The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found that the National Broadband Network (NBN) is proving popular with the smaller broadband providers and a record number of telcos have now connected their networks to NBN.
Releasing its latest NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report, ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said the June 2022 quarter Report looked at the wholesale market for NBN services, particularly the residential broadband services retailers bought from NBN to sell to consumers.
“In the June quarter, smaller retail service providers continued the steady increase in their market share in the wholesale market at the expense of the top four providers, increasing by 0.8 percentage points (with 77,758 additional services) to 12.6 per cent,” Ms Brakey said.
“In the June quarter 2021, their combined market share was 8.2 per cent,” she said.
“The growth of smaller providers is increasing the competitive tension in broadband markets, and many Australians will see the benefit of that.”
Ms Brakey said consumers had a wide range of choice for their broadband retailer, “which enables them to choose the product that best suits them.”
She said the Report also revealed that broadband providers expanded their presence at NBN’s 121 Points of Interconnection (POIs), which are the physical locations where providers can connect to the NBN.
“More providers connected at all of the Points of Interconnection means consumers will have a wider range of broadband providers to choose from, no matter where they live,” the Commissioner said.
“The Report also shows that just over 8.7 million residential broadband services are now on the NBN, and three-quarters of those are high speed plans of at least 50 Mbps or more,” she said.
“The popularity of the higher speed tiers means that retail competition for these customers is strong, so we recommend that consumers regularly check for new offers or newly discounted deals.”
ACCC’s June quarter report can be accessed at this PS News link.
