I switched to Future Broadband Performance NBN at the end of 2020 because it has a unique service offering and also because Aussie Broadband NBN had grown quite large and corporate, not like the early days when it was a preferred ISP for technical people.
I’d say Aussie Broadband was the Internode of it’s time with Executive Director Phil Britt as customer-focused and straight talking as Simon Hackett used to be when he ran Internode.
However, following a similar path to Internode, Aussie Broadband has grown fast, sold some of it’s ownership to the public and it’s prices have risen to allow for larger investment in infrastructure and presumably better profit margins.
Don’t get me wrong, Aussie Broadband is still a decent NBN service provider better than Optus, Telstra and TPG.
Anyway back to Future Broadband and why I switched over to their NBN offer.
For starters there’s price. There are plenty of internet service providers in the past, currently and in the future who offer really cheap plans and their business model rarely lasts long. I don’t choose the cheapest NBN provider.
What makes Future Broadband different is their Performance NBN plans include:
- Static Routed WAN /30 IPv4 – they issue a /30 IP Network Block for every NBN Connection. That means 1 IP Dedicated to the Gateway, and 1 for your Router. They don’t use DHCP or PPPoE by default, so you’ve got internet as soon as your device is ready and if your NBN line drops out you’ll be reconnected really fast. This is especially good for anyone on HFC like me or a flaky FTTN line. If you do want DHCP you can use it instead.
- Business Grade IP Network – All Future Broadband NBN plans utilize the IP Routing of AAPT Business-Grade network delivering consistent speeds, quality of service, fast Connections to major cloud & content Providers via low-contention NBN CVCs.
- Data Banking Included – If you don’t have an Unlimited Plan, Data Banking allows you to rollover unused data at the end of each month and withdraw from your bank if you exceed your usual allowance. Providing a safety net it also accommodates for variable monthly usage. You can store many Terabytes in your Data Bank (yes Terabytes not a typo) for as long as you remain connected to an Eligible Plan. At time of writing I have 32712.06 GB stored.
- Data Gifting Included – Data Gifting allows you to receive databank allowance from other accounts as well as send to other accounts. You can use your existing Available Databank Balance or you can Purchase a New Data Top up for the other service. A Maximum of 2 Successful/Completed Data Gifts can be sent out of your Available Databank per 6 months up to a maximum combined amount of 10,000GB. There is no Maximum (other than the total you can store in a databank) if you are purchasing a top up for another account.
- Referral program – Future Broadband provides current customers with unique vouchers that they can give to family, friends etc eg: mine is HD5766. These standard vouchers offer the existing and new customer with $35 off their next bill and also if you’re on a data-banking plan you will both receive 1000 GB bonus added to your bank.
- Aussie Customer Service Staff – Yes they’re all in Perth but don’t hold that against them. West Australian customer support means it starts a bit later in the morning for Eastern States customers but extends later into the evening as well.
- Hardware choice – Whatever suits you unlike Optus, Telstra etc that force you to use their router. Future Broadband lets you BYO Modem/router hardware or buy a standard preconfigured router.
- No long term contracts – All Performance and Fixed Wireless NBN plans are on month-to-month terms with free relocation to a new NBN site once connected. There is a setup fee but that can be offset if you get someone’s referrer code 😉
To be clear, there are plenty of options out there for your NBN connection; Future Broadband is just one of them. If Future Broadband went out of business suddenly or changed their plans to make them much worse my 2nd choice would be Launtel which is another smaller ISP that is popular with technology enthusiasts.
My Future Broadband referral code is HD5766, if used it provides an equal benefit to you and to me of $35 credit each (offsetting the AAPT wholesale Static IP setup fee) as well as 1000GB for your databank (if you don’t choose an unlimited plan).
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