WHOLESALE prices for NBN are set to rise and the ripple effects will ultimately flow on to customers, both in prices and a reduced range of services offered.

With a wide scope of changes recently proposed by NBN Co to its Special Access Undertaking (SAU) pricing structure, some retailers have claimed they would be forced to pass on costs and it would continue to make internet access in Australia one of the most expensive in the world.

Customers in regional areas look set to be the first to shift away from NBN infrastructure, as accessing data via mobile services will continue to be more competitively priced and covering a bigger footprint.

This move has already been observed overseas in sparsely populated locations, with companies aggressively promoting broadband products and gaining market share.

The consultation paper recently published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would mean the cheapest NBN wholesale plan would double in price over the next decade and eventually cost the same as a product that was four times as fast.

NBN Co has outlined getting rid of bandwidth fees for its high-speed plan but keeping them for low and mid-level services.

With ACCC modelling in the consultation paper forecasting the cost for the 50 megabits per second (Mbps) plan equalling the 100Mbps plan price by 2027, and the 25Mbps by 2035, the commission said it may only push people away from the NBN.

“These dynamics indicate that there can expected to be a narrowing of reasonably-priced access products in the market that could be in turn damaging to the level of retail competition and result in the supply of retail products in the market at higher prices and at speeds in excess of end customer needs,” the ACCC said.

“The level and structure of prices and how these will affect retailers’ costs over time also raises the question of whether the efficient use of the NBN will be promoted.”

The ACCC said their modelling of the pricing would mean many people would pay for a level of service beyond their needs.

“The Bureau of Communications and Arts Research … forecasts that the median household speed requirement will be 29Mbps in 2028 and that 99.9 per cent of households will need no more than 78Mbps,” they said.

Meanwhile, in the USA, companies such as T-Mobile claim to be the USA’s fastest growing broadband provider as they especially leverage the lack of internet options in rural areas.

With its Home Internet product, the company will mail the gateway to you, and without a technician drilling holes in walls, the device is essentially plug and play to get you up and running in under 15 minutes.

The Coalition’s last Federal Budget delivered in March allocated $480 million to the NBN for expansion of the fixed wireless footprint coverage “by up to 50 per cent” and increasing its speeds, thereby reducing demand on Skymuster satellite services to the benefit of those with no other option.

The incoming Labor Government has backed this commitment and also prior to the election promised to deliver fibre connectivity to 660,000 homes in regional areas, unmetering satellite usage between midnight and 4pm and committing $30 million “to enable more farmers to extend connectivity in their fields and take advantage of connected machinery and sensor technology”.

“80 per cent of the 3.7 million homes and businesses in regional and remote Australia will have access to speeds of 100 megabits per second or more by late 2025”, the statement said.

With Telstra recently also facing an investigation after it failed to pay $11 million compensation on time to 67,000 customers for missing landline connection and repair timelines over a four-year period dating between 2017 and 2021, the future for reliable telecommunications in regional areas remains unclear.

Digital connectivity in Australia continues to be subject to a wide range of variables including existing infrastructure, technology changes, market pressures, political decisions, and sparseness of population outside capital cities.

ACCC will be inviting submissions from stakeholders on NBN Co’s proposed SAU variation pricing structure until Friday, July 8.