees for being a customer.
      But if that is their attitude towards long term customers, then I'm thinking, time to go.

  • +14

    people are so sensitive about someone saying 'we charge more but we are better'. Its amusing because so many other complaints are about cheap but poor customer service yet no one seems to identify the links…

    Customer service is why you pay less for a takeaway bain marie plastic container than you do for exactly the same food if you sit down in the restaurant and order from the waiter. Dont want the service then dont pay for it. But dont complain that the restaurant charges more and is up front about charging more because it gives you something extra

    • +6

      Agree, I was with ABB for the service.
      I don't see their response can be called good customer service/communications.
      Happy to pay for a good service, unhappy to pay premium and not get premium, I have churned,
      Took about 1 hour, no touch and up and running.

      • +5

        Happy to pay for a good service

        What service do you need?

        I haven't needed to contact my provider in 3 years now….

    • +4

      Customer service is why you pay less for a takeaway bain marie plastic container than you do for exactly the same food if you sit down in the restaurant and order from the waiter. Dont want the service then dont pay for it.

      Equating a restaurant where actual customer "service" is required, with an internet provider where for the vast majority of people is set and forget is laughable. If you needed to contact them every week then maybe you'd have a valid comparison, but in reality the "customer service" aspect of an internet provider is well down on the list of requirements for most people.

    • +6

      Instead of saying

      If this $10 offer is not enough for you, and you do not value customer service as highly as you do whatever is cheapest, we wish you the best.

      They could have said

      "We are proud to offer quality customer service and all our staff are employed locally, this means our costs are higher. We hope this offer encourages you to remain with our service."

      Being arrogant is not good customer service. I've been denied requests from many companies and continue to do business with them, I recieved a snarky message like this from Kogan (when they shipped me the wrong size sim) and have refused to buy anything from them for over a decade.

      I would also think twice before paying extra for "good customer service" when it's delivered with arrogance. The indian call centre operator is also just as capable in explaining how to setup a modem.

      • -7

        I recieved a snarky message like this from Kogan (when they shipped me the wrong size sim) and have refused to buy anything from them for over a decade.

        Last time I checked, Ruslan Kogan is still one of the richest people in the country, and you're still a nobody on OzBargain who doesn't know how to spell "received", so I'd say you're the one with the unearned arrogance. I'm sure Kogan loses sleep over not having you as a customer.

        I don't get this whole "ego" thing - I shop for the cheapest prices. The idea that you would boycott a store because a customer service rep was once not the nicest to you seems childish.

        • +1

          That's fine. I have principles that are more important than money.

  • +1

    I just switched to Optus with the flybuys offer: https://www.optus.com.au/fixed/flybuys?source=flybuys_metro_…

    $79 per month for 100mbs and 30,000k points after 3 months. Hopefully they don't share my address on the dark web again.

    When I get the points I'll switch again.

  • +9

    Personally, I will be staying with ABB for the foreseeable future.

    I do think the last sentence is a bit off, although can understand that a common response to their offer otherwise will threaten "I will leave if you can't do $X" - they're pre-empting that with - if you don't think our offer is any good, don't waste our time and goodbye.

    • +6

      I can see where you are coming from.

      But good customer service (which is what they pride themselves with and hence justifying their premium on) would not be pre-empting a customer's response and think the worse of them.

      I reached out to them in good faith and really not expected them to even MATCH the price of others. It probably would not have left any sour taste too if they simply said "all we can do is a $10 discount unfortunately" - afterall, it's their business call to make and I can respect that.

      Of course, this could also be a once off from an employee who "spoke too quickly".

      • +8

        It'd be interesting to see what your email to them was, prior to that response

        • Here you go… this is a copy+paste of my email reaching out to them…


          Hi,

          I am currently on the 50/20 NBN Unlimited plan that is costing $79 per month.

          Most other ISPs are now offering much better deals at much lower costs - for
          an initial promotion period of 6 months and then moving to a higher rate that
          is still lower than $79 per month.

          I have been happy with my NBN with AussieBB and would really love to stay on
          if not for the price.

          Is there anything that you could offer?

          Thank you


      • -1

        Í agree- an outreach from them blaming "customer service training difficulties" and say a 3-month charge free or 3 month credit on next bill are super cheap "good on ya"- that saves face, admits fault without taking responsibility and customer left happy or at least incentivised to continue especially on that tasty 12 months for 9 offer. We have a lot of idiots who need training in the States in how to run businesses, customer service, basic civility, etc. One angry lost customer is how many potential lost sales- at least 2 their sibling and parents.

        • We have a lot of idiots who need training in the States in how to run businesses, customer service, basic civility, etc. One angry lost customer is how many potential lost sales- at least 2 their sibling and parents.

