Pros
- Australia-based customer support
- 30-day satisfaction guarantee for new customers
Cons
- Set-up fee on month-to-month NBN contract plans
- Typical evening speeds not advertised
IPSTAR focuses on serving rural and regional Australians and provides NBN, satellite and fixed wireless connections.
While IPSTAR's plans are priced about average, it doesn't disclose any typical evening speeds on any of its plans. This means it's unclear what speeds you can expect to receive during busy hours of the day, which is typically 7pm-11pm.
You can opt for IPSTAR if:
But you should also keep an eye out for:
Data limits are only enforced on video streaming and VPN usage during the peak hours of 4pm–midnight.
Like NBN, you can sign up for either a month-to-month or a fixed-term contract. There are no installation or set-up charges on satellite plans.
IPSTAR's satellite plans are also competitively priced. Unlike NBN plans, satellite plans don't disclose typical evening speeds as they tend to fluctuate too much.
Again, the price is decent but without an advertised typical evening speed, it's hard to tell whether you'll be getting good bang for your buck. There are other fixed wireless plans from other providers though that have a higher maximum download speed for less cost.
You have the option of signing a month-to-month, 12-month or 24-month contract. However, keep in mind that you will have to pay a $99 set-up charge for the month-to-month contract. There are no set-up charges for the fixed-term contracts.
While signing up for an IPSTAR contracted NBN plan has the benefit of nullifying your set-up fees, you could likely find a better deal elsewhere for a month-to-month plan.
IPSTAR isn't included in the ACCC broadband performance report so the reliability of its speeds cannot be officially verified. The ACCC report allows customers to see which NBN providers are delivering the speeds they've advertised, as a measure of reliability.
Additionally, IPSTAR does not advertise its typical evening speeds either, making it difficult to know how the NBN connection will perform during peak hours before signing up.
You can contact the IPSTAR team in the following ways:
IPSTAR NBN gives you a couple of perks alongside its internet plans.
If you're not satisfied with your new IPSTAR connection within the first 30 days, you can cancel the plan without paying any early termination fees.
Successfully referring a friend to IPSTAR can get both you and your friend $50 in credits.
With an Australia-based team, Skymesh is one of the few satellite internet providers with unlimited data that you can use for video streaming and VPN.
For a cheaper regular NBN option:
Tangerine has some of the cheapest plans on Finder and offers 6-month sign-up discounts to sweeten the deal. It also offers some fixed wireless plans.
IPSTAR isn't available to sign up to via Finder. You'll need to head to ipstarbroadband.com.au and choose a plan there.
You can also continue to compare internet plans on Finder to see if you can find a better deal.
What if I'm moving house?
You can select a date during the sign-up process for when you'd like your new IPSTAR plan to be activated. Keep in mind that it could take up to 16 days to get connected.
Make sure to give your current provider a heads-up in case there's a notice period to account for. You don't want to be stuck paying for 2 internet services.
If you're still feeling unsure about the process, check out our guide on how to switch broadband providers.
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hi, I had satellite NBN with someone else but went back to mobile broadband because of cost issues but your 300gb plan looks goo. I still have all the satellite gear here , can it be reused? not that it matters much as its free install anyway, but would make things easy..
Hello Dean,
Thank you for contacting finder, a comparison website and general information service.
While we do not represent IPSTAR or any of the companies featured on our pages, we can provide you with general advice and guide you in making an informed decision.
For you question, the satellite gear may still be reused but it would still depend on IPSTAR if you would be better of with new gear.
It may in fact make the installation simpler if you go with new gear. If you want to gain more clarification on this and if you would really want to use your existing satellite gear, you may contact IPSTAR directly.
Hope this helped.
Cheers.
Gru