NBN Co issued a statement on Monday afternoon in response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s announcement that it is undertaking an inquiry into whether Australians are able to access basic broadband plans on offer at “fair and affordable prices” - but qualified its response by saying it should be allowed "the opportunity to grow its revenues and re-invest in the network".

In a written statement to iTWire, an NBN Co spokesman said the company has been “working cooperatively with the ACCC, Retail Service Providers (RSPs) and industry groups to ensure our entry level wholesale pricing provides a smooth transition for customers migrating from legacy phone and internet services to the nbn”.

“As part of our strong commitment to the entry level, price-sensitive segment, we introduced a modified 12/1 Entry Level Bundle (mELB) discount on 1 October 2019.  

“The discount provides Retail Service Providers (RSPs) with the flexibility to develop affordable 12/1 broadband plans for a similar price to legacy products, with either capped or uncapped data inclusions.  

“To increase future certainty for retailers and customers, we’ve also announced that we will publish a rolling two-year roadmap of future pricing across all wholesale speed tiers,” the statement concluded.

The ACCC’s inquiry will focus on prices for basic speed broadband products offering 12/1 Mbps, and will consider whether regulation is needed to ensure a smooth transition for consumers to the NBN from legacy services such as ADSL.

“We have concerns that NBN Co’s wholesale pricing has resulted in unfair outcomes for those consumers who have no need for, or do not want, higher speed plans,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.