Australian telcos and ISPs are pushing to be able to provide cheaper high-speed services.

NBN Co has been urged to lower its speed prices since its decision to impose a connectivity virtual circuit [CVC] charge of $20 per megabit per second [Mbps] each month.

The fee comes alongside an access charge of about $24 per line per month and inter-connection fees, all of which was approved by the ACCC.

Telcos say the CVC charge puts a lid on the super-fast speeds that consumers and politicians want.

“As a wholesaler, we are acutely aware that we are only going to be successful if our retailers are successful. And they are going to be successful if Australian consumers are getting fast broadband quicker and using it more,” general manager of pricing at NBN Co, Sarah Palmer, has told Fairfax reporters. 

“We would like to see the NBN CVC price be between $5 and $8 per Mbps,” TPG chief operating officer Craig Levy said.

Another telco, Vocus, wants the CVC dismissed entirely and replaced with an access fee above $40.

NBN Co has indicated it may cut CVC prices down to $11.50 for bulk buyers and charge based on average needs, but that idea has not gone done well either., with many arging increasing access prices would hurt just the same.

“We are supportive of improvements to the current pricing structure that would be competitively neutral and ensure that low usage and 'voice only' customers aren't disadvantaged,” a Telstra spokesperson said.

“They [NBN Co] are building a network that they want utilised [but] it's not going to be utilised to its full potential at the current pricing,” Aussie Broadband founder Phillip Britt told reporters.

“I can see a time when the industry has to raise prices.”

David Epstein, head of regulatory affairs at Optus, said the CVC pricing model was designed for a bygone era in internet use.

“We are very firmly of the belief that if there is a re-balancing and reconfiguring of the way that NBN charges, that it can meet its costs,” he said.

A Macquarie Telecom spokesperson said; “The discounts are too small and take to long to kick in. It needs a radical re-think otherwise the true consumer benefits of the NBN will be illusory.”