          I've spent loads of time in the States, and (one of the) the last thing(s) I want is their ass-kissing customer service practices encouraged over here. All it does is encourage customer entitlement and rampant over-consumerism.

  • -1

    superloop

  • +5

    Even if they matched the cheapest ISP, I'd walk based on that last sentence.

  • I wouldn't care about the wording of an email, but if you do, then take it as an opportunity to try other providers. Is Aussie worth paying extra to you, or can you get much the same cheaper, and or faster?

    50/20 is no longer NBN's darling. They are trying to get people off that and on to 100/20. So don't expect 50/20 bargains any time soon.

    I had a MyRepublic phone rep be quite combative with me about a bill/contract period once. I didn't blame MR, just the rep. When I threatened him with a TIO dispute, he put me on hold, spoke to someone else, then changed his tone with me.

  • +4

    Just churn between different ISP's to save $$$ by taking advantage of the various 'New User' offers (eg. X amount off per month for the first 3 months)

    These days there's absolutely no loyalty from ISP's (and pretty much every company) to keep existing customers, doesn't matter if you have been a customer for 6 weeks or 16 years you're painted with the same brush. If there's no loyalty from the supplier to you then reciprocate that loyalty.

    • I agree and add that there's no compulsion nor accountability. An unforeseen downside to easy credit.

  • +2

    If only @Aussiebroadband was still around to comment, maybe they could have sweetened the deal (and provided the discount to all of OzBargain)!

    • +6

      They say their price difference is due to customer service, but they abandoned OzBargain entirely in 2021?

      Yeah ok.

      I'm more and more convinced ABB is slowly going the way of Telstra and the like.

  • +3

    I'm paying $155 for 1000/50 FTTP with a static IP from ABB. Never had an issue and will likely stay with them for the foreseeable future. You get what you pay for.

  • +8

    My take on that last line, everyone has a #1 priority, and if price is yours, ABB is not the group for you, nothing offensive about that.
    I'm with ABB and happy to pay the extra because their response times and communication are top-notch, I permanently WFH, so I value their customer service for a bit more a month over the numerous other ISPs I've been with over the years.

  • +1

    I switched from ABB to Tangerine. I'm on 1000/50, $149 ABB down to $100 for the first 6 months then $130pm on Tangerine. Speed is almost as good as ABB & no drop outs thus far & we often have 3+ people gaming online at once.

    • hmmmm sounds interesting

    • Very happy with Tangerine. I churn, but back after 6 months. Usually better speeds, especially overseas. 600Mbps to some USA sites each time I check (on 1000/50 plan) plus a static IP - yay.

  • +4

    ABB is worth every cent IMO. Last week, out of the blue, I received a call from ABB Support, asking if I wanted to log a fault with NBN, as they (ABB) had noticed my speeds weren't up to scratch. Seemed fine to me, but on checking router I was down around 25% on usual connection.
    Point is, in 20 plus years of ADSL/NBN, I've never ever had someone from an ISP reach out to me, without me having to first contact them.

    tl;dr Excellent customer service, worth the price.

    • +4

      Something to consider, you had a 25% drop in speed but you didn't notice, clearly blazing fast speeds 24/7 is not something you need, you could easily switch to a competent yet less 'premium' provider and save some considerable cash - unless saving money isn't important to you but then why would you be on Ozbargain?

      • Far too logical you are, user name doesn’t check out!

  • +4

    How sensitive are you to be so easily offended by their closing point? I'll translate it for you.

    If you're buying based solely on price, see ya later.

    I'd you walked to a Mercedes showroom and said you wanted a Merc at a Toyota price, what do you think they'll say?

    Move on and get over it.

    • +5

      Without knowing what OP sent to them prior either, who knows the context.

      • +1

        Here you go… this is a copy+paste of my email reaching out to them…


        Hi,

        I am currently on the 50/20 NBN Unlimited plan that is costing $79 per month.

        Most other ISPs are now offering much better deals at much lower costs - for
        an initial promotion period of 6 months and then moving to a higher rate that
        is still lower than $79 per month.

        I have been happy with my NBN with AussieBB and would really love to stay on
        if not for the price.

        Is there anything that you could offer?

        Thank you


        • +1

          Fair, that's very reasonable vs the response you got, which seemed worded more as if your email had been aggressive

          • +1

            @buckster: Yep, that was an unprofessional "Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out" response from ABB - vote with your wallet OP and move on.

    • +3

      I think the problem is its poorly worded for a professional business. Mustn't have come from Marketing or PR.

      It should have said something to the effect of, while price is always an important factor in any deicision, ABB different from competition through award winning australian based customer service, reliable broadband so your connected when it matters most and knowledgeable IT engineers and support personel to ensure any problems you have are resolved quickly and timely.

