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iiNet to offer NBN satellite services

iiNet plans to offer services on the interim National Broadband Network (NBN) satellite service later this month.
Written by Josh Taylor, Contributor

iiNet plans to offer services on the interim National Broadband Network (NBN) satellite service later this month.

The Interim Satellite Service offers peak download speeds of up to 6 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 1 megabit per second. It is designed to handle up to 200,000 customers, and will be in place until 2015, when NBN Co plans to launch two new satellites.

iiNet's plan will set customers back $49.95 per month (or $39.95 when bundled with a home phone) and comes equipped with 20GB of data per month.

Although iiNet only offers one plan, it appears to be much cheaper than those on offer by the current satellite service providers, Activ8me, Ant, BorderNet, Clear Networks, Harbour IT, Reachnet and SkyMesh. Although these telcos have a wider variety of plans, approximately 20GB of monthly data will set customers back anywhere between $59.95 and $90.

This is the last piece of the NBN puzzle for iiNet, with the telco already offering fibre services in the first release sites, and planning to trial NBN Co's fixed-wireless long-term evolution (LTE) service soon.

"We've been active supporters of the NBN from day one, and the introduction of these new satellite services means that those Australians living and working in regional or remote areas can now enjoy the benefits that come with faster and more reliable internet access from an award-winning service provider," CEO Michael Malone said in a statement.

"For us as a business, we're particularly pleased that we can now offer our customers much improved services, in geographic areas we couldn't previously reach."

iiNet-owned Internode today also announced new plans for ADSL2+ including a new 1.2TB plan for $139.95 unbundled. The company has cut the price of its 300GB plans by $10, and has introduced a new 60GB plan that is $10 more than its 30GB plan.

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