I've been paying way too much for NBN—Spintel is offering NBN 250 for just AU$80 a month, which is less than what I'm paying for a much slower connection

Earlier this year my internet provider jacked up the monthly cost of my NBN 50 plan to AU$85 a month. It came as a shock, not least because I hadn't been paying attention to how much I was over-spending on a slow connection. As you can probably gather, I'm not a power user—I work from home, but I don't generally stream much, and I'm more than happy to wait half-a-day for big games to download (I'm old, you see).

But today I'm reminded that it's well-worth checking in on what you're paying for internet regularly. While browsing for an alternative, I found an absolute banger of a Spintel deal. For AU$80 a month I could be getting an NBN 250 connection with 240Mbps typical evening download speeds. That's less than what I'm paying for NBN 50 at the moment, and not only that, the AU$80 per month isn't an introductory offer: that's what you'll pay for the life of the plan.

Just to expand on that: usually most worthwhile NBN deals are introductory offers. I fully expected that AU$80 to be an introductory offer that would then rise to, say, AU$95 per month after six months. But that is not the case here, which, frankly, is kinda bizarre value.

Spintel NBN 250: AU$80 at WhistleOut AU

For AU$80 a month you can get a fast NBN 250 connection for the price of what some other providers charge for an NBN 50 connection. This one boasts 240Mbps evening speeds, and 22Mbps upload speeds. Data is unlimited, and there are no setup costs providing you already have a compatible modem. You'll need an HFC or FTTP connection to take advantage of NBN 250 connections.

Yearly cost: AU$960

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While the NBN 250 plan is the most impressive in terms of what competitors are offering, Spintel's NBN 1000 price is also noteworthy. This gigabit plan offers a typical evening speed of 750Mbps (42Mbps uploads) and will set you back AU$90 a month. And again, that's not an introductory offer: that's "life of plan".

Spintel NBN 1000: AU$90 at WhistleOut AU

For an extra AU$10 a month you can upgrade from NBN 250 to NBN 1000 with Spintel. Advertised speeds are 750Mbps by evening, and the plan includes unlimited data. Assuming you've already got a modem, it's free to connect, and there are no lock-in contracts.

Yearly cost: AU$1,080

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Note that if you've got a FTTN connection (fibre to the node) you won't be able to enjoy speeds any higher than what an NBN 100 connection provides. That said, FTTP is slowly but surely rolling out nationwide, and many households now qualify for a free upgrade.

If you're keen to do more research or check out some other plans, check out our guide to the best NBN plans for gaming.