Compare Internet Plans & Providers in Nowra

As mentioned above, Nowra is found in the South Coast region of New South Wales. It serves as both commercial centre and seat of the City of Shoalhaven, and was declared a city only in 1979. This city has a growing tourist industry, particularly in the summer months because that’s when visitors gather on its beaches to swim, surf, and fish. For those who want to take a break from the beach, there are a number of shops where you can indulge in some retail therapy, and various cafes and restaurants where you can have a bite and relax. With the Shoalhaven region known for its award-winning wines, it’s not out of the question to expect some restaurants would have those same wines in stock for you to sample. There’s no direct rail connection, although NSW TrainLink runs to and from Kiama and Sydney and connects to the nearby Bomaderry railway station via the Illawarra railway line. Bus services consist of Nowra Coaches from Nowra to Bomaderry, Huskisson, Vicentia, and Jervis Bay; Shoal Bus running Nowra to Berry, Gerringong, and Sussex Inlet; and Premier Motor Service operating along the Princes Highway, with express services calling at Nowra. 

When all is said and done, Nowra residents and visitors would still want a stable internet connection. Fortunately, the NBN rollout has been completed for a while now and so is available in many areas. A number of ISPs service this New South Wales city, with available speeds ranging from 12Mbps to 100Mbps.

Of all the internet service providers you can choose from in Nowra, those that stand out the most are TPG, Tangerine, Aussie Broadband, Optus, Uniti Wireless, Dodo, and Belong. Each of these providers offer month-to-month plans, most notably at the NBN50 and NBN100 speed tiers. Only Optus offers a month-to-month plan at just the NBN100 speed tier; choosing a lower speed tier means having to sign on to a long-term contract. 

These same providers also regularly offer promotions in some form, such as discounts for the first six months, no setup fees, or a free modem. So once you know what speed tier you’d like, all that’s left to do is to choose a provider with whom you believe you’ll get the most value. 

In order to get the most out of your internet connection, it’s important to balance affordability with reliability and speed. To do this, it’s a good idea to consider internet plans Nowra with speeds of 50Mbps or 100Mbps - particularly if there’s at least one heavy internet user in your household, you have more than three household members, or both. 

The good news is, all the providers mentioned earlier offer plans at the speed tiers associated with those download speeds. When it comes to overall costs, plans at the NBN50 speed tier can cost anywhere from $69.95 to $79.95 a month; meanwhile, plans at the NBN100 tier range from $79.99 to $99 per month. 

If you’d rather stick with a single provider in the long term, you’ll want to consider Uniti Wireless as this provider has a 24-month contract option with practically no extra costs compared to the no-contract version of their plans. For the NBN50 plan, you can expect to pay $79.95 a month, while the NBN100 plan costs $89.95 a month. 

Moving beyond costs, it’s time to look at the pros and cons of each ISP. 

If you have an NBN-compatible modem, both TPG and Uniti Wireless should be at the top of your list as they allow customers to use their own modems and offer phone support, so you’ll have no trouble reaching someone if you can’t seem to get online. The tradeoff with Uniti Wireless is, you won’t see discounts unless you’ve stayed with them long enough, and going for a month-to-month plan doesn’t come with a free modem (unless you do bring your own). For TPG, you’ll have to make an additional $20 prepayment for a home phone if you want one on top of your internet plan. You’ll also have to pay $10 to have a modem delivered if you don’t already have your own. 

Don’t want to deal with set-up costs? Then you may be better off choosing Belong, especially if you’d like the option to pay in installments and don’t see yourself staying at your current premises for long, as Belong is very renter-friendly. Unfortunately, this ISP offers online-only customer support, and you can pay only through direct debit. 

If you’re looking to bundle your internet plan with gas and electricity, no other ISP beats Dodo. As with Belong, unfortunately, you have only direct debit as your payment option. Also, their network support is offshore based, so if you’re hoping to reach the Dodo technician or representative you’ve dealt with before, you’re out of luck. 

If you choose Tangerine, you’ll have access to phone support and you can expect a discount during your first six months. You’re in luck if you’re looking for a home phone, too, because Tangerine has VoIP phone plans. On the downside, signing on with Tangerine means paying $149.95 to get a modem unless you already have an NBN-compatible one.

Finally, with well-known provider Optus, you get access to auxiliary products like Optus Sport, as well as other services related to mobile phones and security. Getting a VoIP phone is possible, too. If you’re on a tight budget, though, Optus’s plans may be more expensive compared to those of other ISPs. As hinted at earlier, you’ll have no choice but to go with a 24-month contract if going for a plan at the lower speed tier. 

If cost is your main concern, you can’t go wrong with TPG, Belong, and Tangerine. Tangerine’s 50Mbps and 100Mbps plans cost $69.95 and $89.90 a month, respectively, and you can expect a $15 discount for the first six months. TPG’s plans at the NBN50 and NBN100 speed tiers cost $69.95 and $79.99 a month, respectively. With Belong, a plan with speeds of up to 50Mbps will cost $70 a month while a plan with speeds of up to 100Mbps cost $90 a month, although customers can get a $5 discount for the first 12 month they stay with the provider. 

If you’re looking for the fastest internet plans, you need to take into account the connection type your premises has, not just the speed tier you chose. But all things considered, at the NBN50 speed tier, Dodo takes first place with typical evening speeds of 50Mbps. Tangerine, Belong, Optus, and TPG come in second, logging typical evening speeds of around 48Mbps. 

At the NBN100 speed tier, however, Optus is the best with evening speeds of 100Mbps, and Aussie Broadband follows closely, with speeds of 99Mbps. Uniti Wireless comes in third with evening speeds of 96.9Mbps, and in fourth place is Belong, logging speeds of 95Mbps. 

Given all of the above, there’s quite a range of plans to choose from if you’re in Nowra, especially if you don’t want to worry about data caps as most, if not all, ISPs offer plans with unlimited data. If you don’t think you’ll need unlimited data, TPG has two plans you may want to consider. The first one is the NBN Baisc TPG S Bundle, with 10GB of data a month. If that’s too low, NBN Basic TPG M Bundle, comes with 100GB of data each month. 

It’s not surprising to see a range of speeds in Nowra, given how many ISPs service the area. The typical speed tiers are NBN12, NBN25, NBN50, and NBN100, with NBN25 and NBN50 being the middle ground, as far as internet speed goes. 

Single-person households with only light online activity will be fine with plans at the NBN12 speed tier, although slightly bigger households with up to three people will want to extend their choices to plans at the NBN25 tier. If your household has at least three people, though, and at least one is a heavy internet user, NBN50 is the lowest speed tier you should consider. All of these are available in Nowra. 

If you feel unsure about getting an NBN connection, you can also consider home wireless plans, with Uniti Wireless, Tangerine, Optus, and TPG offering 45 connection plans in addition to their NBN plans. Of these four ISPs, only Tangerine doesn’t offer 5G plans. All but Uniti Wireless offer month-to-month contracts, so if you feel that ISP is your best bet, getting a 5G plan will mean signing onto a 24-month contract. If you want to compare both month-to-month and 24-month contracts for both 4G and 5G internet plans, then you may be better off with Optus.