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TPG NBN 100 plan only hits 50Mbps at peak times as 25Mbps plan killed off

The telco has responded to the NBN wholesale price changes by removing its 25Mbps plan and revealing typical evening speeds.
Written by Chris Duckett, Contributor
Wholesale Speed Telstra Optus TPG stable Aussie BB
12Mbps 7Mbps 7Mbps 10.6Mbps 5-12Mbps
25Mbps 15Mbps 15Mbps 21.3Mbps
15-25Mbps
50Mbps 30Mbps 30Mbps

36Mbps

30-50Mbps
100Mbps 60Mbps 60Mbps 50Mbps 60-100Mbps

Typical evening speeds of NBN RSPs

TPG said it has low-balled its broadband speeds during evening times as it complies with new ACCC labelling directions issued in August.

Under the ACCC rules, telcos need to disclose the typical speeds experienced between 7pm and 11pm by consumers, rather than labelling plans with the size of the NBN Ethernet Bitstream Service, in an effort to better inform consumers and allow plans between retailers to be compared properly.

The fact that speeds experienced on the NBN do not match the speeds users are sold can be blamed in part on the use of copper in the fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-basement networks, and also on retailers not purchasing enough connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) bandwidth from NBN. In July, NBN CEO Bill Morrow said the average bit rate per user on the network was approximately 1Mbps.

This week, TPG adjusted its website to conform with new labelling, and revealed the typical evening speeds across its plans. For a 12Mbps service, the typical speed is 10.6Mbps, while the 50Mbps plan gets 36Mbps in evenings, and its 100Mbps service can only get half of what is advertised, with 50Mbps a typical evening speed.

"At this time, we've been conservative with our typical evening speeds," TPG COO Craig Levy said. "We expect that our typical evening speed values will increase when we have more data recorded as per ACCC guidelines."

Following an announcement from NBN on Wednesday that it would be discounting its 50Mbps plans by 27 percent, TPG said it had moved to kill off its 25Mbps plans, as its new 50Mbps plans would sit at the same price point.

"As a result of NBN Co adjusting their wholesale prices, we have adjusted our retail plans across our brands, resulting in faster speeds at cheaper price points," Levy said.

TPG said its customers can move to the new plan via the usual plan-changing process.

Stablemate ISP Internode, which still retains a 25Mbps plan, said the typical evening speed for the 25Mbps plan is 21.3Mbps.

Across the other major retailers, Optus has said its 12Mbps plan gets 7Mbps at peak times, 25Mbps users receive 15Mbps in evenings, 50Mbps plans get 30Mbps speeds, and the 100Mbps plan typically receives 60Mbps.

Telstra, which recently disclosed it uses automated weekly reviews to make sure it is buying enough CVC, has said its 12Mbps users are typically sitting at 7Mbps during evenings, 25Mbps has 15Mbps, 50Mbps gets 30Mbps, and 100Mbps plan users receive 60Mbps in peak periods.

Meanwhile, retailer Aussie Broadband has merely given a range of speeds, rather than an exact measurement.

Both Telstra and Optus in recent months have had to give enforceable undertakings to the ACCC and issue refunds to users of fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-building services on the National Broadband Network for being sold speeds that were not technically possible on the user's connection.

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