Australian internet provider Arctel is pushing deeper into the cheaper NBN market with plans starting from $48.99 a month, longer promotional pricing periods and high-speed services reaching up to 1000/100 Mbps.

The provider is positioning its current offer around unlimited data, 24/7 customer support and no lock-in service contracts, while also offering discounted pricing across several higher-speed tiers.

Arctel’s entry-level Cruisy Lite plan is currently priced at $48.99 per month, offering speeds of 25Mbps download and 10Mbps upload. Arctel says the price is locked at $48.99, with the plan aimed at smaller households with lower internet usage.

At the higher end of the range, the company is promoting its 500/50 Mbps Super Fast service at $67.99 per month for 12 months, before increasing to $84.99 per month ongoing. Arctel says customers save $204 over the first 12 months under the offer.

A separate longer-term Super Fast offer provides the same 500Mbps download and 50Mbps upload speeds for $79.99 per month for 24 months, before increasing to $84.99 per month ongoing.

The Ultra Fast 750/50 Mbps plan is offered at $89.99 per month for 24 months, before increasing to $99.99 per month ongoing, while the Hyper Sonic 1000/100 Mbps service is priced at $99.99 per month for 24 months, before increasing to $112.99 per month ongoing.

Arctel’s published service information shows its residential plans include unlimited data, with its highest-speed tiers designed for homes running multiple simultaneous streams, online gaming, cloud services and other bandwidth-heavy applications.

The provider is also offering eero networking hardware with selected services. The Super Fast, Ultra Fast and Hyper Sonic offers advertise a free eero 7 with the service, while customers on the Cruisy Lite plan can add an eero 7 to their service.

Arctel says its plans come with priority 24/7 support throughout the year, along with upgrade options and no traditional lock-in contracts.

The company entered the Australian NBN market in 2025 and has used aggressive introductory pricing to build awareness in a sector dominated by larger telecommunications providers.

It’s current approach extends some promotional periods to 12 or 24 months, potentially reducing how frequently customers need to switch providers to maintain a discounted broadband rate.

Plans that can exceed the advertised speed

One of the more unusual features of Arctel’s higher-speed NBN plans is that real-world performance can exceed the headline plan speed in some conditions.

For example, a 500Mbps service may reach speeds of around 550Mbps, effectively giving customers additional headroom above the advertised tier.

That extra capacity can be useful in busy households where multiple people are streaming, gaming, downloading large files or using cloud services at the same time.

Image based on real world test of 500mbps plan – West Melbourne, Victoria 3030

It also gives customers a better chance of seeing speeds close to, or even above, the number they are paying for, rather than treating the advertised tier as an absolute ceiling.

Plan availability and achievable speeds remain dependent on the NBN technology servicing each property, with higher-speed plans generally requiring compatible fibre infrastructure.

Customers can check their address through Arctel to determine which speed tiers and offers are available.

Australia’s NBN market in 2026

Australia’s NBN market is continuing to shift rapidly toward higher-speed fibre services. NBN Co reported more than 8.64 million connected premises in early 2026, with around 2.99 million on FTTP and 41% of services now on wholesale plans of 100Mbps or faster.

Around 31% are already on 500Mbps tiers or above, compared with just 3% a year earlier, while average monthly downloads have climbed to 557GB per service, up 13% year-on-year.

Performance has also remained strong, with ACCC testing showing fixed-line NBN services delivering an average 98.5% of advertised plan speeds during busy evening hours.