TPG moves on discounted 50Mbps NBN tier

TPG and its subsidiary internet brands are the first to publicly adopt temporary 50Mbps NBN pricing, dropping mention of the 25Mbps tier from their websites.

NBN Co earlier today released details of a 12-month promotional deal whereby the 50Mbps wholesale product will cost the same as the 25Mbps one, and retail service providers (RSPs) will get bonus bandwidth to serve these users.

RSPs were tight-lipped on whether they would adopt the promotion ahead of NBN Co’s official announcement.

The first to do so are TPG and its brands: while they all advertise their mid-tier plan using slightly different wording, their range of plans are now based on the 12Mbps, 50Mbps and 100Mbps wholesale tiers.

All have axed 25Mbps as an option. TPG said in a statement such plans had been "discontinued".

TPG users reported being able to upgrade from existing 25Mbps plans. NBN Co has also said the promotional pricing is available to new and existing NBN users, as long as the RSP agrees.

All TPG group RSPs say their new 50Mbps tier service is capable of typical evening peak speeds of 36Mbps, though they note that “FTTN/B speeds [are] to be confirmed when active".

Neither Telstra nor Optus appeared to have adopted the promotional pricing, with both still showing plans available on the 25Mbps wholesale speed tier.

Optus has a greyed-out 50Mbps option that is said to boast 30-37Mbps in typical downlink speeds.

Comment was being sought from Optus on whether it would open this to customers, using the new promotional pricing.

It is worth noting that both Telstra and Optus have recently been stung by the ACCC over a different issue around NBN speeds, and have been forced to compensate customers who were sold retail services their lines couldn’t support.

Such regulatory action could temper RSPs’ response to the newly discounted 50Mbps wholesale NBN service, since it is likely to come with raised consumer expectations that will have to be met through increased connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) bandwidth purchases.

iPrimus drops 100Mbps

Vocus-owned iPrimus has also rejigged its NBN plans, though it appears to be part of the ongoing efforts by RSPs to meet NBN product advertising standards.

As reported by iTnews, most RSPs are looking to the enforceable undertakings committed to by Telstra and Optus on how to legally deal with line speed issues, and to the ACCC’s August guidance on how to correctly advertise NBN retail plans.

iPrimus has slimmed its previous three speed profiles down to two. It has kept its ‘basic’ speed tier but renamed its ‘high performance’ tier to ‘supercharged’.

An additional tier, called ‘ultimate’ - which had been based on the 100Mbps wholesale tier - and was said to be able to support “seven or more devices” has now been dropped.