Buddy Telco only offers broadband plans via the National Broadband Network over fixed line (FTTP, FTTN, HFC,  FTTC, FTTB connections where there’s an already established connection – or in other words, where you’re transferring from an existing NBN ISP connection. 

That does mean that at the current time it’s got no offerings for Fixed Wireless NBN or NBN Sky Muster Satellite customers, and as is always the case, the NBN technology available at your place depends entirely on your address and the rollout style in your area.

The whole idea behind Buddy Telco is that it’s a simple, no-frills NBN provider. That extends to the way it sorts its plans, with just the four plan tiers on offer at launch, all tied very explicitly to existing NBN speed tiers.

Its entry level plan starts at NBN 25/10 for $65 per month with advertised typical evening speeds of 24/8Mbps, stepping up to $75/month for NBN 50/20 with typical advertised speeds of 49Mbps down and 16Mbps up. The third tier covers NBN 100/20 at a standard price of $85/month (though as a launch special you can get that for $75/month, the same as the NBN 50/20 tier for six months) with typical speeds of 98Mbps down and 16Mbps up. Finally for those with the need for speed (and either an FTTP or HFC NBN connection) there’s an NBN 1000/50 tier priced typically at $99 per month, though again there’s an introductory special that drops the price to $89/month for the first three months.

For comparison, below are the most popular fixed-line NBN plans from our comparison engine.

Buddy Telco’s positioning is built around simplicity and stripping away the more advanced features that you can get from its parent Aussie Broadband. So if you’ve got a burning need for a Static IP address, for example, then that’s something that Buddy Telco doesn’t offer to its customers.

Likewise, because it’s built on simplicity, it’s also not getting into the bundled modem or modem-router business either; you’ll need to supply your own if you sign up for a Buddy Telco NBN plan.

Where Buddy Telco really differs up from its parent company is in the way that it handles support. Like Aussie Broadband, it’s all built around Australian-based support, but it rather explicitly doesn’t do so via the phone. Instead, support queries are handled via a web form or smartphone app. 

At launch the Buddy Telco iOS App is available, but the Android app is not – it’s promised to be “coming soon”. If you don’t like dealing with phone support people then this could be an upside, though conversely if you hate dealing with machines it could be a real issue when and if problems with your NBN connection arise.