Why you don’t need to pay more than $10 for a mobile plan
I reckon 95 per cent of Australians are paying more than they need to because they’re on the wrong mobile plan.
There are two basic reasons for this. Firstly, most people get a plan directly from the three network providers Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. However the best plans are almost always with “resellers”, who buy network capacity wholesale and on-sell it to their customers.
The second reason is that we’ve bought tinto the idea that we need the shiniest plan, with the most data and inclusions, when in reality we might only watch a few videos and do social media and messaging with our phone. If you want to pay $40 a month for 60 Gb of data go right ahead, but at least check how much data you actually use first. For most users it’s likely to be a few gigabytes a month at most.
(As an aside, I sometimes get asked if post-paid or pre-paid is best and it doesn’t make a huge difference, you get more flexibility with prepaid but sometimes better features on a post-paid plan. Most of the plans at the bargain end of the market are pre-paid.)
Here are four providers with plans starting at only $10 a month (including at least 1 Gb data) that are worth a look:
- SpinTel (Optus reseller)
- Amaysim (Optus reseller)
- LycaMobile (Telstra reseller)
- Woolworths Mobile (Telstra reseller)
Another good option is AldiMobile (Telstra reseller) which which has flexible options starting at $15 with 3 Gb data, while if you make a lot of international calls, Lebara (Vodafone reseller) has good inclusions and also starts at $15 a month with 3 Gb data.
Before signing up with a Telstra reseller you should also know that you won’t get quite the same data speeds and network coverage as Telstra’s own plans, which are throttled back for resellers (except for Telstra’s own bargain brand Boost). Most users will not notice a lot of difference unless you travel in regional Australia.
If you’re only an occasional mobile user, you can also consider “pay as you go” (PAYG) prepaid where you buy call/data credit with a long expiry and use it up per minute of calls or megabyte of download (old school right?). Several providers including the networks themselves, AldiMobile and Amaysim offer PAYG, and it’s worth checking the rates out, but if you’re a regular user this is unlikely to be the best value.
Have other questions about mobile phones? Know a better value plan than these ones? Get in touch at alex@alexmaroya.com. And remember, all my advice is fully independent and 100% commission free.