Mate NBN proves why it’s so friendly with AU$180 savings on all plans
An epic six-month discount can be made even sweeter with a SIM plan bundle
![Man and woman sitting on sofa, the man is holding a laptop and both are smiling. The background has an added noise effect, is coloured in green and the Mate NBN logo is up to the right](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Wz4ZLkFx3nT6YeM8vdRAKH-320-80.jpg)
Australian-owned NBN provider Mate is really hoping to be your new best mate with the announcement of an epic six-month discount across all of its NBN plans — a discount that'll see you saving a not-so-insignificant AU$180.
Despite price increases affecting the vast majority of the best NBN plans since July 1, many of Australia's internet service providers (ISPs) have since been offering big discounts or bonus value with their plans – we've even seen Buddy Telco launch as a more budget-focused offshoot of Aussie Broadband.
That's now especially true of Mate, which is offering new customers an AU$30 per month saving for the first six months of any NBN service. Plus this saving comes with the potential to knock off an extra AU$10p/m for an indefinite period when bundled with a SIM-only plan. That means in the first six months of a new Mate NBN plan you could save a massive AU$240.
Focusing on just the AU$30p/m saving on an NBN plan, it makes Mate one of the cheapest providers on NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans over the first 12 months.
We have also noticed that to coincide with the latest promotion, Mate has increased the regular cost of its NBN plans by AU$5p/m. This does mean it's not the cheapest overall provider during each ongoing year; but with a string of positive reviews online praising the telco's Australian-based support team, you may not feel the need to switch.
Mate | NBN 25 / 25Mbps | AU$40p/m (first 6 months, then AU$70p/m with code MATE30)
Quoting the maximum possible speeds of 25Mbps, Mate's NBN 25 plan is perfectly suited for one to four users to stream music, browse the web and even achieve a single 4K Ultra HD video stream. The ongoing AU$70p/m cost is bang on the current national average too, making this a great value plan.
• AU$40 minimum cost
• AU$660 first-year cost
• AU$840 ongoing yearly cost
Mate | NBN 50 / 48Mbps | AU$50p/m (first 6 months, then AU$80p/m with code MATE30)
Mate's 50Mbps NBN plan doesn't quite reach the maximum potential speeds at this tier, with a 48Mbps claim. In reality, this is unlikely to make a huge difference, and considering the AU$30p/m discount applied, it becomes the cheapest NBN 50 plan in the country over the first 12 months. For this reason alone, we think it's cracking value. The ongoing AU$80p/m cost is a few dollars less than the current average, and we also love how Mate advertises some of the fastest upload speeds at this tier, with 19Mbps.
• AU$50 minimum cost
• AU$780 first-year cost
• AU$960 ongoing yearly cost
Mate | NBN 100 / 95Mbps | AU$60p/m (first 6 months, then AU$90p/m with code MATE30)
A 100Mbps NBN plan supercharges what you can do online, with up to five concurrent 4K Ultra HD video streams theoretically achievable. It's also the fastest speed achievable on all NBN connection types before you move up to much higher-speed plans. An AU$900 first-year cost puts Mate well below average and the ongoing regular monthly cost just sneaks in below the national average, too.
• AU$60 minimum cost
• AU$900 first-year cost
• AU$1,080 ongoing yearly cost
Mate's AU$30p/m saving also applies to its NBN 250 plan, but we're less keen to recommend it since it only claims 202Mbps typical evening speeds, as opposed to the 250Mbps theoretical maximum. All other NBN providers we monitor, bar one, claim much higher speeds at lower monthly costs.
Aside from being eligible for an extra AU$10p/m saving when bundled with a SIM-only plan – which start at AU$25p/m – Mate also offers a one-month money-back guarantee, in which it will refund your plan fee if you're not completely satisfied with your service. We're not aware of many (or any) other telcos offering this service, which is a big tick in our book.
You also have the option of buying a modem from Mate for a one-off AU$165 fee, or you can bring your own.
If you wish to sign up for a Mate NBN plan, don't forget to add the code MATE30 at checkout to score the full savings.
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Max is a senior staff writer for TechRadar who covers home entertainment and audio first, NBN second and virtually anything else that falls under the consumer electronics umbrella third. He's also a bit of an ecommerce fiend, particularly when it comes to finding the latest coupon codes for a variety of retailers. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Max spent a combined five years writing for What Hi-Fi? and Pocket-lint, before moving to Australia in 2018. After a brief stint writing for men’s lifestyle publications, Max is back to working on his first passion of technology.