SpinTel offers 5G home broadband as Optus opens up network to MVNOs

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 31 July 2020

As of today, Optus is allowing wholesale partners to resell its 5G home broadband service, much as they can its 4G home broadband service. The first provider on board is SpinTel.

SpinTel customers in an Optus 5G-ready area can get an unlimited 5G home broadband plan for $90 per month. That's $20 per month more than Optus' 5G home broadband plan, but you won't pay modem fees on the contract-free plan. The modem is considered a rental and must be returned if you leave. If you go for a month-to-month plan on Optus, you'll need to pay a $200 upfront fee. Optus also makes you return its 5G modem if you leave your plan, whether you're on a 24-month contract or on a month-to-month basis.

SpinTel's plans come with the same Nokia 5G modem as you'd get with Optus.

As with Optus' 5G home broadband plans, SpinTel is also offering 50Mbps satisfaction guarantee. If your speeds drop under 50Mbps, you can cancel your contract without exit fees. At present, SpinTel is reporting customers can expect average speeds of 147Mbps.

No other providers have publicly confirmed that they will offer Optus 5G home broadband to customers, but telcos including Moose Mobile, Southern Phone, and Exetel also resell Optus 4G wireless broadband. As such, it wouldn't be surprising to see these providers offer Optus' 5G home broadband service down the line.

Based on what we've seen in the 4G space, it wouldn't be surprising to see Optus partners undercut it down the line. For example, SpinTel has a 500GB home wireless broadband plan available for $69.95 per month, whereas Optus bills $75 per month for the same type of plan.

When we reviewed Optus 5G broadband in March, just under 200,000 households were part of the telco's 5G footprint. We'd assume this number will have grown, with Optus now saying it is 860 5G sites switched on across the country.

While Optus is allowing partners to resell 5G home broadband, it has yet to allow MVNOs to access its 5G network for mobile customers. At this stage, Telstra doesn't resell its 5G network to its MVNOs for either mobile or mobile broadband plans.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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