National broadband trailblazer Internode has unveiled breakthrough Fibre to the Home (FTTH) prices for its NBN Stage One pilot program in Tasmania, with a 25 megabit per second plan costing just $29.95.

Internode’s aggressive entry-level fibre price is $10 less than its cheapest standalone ADSL broadband plans – the ADSL Standard or Extreme ADSL2+ plans – which each cost $39.95 a month.

Internode has released 15 FTTH plans, which are available only to people living in the three areas serviced by the NBN Stage One pilot program, run by NBN Tasmania.

Prices for Internode FTTH plans in the Tasmanian pilot – published at www.internode.on.net/nbn – will be charged monthly until June 30, 2011, when official NBN wholesale pricing is expected to be available.

Internode’s $29.95 entry-level plan, with a 15 gigabyte (GB) data quota, has a 25 Mb/s downstream speed and 2 Mb/s upstream. Its 50 Mb/s plans cost from $39.95 while 100 Mb/s plans start at $59.95. There are no long term contracts or early termination charges on any of the plans.

For a limited time, Internode has further sweetened the deal by offering free fibre setup for customers in the northern Tasmanian towns of Smithton and Scottsdale and the Hobart suburb of Midway Point.

Internode is one of three retail service providers selected to deliver broadband services over the fibre-optic network that NBN Tasmania is building. These services are expected to be delivered from next month, with orders being taken from today.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett said Internode had set its prices for the NBN pilot to encourage people to use the new service. “We believe price is the catalyst for rapid adoption,” he said.

“Internode wants to learn as much as possible about how customers use fibre broadband services from its investment in this pilot program, so we want to get as many customers on board as possible. By setting our FTTH prices at below our ADSL prices, we believe this becomes an irresistible offer.

”Customers, both in Tasmania and nationally, should keep in mind that this initiative is designed as a pilot program. These prices and products may bear little resemblance to what emerges under the NBN proper, but it’s a great start to offer FTTH plans that are affordable for ordinary people.”

Internode has extensive expertise in delivering Fibre to the Home broadband services. The company already delivers FTTH services to customers at nine ‘greenfield’ commercial and residential estates across Australia, via the OptiComm wholesale network. Recently Internode began to offer FTTH broadband services to residents of Point Cook in Victoria via the Telstra FTTP network.

While Internode will not initially offer analogue telephone services on the NBN Fibre network in Tasmania, customers can choose to keep their existing phone line on copper; or to use Internode’s high quality NodePhone voice-over-broadband service.

This press release is available online at www.impress.com.au/nbn

About Internode www.internode.on.net
Internode is a first tier IP carrier committed to using broadband technology to redefine the national telecommunications environment. The Australian-owned company is a trailblazer that delivers broadband services to individuals and businesses throughout Australia. Follow Internode online at www.internode.on.net/about/follow_us_online/
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