Do you remember needing to tell someone to get off the internet because you needed to make a phone call? Congratulations, you were there for the days when every household had to bundle together their home phone and internet plans.
Internet and home phone bundles used to be everywhere but with fewer people using landlines and internet technology changing, there's no longer a pressing need to have a home phone and internet plans.
You can still get cheap internet and phone plans bundled together, but they look a little different than they used to. Before we dive further here are the cheapest NBN plans that let you bundle a home phone together:
Home phone and internet bundle plans
In the past home phone plans were bought separately but these days they're integrated into your internet plan as a bundle. Generally, incoming calls come free but providers charge around $10 per month for outgoing national calls and around $20 for international call packs. You can think of a home phone line as an optional add-on.
The following are some of the cheapest and most popular home phone and internet bundles available.
TPG home phone and internet bundles
TPG has a variety of phone and internet bundles to choose from across all NBN types. TPG has the following home phone plans:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls | International calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oz Talk | $5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | PAYG |
| Big Talk | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 100 mins per month |
| Extra Talk | $15 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited to 23 destinations |
Check out TPG's home phone bundles below:
iPrimus home phone and internet bundles
iPrimus' NBN home phone bundles come with three options:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls | International calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYG | $0 | 20c per call | 36c per min | PAYG rates vary |
| Australian Calls | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | PAYG rates vary |
| Australian + International Calls | $30 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2000 mins to 25 countries |
Compare iPrimus' NBN home phone bundles here:
SpinTel home phone and internet bundles
SpinTel offers two home phone bundles starting with pay-as-you-go rates:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundle Phone Pack | $0 | 10c per call | 20c per min |
| Unlimited Phone Pack | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
You don't have the option of adding international calls.
See SpinTel's NBN and home phone bundles:
Aussie Broadband home phone and internet bundles
Aussie Broadband conveniently ties your phone and NBN together into one easy payment. Aussie has three home phone plan options:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls | International calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casual | $0 | 15c per call | 22c per min | PAYG rates vary |
| Everyday | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | PAYG rates vary |
| International | $20 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 300 minutes free, then PAYG rates |
The International Talk plan comes with a $15 international call credit with 300 minutes worth of free overseas calls
Here are a few of Aussie Broadband’s NBN home phone bundle options:
iiNet home phone and internet bundles
iiNet has three home phone plans available to be bundled:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls | International calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Call Pack | $5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | PAYG rates vary |
| Value Call Pack | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 100 minutes |
| Premium | $15 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited to 23 destinations |
Check out iiNet’s bundle options:
Optus home phone and internet bundles
Optus offers an 'Optus Plus Phone Extra' plan for $10 per month, plus an international calling pack at an extra cost. It also offers seperate international add-ons.
Here's how they compare:
| Bundled plan | Monthly price | National calls | Mobile calls | International calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optus Plus Phone Extra | $10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | N/A |
| World Saver Ultimate | $10 | N/A | N/A | Unlimited to landlines in 25 destinations and to mobiles in 7 destinations |
| Optus Plus Phone International | $15 | N/A | N/A | Unlimited to landlines in and mobiles in 30 destinations |
These packs are available with all Optus NBN plans:
AGL home phone and internet bundles
AGL offers lets you add a home phone plan for $10
per month with a $149 set-up cost for a TP-Link modem.
International calls are charged at 0.40c per
connection plus a rate per minute that varies depending on
where you're calling.
AGL's home phone plan is available with these NBN plans:
MATE home phone and internet bundles
You can bundle VoIP calls with any of MATE's NBN plans. They include local, national and mobile calls for $12 extra per month. Unfortunately, there are no international call packs available.
See MATE's plans here:
Telstra home phone and internet bundles
While Telstra's NBN plans are on the more expensive side there is one major benefit. They automatically include a home phone landline with unlimited local and national calls. Plus, you get 30 minutes of standard international calls each month.
