Reassessing your internet plan

When was the last time you switched up your internet plan? If you’re anything like the rest of us, then it may have been a fair few years. It’s one of those things where you just pay the bills every month and forget about it.

Jan’s story

My friend Jan had her same internet plan ticking over for 8 years. Even though her service provider had upgraded her connection, she was still receiving the same amount of data at the same price as it was in 2010! Now, you might think “Wow! In 2010 prices were a lot cheaper than they are these days.” Although back in 2010 we didn’t use as much data as we didn’t stream Netflix and the like, it did cost more back then as networks weren’t as advanced as they are now.

Effectively, Jan was costing herself hundreds of dollars a year simply because she hadn’t reassessed her internet plan. Her reasoning behind it? “Oh, they were always so wonderful at customer service; I was happy with them.” After explaining to Jan that she could get an upgraded plan for much less with the same provider she was all ears.

If your internet contract has already expired

If your contract has already expired with your service provider it’s time to give yourself a mini-assessment. Most people’s internet contracts last for anywhere between 12 months and 36 months. Once these terms are up, you’ll remain on the same plan that you signed onto – unless you actively switch to a new one, switch providers, or both.

If your contract isn’t up yet

If you are already locked into a contract and find a better deal, then you might like to have a look into the conditions of the contract to see what the exit fees are. Sometimes the exit fees are lower than what it’ll work out to switching plans or providers.

Reassessing your internet plan step by step

To reassess your internet plan, you’ll need to do the following:

Step 1: See what providers and types of connections are available in your area. A good way to do this is with the National Broadband Map. Simply drop a pin on your address and you’ll see all the different network types, speeds, and providers available. The more Mbps, the faster your internet, generally. Click through to a provider website.

Step 2: On the provider’s website, you can browse the available packages that they have for each given connection. You can bundle your home phone with your internet, or go for a “Naked” connection, if you no longer need your home phone. Some plans will have a capped amount of data per month (e.g. 40GB) and some will have unlimited. Check out your old bills from your current provider to see how much data you are currently using – and if you think you’d like to add more. Remember if you are using Netflix or other streaming video services (or plan to) that this uses a lot of data. Check that installation and a modem are included to avoid extra fees. Always make sure to read the fine print and check the length of the contract! If it’s confusing, you can always give them a call or pop into their local shopfront.

Step 3: Compare with other available providers to see what the best contract is for your home. Jot down total prices, speeds, contract lengths, added freebies, phone, etc. to compare each. You may also like to check out a comparative website like MyCompare to get some idea – although these don’t always display all the best deals.

Step 4: Call your current provider and tell them the best deal that you found. Your current provider will try their best to match and even better the deal – so it’s worth a shot if you really like their service and speeds.

And there you have it! While it will take a couple of hours to do a reassessment, isn’t it worth it if you might end up saving hundreds of dollars?