Exetel NBN plans review
Our verdict
Exetel isn’t an NBN provider you should look to for competitive pricing across its three residential plans, nor is it one of the fastest providers (though it used to be). The value of an Exetel NBN plan is found in the included modem-router and other optional inclusions that help separate it from competitors.
Good stuff
- Included modem-router
- Home phone inclusions
Bad stuff
- Doesn’t compete on price
- No longer a fast provider
Exetel NBN value for money
Better value the faster you go, but not great value compared to the competition.
Compared to other providers, Exetel isn’t exactly a provider that has competitive pricing, particularly on its slower plans. To help simplify things, Exetel only offers three NBN plans for personal use: one for NBN 25, another for NBN 50 and a final one for the NBN 100 speed tier. If you look at a list of the
cheapest NBN plans, you’ll have to scroll a bit to find Exetel somewhere in the middle.
Takes the Exetel nbn25 – Unlimited plan, for instance. It costs $69 a month for eligible customers and includes respectable 20Mbps typical evening download speeds. None of Exetel’s NBN plans have contracts, so you’re free to come and go as you please.
If you have a look at the list of plans below, you’ll see the most popular picks for NBN 25 plans. Even though this list updates daily, the chances are good you won’t see Exetel’s nbn25 – Unlimited plan on it, mostly because those seeking NBN 25 plans tend to be content to pay less.
In terms of pricing, things fare better with the $10 jump from Exetel’s NBN 25 to NBN 50 plan. The Exetel nbn50 – Unlimited plan costs $79 a month for respectable 40Mbps typical evening download speeds.
Stacked next to other providers, though, the Exetel nbn50 – Unlimited plan isn’t really competitively priced, nor is it particularly fast in terms of typical evening download speeds. For context, the same price per month gets you an Aussie Broadband NBN 50 plan with 50Mbps typical evening download speeds, and there’s a range of other providers offering cheaper, faster NBN 50 plans, too. You can see the popular NBN 50 picks below (which updates daily).
There’s a reasonable price gap between Exetel’s NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans, too. For $20 more, you can get the Exetel nbn100 – Unlimited plan for $99 per month and okay-but-not-great 77Mbps typical evening download speeds.
Even without the benefit of promotional pricing, which a handful of the top providers consistently offer, there are faster, cheaper NBN 100 plans to choose from, like Spintel, Tangerine, Superloop, TPG and Aussie Broadband. Even though the list below updates daily based on popularity, you’re likely to consistently see those providers represented but less likely to see Exetel.
How we score provider speeds
Exetel NBN features and perks
Some key perks for those who want a modem and/or landline.
While the value of Exetel NBN plans may not be stellar in comparison to the competition, they do fare better in terms of some of the included features and perks. There’s no contract and $0 setup fees, plus there’s the flexibility to pay $10 a month for an unlimited home phone bolt-on. That $10-per-month inclusion also gives you unlimited landline calls to these countries:
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Canada
- China
- Hong Kong
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Germany
- France
- Singapore
- India
- Croatia
If you don’t pay extra, you can still take advantage of pay-as-you-go landline phone calls with the following rates:
- Untimed local calls: 10 cents per call
- Untimed national calls: 10 cents per call
- Untimed 13/1300 calls: 25 cents per call
- Calls to Australian mobiles: 20 cents per minute
- Exetel to Exetel calls: free
While there are no contracts, you can keep the included free modem-router (which is also shipped to you for free) if you stick with Exetel for six months. The ZTE WiFi modem-router is a voluntary inclusion, but given the trend towards BYO modem-routers these days, this is a great optional extra for Exetel NBN plans. Even if you leave early, it’ll only cost you $79 to keep the modem-router.
The one other premium add-on is an internet connection-level protection feature called Home Secure, which starts as a two-month trial, but that trial can extend to three months if you choose to pay $6 a month (you can cancel at any time). There aren’t any other perks, though, so Exetel isn’t the provider for you if you’re after entertainment bundles, reward perks, exclusive content offers, or Superfast/Ultrafast NBN.
Exetel NBN customer support and satisfaction
A decent range of support options but mixed customer satisfaction.
If things go wrong, there are plenty of ways to get in touch with Exetel’s customer support. While you won’t find any Exetel bricks-and-mortar stores, online chat service, or customer forums, you can reach Exetel via responsive Facebook or Twitter chat, or you can call them directly on 13 39 38. There is an account login for monitoring usage called My Exetel, but that’s less relevant on unlimited-data plans, though it can also be used to monitor costs, see past invoices, change plans or pay your bill.
In terms of customer satisfaction, user reviews on sites like Product Review and Trustpilot paint different pictures. Of the 6,000+ reviews on Trustpilot, more than half are either excellent (five stars) or great (four stars). The 1,350+ reviews on Product Review, though, have the majority of reviews at one star, with average scores for value for money, low scores for customer service and transparency, and more people than not saying the speeds are inadequate.
To put all of that into context, though, averaging these scores out still sees Exetel in the top 10 of the providers in our internal ranking system.
How to sign up for Exetel NBN
You’ve got a couple of straightforward options for signing up with Exetel NBN. Either hit the ‘Go’ button on the corresponding Exetel NBN plan below that tickles your fancy, or head directly to the Exetel website to select one of the three plans.
Punch in your address to confirm availability, select the NBN plan that best suits your home’s internet needs, then select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for your preferred optional inclusions: free modem, home phone service and Home Secure subscription. You’ll see all of the fees and inclusions outlined at the bottom of the page; then click on ‘Order Now’ when you’re ready to go.
Exetel NBN plans
You can see all three of Exetel’s NBN residential plans below, across NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 speed tiers.
How do I cancel Exetel NBN?
If you’ve got jack of Exetel or simply aren’t eligible for Exetel NBN/internet at your new address, cancelling is pretty straightforward. Just email one of the following email addresses from your account-nominated email address and request to cancel:
- residentialsales@exetel.com.au
- residentialsupport@exetel.com.au
Otherwise, you can give Exetel a buzz on 13 39 38 and talk to somebody over the phone. Exetel is one of the better providers when it comes to managing phone support expectations. Over on the Exetel website, you will find a live estimate of waiting time and the number of people in the queue in front of you.
These guys are a classic, quoting low prices up front and then stinging you for backend charges. They are attempting to whack me with a penalty fee of 25% of the monthly internet service charge following a failure of their payment system. I have raised a dispute and they have cut off my service. I have paid all of my monthly service fees and have no service. Really?
There are so many Internet service providers these days, so I recommend you choose one that looks after you like a genuinely valuable customer, rather than penalising you for their own failure.
Stay away or suffer 🙂