You can now order Optus 5G home broadband online

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 27 August 2019

Optus now is taking online orders for its 5G home wireless broadband plan, marking the first time it's made sign-ups public. You'll need to run an address check, but if your home or office is within Optus' 5G coverage area, you'll be able to take up the plan through the telco's website.

Optus' 5G home wireless broadband service costs $70 per month and comes with unlimited data. The plan is available on a 24-month contract or on a month-to-month basis. If you go month-to-month, you'll pay a $200 setup fee.

No matter which option you pick, the plan has a network satisfaction guarantee, which will let you cancel the service if you're not getting speeds of at least 50Mbps. If you make a claim and Optus determines you're eligible to cancel your service, you'll need to return your 5G modem within 30 days of cancellation or you'll be hit with a $330 fee.

To celebrate the launch, Optus is offering customers their first month free.

Customers can also bolt on Optus Sport for $14.99 per month, and Fetch TV for $10 per month with the Mini set-top box, or $15 per month with the Mighty.

Initial Optus 5G home broadband connections will include professional setup at no extra cost. After you sign-up, Optus says its concierge team will contact you to arrange the install.

You can however setup the modem yourself. While it's mostly plug and play, you may need to experiment with where you position it in your home or apartment. The modem will search for 5G signal and flash green, yellow, and red lights to indicate where it should be placed for optimal coverage.

Given it's still early days for 5G, there are a couple of things worth noting. If you sign up for an Optus 5G home broadband plan and the move house, you may not be able to continue using the service at your new address - even though the modem has 4G back-up. Instead, Optus will attempt to provide a replacement internet service. If you choose not to go with Optus' replacement service, you may need to pay a cancellation fee and will have to return your 5G modem.

The maximum cancellation fee on a 24-month contract is $450. This fee will decrease for every month you stay with Optus.

In addition, 5G home broadband plans may not be available to apartments, even if the building is in the service area. While some units will be able to get 5G connectivity, this will depend on their exact location within the complex.

If you're in a Telstra 5G coverage area and want 5G mobile broadband, you can check out the HTC 5G Hub instead. Telstra, however, does not offer any unlimited 5G plans, with allowances maxing out at 100GB for $116 per month.

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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