Foxtel NBN explained

There are plenty of adjectives when it comes to NBN, but pretty much all of them have to do with technology types or equipment provided by NBN Co. Then along comes Foxtel NBN. Foxtel may be partly owned by Telstra, but Foxtel NBN is a different offering to Telstra NBN. Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved.

While NBN providers like Aussie Broadband and iiNet offer Fetch TV bundles that you add on to an NBN package, Foxtel NBN is designed the other way around. While Foxtel NBN is built around Foxtel, it thankfully doesn’t skimp on the NBN part. Foxtel NBN plans come with a high-speed Foxtel modem, which boasts some smart features like beamforming (faster speeds to individual devices) and QoS (intelligent bandwidth sharing). The Foxtel modem also doesn’t have an additional fee if you sign up for a 24-month plan.

Technically, Foxtel’s internet falls under the ‘Foxtel Broadband’ banner, which means it also includes ADSL2+ for homes that can still connect to that ageing broadband technology. In terms of Foxtel NBN, homes connected via Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP), Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) or Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) are specifically listed as eligible for the service, though every NBN connection technology outside of NBN satellite should be supported.

So, if you are curious to see if you’re eligible, select a plan and input your address on the Foxtel website. If it’s unavailable at your address, you can also input your details here to express interest in Foxtel NBN and they’ll get in touch if it becomes available in your area.

These days, all Foxtel NBN plans are built on NBN 50 foundations, which offer 50Mbps self-reported typical evening download speeds and come with unlimited data. At the time of writing, there were five Foxtel NBN bundles available:

• Unlimited Broadband + Platinum Plus
• Unlimited Broadband + Premium
• Unlimited Broadband + Sports HD
• Unlimited Broadband + Movies HD
• Unlimited Broadband + Foxtel Plus

The base cost for the Foxtel NBN part is $65 per month for the first two plans and a $75 monthly fee for the next three options. From here, the prices vary depending on which Foxtel entertainment options you want included. The Platinum Plus bundle costs $139 extra a month for Foxtel Plus (with 50+ channels), Sports, Movies, Kids, Favourites and multi-room casting (plus Netflix Standard at the time of writing).

For $99 extra each month, the Premium bundle comes with Movies HD, Sports HD, Kids packs and Foxtel Plus. The Sports HD bundle comes with Sports HD and Foxtel Plus for $74 extra per month. Meanwhile, the Movies HD bundle comes with Movies HD and Foxtel Plus for $69 extra per month and the Foxtel Plus package comes with Foxtel Plus for an additional $49 monthly fee.

In terms of totals for typical monthly pricing, that’s $204 for the Foxtel NBN Platinum Plus package, $164 for the Premium bundle, $149 for the Sports HD package, $144 for the Movies HD bundle and $124 for the Foxtel Plus package.

If you opt for a 24-month plan instead of a 12-month plan (the only two available options), the Platinum Plus bundle hikes up to a $204 monthly fee from month 13 onwards. Similarly, the Movies HD bundle goes up to $158 per month and the Foxtel Plus package shifts to $138 a month.

For homes that don’t opt for the 24-month plan, there’s also a $140 once-off fee for the Foxtel modem, but all homes will have to pay a $99 bundle activation fee.

Foxtel NBN boasts above-spec self-reported typical evening download speeds for all of its NBN speed tiers. Note that Foxtel says Fixed Wireless, FTTB, FTTC and FTTN homes may not reach these download speeds and expected speeds will be confirmed once you’re connected. Foxtel NBN plans are sold on NBN 50 speeds but can be upgraded to NBN 100 for an additional cost. Older Foxtel NBN plans may have slower NBN 25 or NBN 12 speeds (check your account details to confirm your speed tier).

Check out the table below to see how Foxtel NBN download speeds fare:

Foxtel NBN plans come with a Foxtel-branded modem that’s based on a Netgear modem-router. It comes with the Foxtel WiFi modem, a grey telephone cable, a yellow-tipped Ethernet cable, a power cable and a WiFi card. Follow these steps to configure your Foxtel WiFi modem:

1. Wait to receive a text from Foxtel saying your broadband is active and ready to configure.
2. If you’re in an FTTB or FTTN home, connect the grey cable to the telephone wall socket then the other end into the light grey port in the Foxtel WiFi modem.
3. For all other NBN technologies, connect the yellow-tipped Ethernet cable (or an existing Ethernet cable) to your NBN connection box (WAN or UNI-D port) then the other end into the red WAN port.
4. Next, connect your Foxtel IQ box via Ethernet if you want a wired connection (or just do it later via WiFi).
5. Connect the power cable to a power point and the other end into the round DC port.
6. If you have a landline phone service, connect an existing telephone cable to the dark grey Phone 1 port on the Foxtel WiFi modem.
7. Power on the Foxtel WiFi modem, then wait 10 minutes for it to automatically configure and connect.
8. A solid blue internet light indicates you’re ready to connect to the internet. Connect the devices in your home via WiFi and get online.
9. Additionally, connect up to four devices via Ethernet. Foxtel advises using the fourth port marked Gigabit to connect to your preferred streaming device for the best results (the other Ethernet ports are slower, 100Mbps ones).