    • This analogy makes perfect sense.
      Toyota's being the equivalent to Mercedes in a fair few cases similar to ABB being the same as Internode, Belong, Exetel etc but Mercedes being extremely overpriced for what you get. It's literally how they do their pricing, it doesn't make them any better whatsoever.

    • +1

      I'd you walked to a Mercedes showroom and said you wanted a Merc at a Toyota price, what do you think they'll say?

      I walked to a vw showroom and told why should I buy the vw model when I get a similar package from next door mercedes. Its been 2 years since that time and im very happy with the tiguan i bought 🤣.

      • Noice. That's the way it's done. I image your voice is basso profundo too.

    • +2

      So you will walk into a Mercedes showroom and not even asking what their best price would be?

      And if you do ask, their immediate response is that if you're worried about price, you could go elsewhere - you would not get offended?

      interesting…

  • +2

    Walk on by, too big and too arrogant.

  • +2

    Personally, I think some are being oversensitive to the comments. It is an honest straight shooting comment and they've offered you a discount for reaching out. They are running a business that is suddenly regards as the benchmark in the industry, that benchmark comes at a cost. They are both providing an incentive but also giving their clear and honest productive. My thoughts, don't be so sensitive.

    • +2

      The tone can be read as snarky or passive aggressive - not exactly what you'd be going for if you're a company priding itself on customer service. It also wasn't even necessary. The email could have been ended on a positive note, not what basically amounts to "if you don't like it, see ya".

  • +3

    I actually think that's a good response from them.

  • If their Customer Service is truly needed, catch 22, why stay with a supplier that has service/supply issues?

    Eg Kogan is cheaper, still has a Customer Service person to live person center, I do not know where that is based, but the first set up call x 2 and new modem(from house Fire) reset up call 5 yrs apart were the only 3 phone calls and nil issues that I am aware of although I am sure we all need to reboot the modems once every few months.

    The Plan and the supplied max available speeds available(copper after the node) were near spot on, but being 3Mbs lower than Plan a refund was in an email, so fair as well(even if pushed into doing so).

    So, if the higher cost suppliers are chosen for the Customer Service, is their supplied service just not that good in the first place to need such valued Customer Service?

    I don't get it.

  • +2

    I'm with ABB for $149/month. It's a joke how expensive they've become.

    • +4

      It's a joke how expensive they’ve become

      I’d say it’s a joke how you say you’re still with them 🫣

    • +3

      I'm with ABB for $149/month. It's a joke how expensive they've become.

      A joke that's on you.

    • Well who's the idiot who doesn't churn to a different provider then?

  • I have ABB for my parents and they’ve been fine, the occasional planned/unplanned outage but it’s communicated via email/text so there has been no reason to call up really.

    I was on Superloop at my place and also no major issues with reliability/speed/connectivity/outages, however I needed to cancel the service when moving out and the only way at the time was to call them up. Was on hold for almost 2 hours before getting through to someone who could action this.

  • +2

    I moved to Origin Broadband from ABB. Same service, from what I can see just a white label ABB. Same dashboard, notifications and reliable service. Was a bit cheaper for me a month and came with a streaming offer

  • Same here. And I got a lot better than $10 off per month. Contact them via a third party and you will do better again than what Origin themselves can offer.

  • Im with Internode NBN i dont know if they are better or cheaper but they have been ok

    Ive heard superloop is good value im too lazy to change tbh

  • If anyone has a extel referral, let me know please via PM :)

  • Aussie Broadband Becoming Too Expensive?

    Yes

    Alternatives?

    I switched to more internet through comm bank promotion.

    ——

    The only thing(s) that matter for me is can you be excluded from cgnat crap and if they got 100/40 (or better at reasonable price)

  • Service and more cvc than most providers. The cheap ones aren't great at peak, as they over load.

    ABB are expensive, but I will continue to use them as long as their call centre is in Australia. The moment they offshore, it'll be adios!

    • What if it moves to Mexico?

      • Won't be adios, but rather tacos!

  • +2

    Never used customer service for nbn ever, why pay for more if your in the same position

    • +1

      Maybe coz ABB provides inconsistent internet and you need to call them every month but whenever you do you feel like the CS is great? Shrugs….

  • +1

    My recommendation is LeapTel at this time, for anyone concerned you can turn CGNAT off in the member portal.

  • NBN Internet is just a commodity, once its up its up and it does not matter who is the provider.

    Compare deals on finder or similar sites and switch. I am on Dodo 50/25 plan and after a six month promo they raised rates and I explained them that there is no way I will way one cent more than the intro rate else I can switch in a day. they gave me another six months discount and asked me to call back to get another promo before this one expires.

    • +5

      This is not correct, the NBN is not like gas coming to your house where it doesn't matter who you pay. Research NBN CVC bandwidth and POI's. You can pay 2 different providers for a 100/20 plan and end up with 2 very different experiences (worst case scenario I have had providers speeds drop to less than a mb during congestion). Didn't neg you, just something to be aware of.

