Aussie Broadband alleges some providers slow modem speeds for ex-customers

Aussie Broadband has alleged that some NBN providers slow down the modems they sell to customers in a submission made to the ACCC.

Aussie Broadband Chief Strategy Officer Jon Prosser says the throttling only comes into effect if the customer swaps to another provider. This would then prevent the customer in question from getting the maximum possible speeds when their modem is used with a different provider than the one they bought it from.

"We believe this is an anti-competitive practice, and all throttling policies of this nature should be expressly prohibited," said Prosser. "It would also be beneficial for competition and existing customers to have any existing throttling practices reversed to restore customers’ hardware, allowing those customers to participate in offers available from other RSPs as a BYO user."

Aussie Broadband declined to provide further comment or name names when approached by WhistleOut.

The ACCC acknowledged Aussie's concerns and said it will engage further on the issue.

Aussie Broadband's comments were made as part of the submission process for the ACCC's updated Industry Guidance ahead of the speed upgrades in September. The new guidance requires telcos to inform consumers that their in-home equipment may affect the speeds they receive.

This has become a concern given the September speed upgrades, which will see NBN 100 plans upgraded to 500Mbps for some premises. While newer networking equipment won’t have a problem with these speeds, older WiFi 4 hardware may not be capable of delivering the speeds promised by the faster speed tiers.

Optus, for example, has added a disclaimer to its new range of NBN plans. Plans eligible for speed tiers getting an upgrade in September have this fine print: "Actual speeds may vary and are limited by plan speed. Your modem and in-home setup may limit your speeds.”

In the same vein, a modem that has artificially been throttled by a provider may also not be capable of achieving download speeds promised by the upcoming plans, even if those speeds are supported by the hardware itself. Notably, artificial throttling is a harder issue to diagnose than a customer simply having an old modem or router.;

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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