Alan pays $0* for internet. You can too.

POV: it’s 2026, and there are bills for everything. Internet. Phone. Streaming services. Music platforms. Smart home subscriptions. That gym membership you swore you’d cancel in 2023. It adds up fast.

But imagine wiping at least one of those bills entirely off your monthly budget. No tricks, no extreme couponing, no selling your old tech online. Just… gone.*

That’s exactly what our mate Alan pulled off, purely by using Exetel’s Refer a Friend program.

What are we talking about?

Fast nbn, rock-solid performance, and a neat bonus: $1 off your bill every month for every mate who joins with your Exetel referral code, as long as you both remain connected. The One Plan plus Refer a Friend? That’s a quiet little life upgrade worth sharing. And if your place looks anything like Alan’s streaming, gaming, video calls, WFH all at once — this combo can actually shave a meaningful chunk off the cost of keeping everyone online.

Who’s Alan F? Gamer. Dad. Household bandwidth hero.

Alan F. is the definition of a power user: dedicated gamer, dad, and captain of a household that basically lives online. Multiple consoles, 4K streams, big downloads, and the kind of bandwidth battle that would break a lesser plan.  A bill that quietly creeps up? Hard no.

So, when his old provider bumped up the price, Alan went looking for something just as fast, ideally faster, without the budget blowout. That search led him to Exetel and The One Plan, where he landed a quicker speed tier at a lower monthly cost. Easy choice.

When a simple referral field sparked an idea

During sign-up, Alan spotted the referral field — enter a code, get a dollar off. He didn’t know anyone on The One, so he grabbed a publicly shared community code and moved on.

A few days later, after stress-testing Exetel with the full household chaos, he was impressed enough to jump onto Reddit, where people were already venting about rising internet costs. He shared his experience and his Exetel friend referral code, simply to help others cut their bills.

And then things escalated.

From a few dollars off to an actual $0 bill*

Alan expected a few referrals, maybe enough to shave a couple of dollars off his bill. But then the emails started landing. One after another.

By the time 177 people had used his code, Alan had effectively wiped out his entire monthly Exetel bill. “As a big online gamer with a family that is always online, I needed a fast, reliable plan that did not wreck the budget, and Exetel The One nailed it. I started sharing my Exetel Refer a Friend code on forums to help people hit by price hikes, and now 177 referrals later my monthly bill is basically wiped out — which is huge when every dollar counts.”

For a family feeling the cost-of-living pressure like everyone else, hitting a $0 bill* wasn’t just a win. It was a small, unexpected miracle.

How Exetel’s Refer a Friend program actually works

Exetel designed Refer a Friend to be simple and transparent and, honestly, a bit fun. When you’re on The One plan:

• You get a unique Exetel referral code.

• Every person who signs up using it gets $1 off their monthly bill.

• You get $1 off your bill too.

• The credit lasts as long as both of you stay on The One plan.

There’s even a built-in game element: up to 80 active Exetel friend referrals can completely wipe out an $80 monthly plan. Your discount can’t go beyond 100%, but you can legitimately bring your bill all the way down to zero.*

Sharing your code: the easy part

Once you’re on The One, just jump into the Exetel app and tap the “Refer a friend” tab to grab your Exetel referral code. Drop it into a group chat, send it to your mum, post it on a forum, whatever works. As long as people sign up using your code at checkout, you both get the discount automatically.

Alan’s experience shows that honesty counts: people trust real experiences, real numbers, and real answers to their questions. And over time, those tiny $1 credits stack up in a big way.

Alan’s take: it started as helping others, ended with a free bill

Alan never expected to hit a $0 bill. His goal was simply to point people toward a fast,  well priced alternative after seeing so many complaining about rising costs. Getting paid back through referrals was just the cherry on top.

For a heavy-usage household, he rates Exetel The One for its mix of speed, reliability, value — and the unexpected bonus of Refer a Friend turning his monthly internet bill into a $0 line item.

And honestly, in a world where everything has a subscription fee, that’s a plot twist we can all appreciate.

*$1 off referrer & referee monthly bills, if both remain connected. 80 referrals to achieve $0 monthly bill. T&Cs apply.

Frequently Asked Questions about Refer a Friend

How much can I get with Refer a Friend?

Each successful referral on The One plan gives you $1 off your monthly bill, up to a maximum of 100% of your service charge.* The same $1 discount applies to the friend you referred, as long as both of you remain on Exetel The One.

Is there a limit to how many friends I can refer?

You can refer up to 80 friends and stack $1 discounts up to the full value of your monthly service. You can keep sharing your code with more people, but your discount will never exceed your total bill amount.

What happens if one of my referred friends leaves Exetel or changes plans?

If any friend you referred disconnects or moves off The One plan, you lose the $1 monthly discount that came from that friend. Your remaining discounts stay in place for as long as those mates stay connected on The One.

How do I get my referral code?

After you join The One plan, download the Exetel app and look for the “Refer a Friend” section. Your unique referral code lives there and can be copied and shared into texts, emails or posts.

Do I need to be on The One plan to participate?

Yes. The Refer a Friend offer is linked specifically to Exetel’s The One plan, so you need to be on that plan to send or receive the ongoing $1 monthly credit. Both you and your friend must remain on The One for the discount to keep applying.

Can Refer a Friend really bring my bill to $0 like Alan’s?

It can if the total of your active $1 credits reaches the full amount of your monthly bill, and referrers like Alan have managed exactly that. While not everyone will hit 80 friends, even a handful of referrals can noticeably reduce what you pay each month.

Learn more about Refer a friend and start saving!  

*$1 off referrer & referee monthly bills, if both remain connected. 80 referrals to achieve $0 monthly bill. T&Cs apply.