      • OK. thank you for the info, I will research , idid not know that as never faced issue with cheaper provider so far (Thankfully)

    • +2

      Nope, overseas speeds vary from one provider to the next with the cheaper providers almost always having the slower speeds.

  • I'm paying $99 for 100/20 (AussieBB) and I get that speed incomparison to say Tangerine when I got 20/5 when I paid for 100/20. AussieBB has not always been fast to respond but they do and get it done. Sometimes you have to put your money where your mouth is and pay for better service full stop.

    • +1

      I get the mindset and have also been burnt by Tangerine/any provider using Vocus really. The $10-$20 saving per month doesn't seem worth it if the service isn't consistently great. Superloop and Leaptel have been just as good as Aussie Broadband in my experience so far though, for less $$.

  • +3

    So how do we regular AussieBB users get the $10's off?

  • Origin Broadband is the same as Aussie but cheaper

    • Like it's literally the same infrastructure and staff? Or you reckon it's the same level of performance and service?

      • Not sure about the staff but it's the Aussie infrastructure/network. Edit: Just looked it up and it's the same customer service too. Everything is the same as Aussie except for the marketing.

  • +3

    long ABB customers, and since last year moved to superloop, never look back. you should do the same, superloop also sends you an email when your 6 month promotion period almost ends and offers you a discount, just call their retention team and they will put you back to the promotion price right away.

    • Ha, thanks for the tip. I'm quite happy with Superloop and didn't want to have to churn next month. If I can keep paying $99 for 250/25 in perpetuity I'd be happy enough with that.

  • +1

    I was with Aussie. Not so sure about their 'Australian customer service'. Placed an order for a future date a few years ago. On the activation day, i didnt have the router as they 'forgot' to send the router on time. Then, they sent it to the wrong address! I was out of internet for more than a week because of their mistakes. Since then i also used Vodafone and Exetel. No issues with Vodafone or Exetel. I dont see any difference in performance or outage compared to Aussie and I am saving around $20.

  • +1

    Customer service for internet connection, seriously how often do you really need to contact customer services unless your internet is playing up like a Yo Yo. The only reason people on ABB is for those internet gamers that want fast n stable connection while they're gaming. There is no such thing as loyalty in 2023. So I would chung as soon possible :)

  • +2

    I went from Aussie Broadband (100/20 for $99) to Leaptel (500/50 for $109, 12 month promo) and have no complaints. Definitely better value for money as far as the speeds go.

  • +5

    Can’t believe people are defending the response.

    It’s not that hard!!!!! Offer the discount as a goodwill gesture and recognition of loyalty.

    Yes local and good customer service is great to have but let’s be honest, you’re not going to be speaking with them each week - so the agent guilt tripping OP is way out of line.

    • +3

      Wish banks will offer goodwill interest rate cuts on loans

      • That’s why people should leave their banks, ditch them for it! Same with ABB, ditch them for the same reason

        • it was kinda a joke because loyalty doesn't pay

  • +2

    I think it's unfair to compare their ongoing price with promo offers from others.

    They offered you a $10 discount for threatening to walk? I think that's amazing, and their response was perfectly reasonable. Just because they're a business doesn't need they mean to kiss your feet at all times. I reckon it is totally fair to tell you their best offer, and wish you the best if it's not good enough to keep your around.

    I agree with others: ABB is worth the premium.

  • I think you're being too sensitive, they gave you an offer for a reduction, and remained polite. They explained they can't match a competitor offer because they have a higher level of service being offered. Why are you offended?

  • +1

    If you know how to enter an username and password on your routers pppoe page, that's all the "technical prowess" you need to switch providers.

    I've almost never had to call an ISP for "service". The one or two times I did end up having to call them in the past 5 years or so didn't seem like a reason to pay a premium every month. Especially if the service they offered I involved a "pineapple with no lubrication" type of emails like the one you've received.

    I play the occasional fps shooter game and work from home a lot of days, and the internet gets used by several other devices at the same including 4k Netflix, YouTube and so on. I've never felt like "oh, this would have been better with another provider" in all these years.

    I would move on to another provider after they are being total dicks like this, but that's me.

  • That's a good offer, considering Optus dont gaf about loyal discounts much anymore. I should be ready to leave n engage their retention team, if that's still a thing

  • You’re paying the lazy tax if you stay.

    Just keep churning every 6m.

    The differences are minimal if your have FTTP

    I’ve been through Launtel, Spintel, Superloop, Exetel & Tangerine mostly on 100/~20mbps

    Launtel by far was fastest, reliable & great service outlier, but pricey.

    • -5

      No, you're supporting an Australian company if you stay.

      Churning to an international provider just funnels all that money elsewhere and employs people in international call centers, not Australians. And for what? $10?

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