Exetel NBN plans review

Exetel is one of the rare NBN providers that includes a modem-router, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Exetel
Exetel NBN
3 out of 5 stars
3
Modem
ZTE Gigabit WiFi-6 MESH 1800Mbps Modem
Price
from $59.95 per month for NBN 12
Contract
no contract plans
Kate Reynolds
Apr 26, 2022
Icon Time To Read2 min read
Our verdict

Exetel isn’t an NBN provider you should look to for competitive pricing across its NBN plans, nor is it one of the fastest providers (though it used to be). Still, promotional pricing does help give Exetel a competitive advantage.

pro
Pros
pro Competitive speeds
pro Home phone inclusions
con
Cons
con Doesn't compete on price

Exetel NBN: Value for money

One plan to rule them all

Exetel recently overhauled its entire approach to NBN pans, scrapping its roster of NBN 25, NBN 50, NBN 100 and NBN 250 plans in favor of a single NBN 1000 plan called the One Plan.

Priced at $80 per month, the Exetel One Plan is only be available to customers with a HFC or FTTP connection and offers typical download speeds of up to 500Mpbs and upload speeds of up to 40Mbps. There's no promo pricing here, but the baseline is pretty competitive.

For a sense of how this plan compares to other NBN 1000 plans in price and performance, check out the widget below.

Info Box
How we score provider speeds
NBN providers self-report the typical evening download speeds you can expect when using their service. Providers get in strife with the ACCC if they misrepresent these averages. These speeds are represented in megabits per second (Mbps) and tend to be below the maximum potential download speed of a plan (with the exception of Telstra). The closer those self-reported download speeds are to the maximum speed potential of a plan, the higher our score for speed.

Exetel NBN: Features and perks

Set your internet to Warp Speed when needed

Although Exetel used to pair its NBN plans with a pretty robust set of perks and features, the provider's recent pivot to a 'one plan' strategy has left most of those bells and whistles by the wayside.

That's not to say are zero perks here though. To start with, there's no contract and $0 setup frees. Then, you can pay for a Warp Speed add-on to temporarily boost your typical evening speeds up to 811Mbps for an extra $1 per day. Lastly, if you refer a friend, both you and them will save $1 on the cost of your internet. 

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.

Exetel NBN FAQs

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.

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.

Exetel was founded officially in Sydney, Australia, back in 2001, although early iterations of the company began in the 1990s. In 2021, telecommunications group Superloop acquired Exetel.

They sure do! In fact, we have a whole article on Exetel phone plans right here.

Kate Reynolds
Written by
Kate Reynolds is a writer who's at her happiest when there's haloumi on the brunch menu and a dog to give pats to. She's worked as a travel writer, journalist, theatre reviewer, broadcaster and radio creative, and spends her weekends with as much of the aforementioned haloumi and dogs as possible. She writes on Cammeraygal and Wangal land.