Compare Telstra Upfront internet plans including a home phone line:
How do home phone and internet bundles on the NBN work?
The biggest change for landlines came alongside the NBN rollout - you simply can’t have a traditional home phone and a fixed-line NBN connection. Goodbye, home phone plans.
Old school home phones worked on the existing copper network which is now utilised as part of the NBN infrastructure. Traditionally those copper lines connected to the exchange and allowed calls to come to and from your household. Today, that network is used to keep you connected to the internet.
To get (or keep) the retro home phone experience on a fixed-line NBN connection you need to opt-in for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone line which uses the internet to make and receive calls.
Fixed Wireless NBN doesn't use any existing copper cabling but most NBN providers now use VoIP as a standard. Telstra is the only provider that will let you keep an analogue phone line if you're on a Fixed Wireless connection.
What's included in home phone and internet bundles?
Each phone and internet bundle differs from the last, that's why it's so important to compare all the different types out there to make sure you're making the most from your bundle and their extras. However, there are a few consistencies you can expect across most, if not all, of these package deals. These include:
- A data package (on most NBN plans this is unlimited data)
- A calling package
- Connection to the NBN
- Any hardware required for your setup e.g. a modem or router
- A new phone number (unless you're keeping your existing number)
- Any number of other add-ons, perks or discounts. This could include discounted international calls, Pay TV subscriptions etc.
The services are truly bundled and you'll receive just one bill. Most of the time calls to 13/1300 numbers aren't included but double-check the Critical Information Summary before signing up to be sure.
Is it worth getting a home phone and internet bundle?
- Consolidates your bills
- Can be much, much cheaper
- Few options are available
- Home phones won't work if the power goes out when bundled with an NBN connection
- Might just be an additional expense that you don't need
If you really need a home phone line, then getting a bundle can be one way to consolidate your bills and save a bit of money in the process.
These days there simply are fewer options available than there once were. Interest in home phone lines has been in steady decline over the past two decades and it's easy to see why.
With the NBN you'll need to use VoIP which means you're reliant on the internet in order to make these phone calls - you can achieve the same thing by using a mobile phone that has WiFi calling. If a home phone is looking to be an additional expense that you can live without, it may be worth considering getting rid of it entirely.
For example, at the time of writing the cheapest Telstra NBN with home phone bundle costs $93 per month (Telstra's NBN 25 plan).
Telstra's home phone-only product, the
Home Phone plan starts at $29.95 per month with a $99 set-up cost. Then with that plan you pay rates per minute on
calls. Its more straight forward plan costs you $59 per month with unlimited local, national calls and calls to
mobiles. By then if you do actually need a basic internet service you're looking at least another $40 per month (at
the cheapest, with a discount).
When the internet at this point
is an essential service, it's a no-brainer to bundle. However, we'd probably recommend one of the cheaper options
above.
What else can I bundle together with internet?
If you decide that a home phone and internet bundle isn't worth it, there are still other ways to cut back your spending and the number of bills you get each month.
Home phones aren't as common these days as they once were. If you're without one you can instead opt for a mobile phone and internet bundle to help you save a few dollars.
Internet and TV bundles can help you consolidate your streaming services with your internet connection. There are even some ISPs that operate in the energy market so you could get an internet, electricity and gas bundle deal.
Home and internet bundle FAQs
What is the cheapest way to have a landline
While you could go sign up for a home phone plan on its own the reality is that these days those plans are expensive and only available from a couple of telcos. Bundling your home phone plan with your internet plan works out to be much cheaper than getting a home phone plan outright. Most people will already require an internet plan anyway.
Do I need a phone line to get NBN?
No, you can get an NBN plan without needing an active landline because the NBN works differently to ADSL.
Can you still have a landline phone with NBN?
Yes, you can still have a landline phone with NBN although a standard home line connection will no longer work. You'll need a VoIP phone line that uses the internet to receive and make calls rather than being connected to a fixed line.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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