Australia’s best mobile phone plan providers | CHOICE. I haven’t been able to find out in the survey as to which providers run off Telstra 5G. The whole hog. Or whether there are only limited usage providers. Thanks.
Welcome to the Community @peter333,
You have identified what the report is, a survey of customer satisfaction, not a compendium of the services each offers or includes. Since 5G is only available in very limited locales to date it is a future for most, and anyone who has it high on their list of needs is advised to consider the carrier’s network coverage for functionality, and then check for 5G rollout, and then whether the SIM provider of choice (no pun intended) includes it.
It probably remains relatively rare. Even Telstra only advertises coverage for ‘75% of Australians’ which means not even in all the major metro areas have complete coverage yet. Because it is a differentiator it is one reason a customer may prefer to stay with a major, as well as the fact SIM providers, that excepting for Boost on Telstra, only have access to the telco’s wholesale network, not the entire network. The latter point is not so important in the major built up areas, but makes a big difference in the bush or just in the number of black spots driving eg between Melbourne and Adelaide.
As 5G becomes more common whether a SIM provider has access would be a good addition to the next report. @aangoveplumb, one for your in-basket for next time?
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In WA, because of COVID, it is now necessary to have proof of vaccination, either paper form or as an app on your mobile. As a Senior I’m looking for the most data with a roll over as I will now have to have my mobile data function switched on all the time. I’m currently with Voda’s $20 per month plan which is fairly limiting.
I’d be grateful for any advice about this please. I see Aldi has a $25/month plan with 20GB but I don’t how long that would last in my new situation. I use my phone for emails, Facebook and WhatsApp all in Perth. No overseas calls, all local.
Thanks
John Blakey
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Hi John,
I merged your query into this existing topic about SIM only providers (eg not including a bundled phone).
FWIW I have an Aldi ‘99 Super Pack’ only available at Aldi when they offer it, but then you can renew it every year. It comes with 15GB of data for the year and unlimited talk and text (domestic). I have never used more than 5 GB in a year and my use is similar to your own, so don’t make an assumption on how much you need, and especially how much more you need because of COVID checkins.
You will find a number of mobile services offer lots of data on annual prepaid plans from Boost to Woolies to Aldi and others all less than $20 pm, if you can afford to pay annually.
I suggest you review how much data you use for your social activities and email, and the extra for COVID checkin is going to be minimal. Your phone has a record of how much data it thinks was used (as your phone measures it), and your mobile account should be able to show you that information on a daily trailing basis (as your mobile service charges for it).
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Most of the Covid (check-in) apps aren’t overly data hungry. The key aspect will be whether an existing phone can install the required app. If not, it may require a phone upgrade, where the upgraded phone functionality causes greater data use (say going from a basic older smart phone with limited functionality, to the latest model which can be used for a wide range of connected services).
Does WA government allow pdf copies (of the paper version) of the certificate to be stored on the phone? Looking online, it is allowed, it might be another option which doesn’t require any changes to the status quo. If your existing allowance is satisfactory, then it should remain the same into the future.
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You’ve stated this before, but you mean your Woolworths rewards credit card, not the free everyday rewards card, correct?
I have had to abandon Woolworths mobile, even though I liked it and it suited my use case. Sadly, since Telstra has been introducing 5G and thus moving slowly away from 3G to accommodate it, I have been unable to have phone calls in or out without people on the other end complaining about the quality of the call or losing me completely. I looked for something similar in the Optus and resellers area and discovered that GOMO was likely to suit me, even though its $5/m more. Its owned by Optus and is to Optus as Boost is to Telstra.
For its $15/month I get the usual unlimited calls and texts, plus 8GB of data which is way more than I need, but handy if I need extra whilst out and about. (rare event!). I can also have it on an e-SIM, and GOMO also has VoLTE and VoWiFi. Its probably worth that extra $5. No further complaints from friends and associates of inability to hear me.
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And that stopped within a month of getting the service. Everything works on all providers when I drive up the hill. At home, I’ve had to take a VoIP service with my NBN provider. It’s PAYG (I had a $10/m unlimited but didn’t use it much) and will do for me.
I hate what this rush for 5G is doing to those of us who have no need of it and are “fringe dwellers”. A check on the Aus Phone Towers app tells me I am well outside coverage for all providers. O joy!
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That’s technically incorrect (from an ownership perspective) and correct (from a network coverage perspective).
Boost is owned by a USA company but is the only Telstra MVNO to share billing infrastructure and the whole Telstra network. GOMO, like all Optus wholesale customers, share the same Optus network as Optus Retail. But that’s no different to other Optus MVNO.
Belong is a subsidiary owned by Telstra. So Belong is similar to GOMO as there both budget brands owned by the network provider they’re wholesaling from.
For many years around the 2015 era Telstra Prepaid customers could buy Google Play Books and Apps using Telstra Prepaid credit and when it officially stopped in 2017 selected publisher’s Google Play Books could be purchased for a few more years as well. This made Telstra Prepaid very good value if you used Google services.
However this has long gone so yes now Telstra PrePaid is poor value.
The Boost $200 plan can often be bought for ~$150 by eBay sellers(further discounts if you subscribe to eBay Plus sometimes) or direct from mobile starter kit resellers websites. With gift cards further discounts stack on top (extra 5% to 15%).
So effectively you can still have your $12.50/month plan which until November 2022 will also support 5G. I’m not sure what happens after that - it maybe that only higher rate plans will support 5G.
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A PS, Boost as well as other prepaid SIM plans can often be purchased at Colesworths and (probably other outlets) at good discounts from time to time. Many starter packs are 50% off labelled RRP (whatever that means in reality).
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I have never seen long expiry plans for Boost at discount at ColesWorth. And scanning through Ozbargain links for the past few tens of deals shows that to be correct.
However one month plans for Boost and other starter packs are, I agree, often sold for 50% (or even more) regularly.
But that’s not the best deal for SIM only plans - with cashback deals - some starter packs are sold at no cost or the MVNO pay you to sign up. Effectively a small profit! This is so that the MVNO can show increases in customer numbers to investors. Less cynically, the MVNO also hope that you’ll stay on for longer.
Fun fact: On Ozbargain (and now some other internet forums) customers who churn or port every month or few months chasing these starter pack specials are called “Sim ■■■■■”. It seems the slang was first used on on ozbargain in 2015
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[Not sure if it’s more of a sin here to find and revive an old topic or add a similar one.]
This thread seems to be about Telstra Network Partners and I have just come across a useful article published this month - by CyberShack - Telstra’s Retail Vs Wholesale mobile plans – the catches you need to know - Cybershack . Covers the claims vs reality (e.g. network coverage) for Telstra as well as Telstra MVNOs like Woolworths and Aldi .
Disclosure: I am on Telstra annual prepay. Partner is on annual Woolworths so we enjoy getting 10% off our largest shop there each month.
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Hi @consumanon,
No ‘sins’ because where to put posts are personal judgement calls, but I moved your post to this topic that is more germane.
Your mention of Cybershack.com is welcome because I have found their reviews about ‘everything mobile phone’ to be excellent.
A related post - while not called out the embedded links are to Cybershack reviews.
For readers bookmarked into this topic, the most recent Choice article is linked to post 1, as well as here.
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$50/gigabyte sounds a bit steep particularly if someone sends you a WhatsApp message with a big movie that auto downloads.
ALDImobile PAYG is mostly used by those who use their phones for infrequent contact with very little data usage, they are phoning a non included country or they are roaming internationally. If there is going to be more frequent data usage then getting a plan (and there are a few) that includes free calls and SMS/MMS with some data included is the way to go. If someone has set their Whatsapp to auto download media on a PAYG plan, this is probably a bad idea. To disable it if it has been set to auto download see the following link (it has instructions for Android and iOS) How to configure auto-download | WhatsApp Help Center. Settings to disable auto download certainly exist as can be found at the link and should be used when on a very limited data or pay per MB plan.
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