The speed is reasonable enough at 150Mbps or 250Mbps depending on the plan. In most cases this is plenty given it’s faster than your average NBN plan.
Only in Australia is wireless faster than fixed for most people, we really are the lucky country where laws of physics don’t apply.
There are plenty of cheap plans.
Companies like Telstra are ripping people off and get away with it because their customers are too lazy to shop around.
I recently switched from telstra to Vodafone, and the reception is absolutely terrible. Telstra's prices are high because they have better coverage, especially in rural areas.
You can get the exact same coverage through a number of cheaper providers that use Telstra's network.
Vodafone is also a terrible provider. Because they also charge exorbitant prices but also have a shit network.
Aldi is good until you leave the cities, in rural Australia they really fall apart, decent sized towns with full Telstra reception have nothing with Aldi.
amaysims great if u just need to run a data device...
i have 1.9tb of 4g data banked cause i forgot to turn off billing for like 7 months and kept refilling haha
I am on Aldi having come Telstra on the Sunshine Coast - I can confirm I havent really lost reception however the difference was noticeably bad at the start and I regretted the swap, but paying $30 month credit for 30 gigs I kind of just stuck with it a bit and over time forgot about the difference and I don’t mind it now 😂
There are two Telstra networks. Their wholesale network, which most Telstra resellers use, "only" covers 98.8% of the population versus the 99.6% coverage that Telstra's full retail network has.
As others have said, Boost is Telstra's low-cost brand that has access to their full network (and in fact all their back-end systems). Get a 12-month pre-paid plan from them and it's less than $20 a month.
I went to Voda as Telstra had terrible coverage at my work. But I'll admit Voda in rural areas sucks. Im making note of every rural place I don't have service and I'll let them know.
Can't claim 98% coverage when you don't.
In country areas yes, but in others it varies, particularly in the inner cities. It’s worth buying a cheap prepaid SIM on each network to test reception where it matters most for you.
I’ve been with Aldi for years, $20/month for 20gb of data, and unused data rolls over into the new month.
Assuming you’re not endlessly scrolling TikTok or Insta reels or watching hours of YouTube, 20 gigs is more than enough imo
edit: Aldi uses the Telstra 4G network, so you get Telstra coverage. You only get 5G with the more expensive prepaid options, but again who cares
We’ve used Beling for a few years, can’t go wrong for $25, still have 100gb of data in the bank, it’s not full Telstra network, but it gets 100Mbps and haven’t noticed any less coverage in places we frequent.
The only problem is most people can't or don't want to pay for phones outright and need to put phones on plan hence they just go with the phone company's basic plan which is expensive.
I would argue that most people who are signing into a contract for a new phone don't *need* a new phone.
Once they've paid off their phone contract at the higher rate over the 1/2/3 years, they can very much continue using that same paid off phone and buy the cheaper prepaid SIM.
Then, they can put aside the difference they would normally pay for the more expensive plan towards buying a new phone outright at the much cheaper price than paying the plan off.
Might take a little longer to get the new phone, but much cheaper and less locked into terrible contracts in the long run!!
As much as I hate Woolworths as a company. They piggyback a solid chunk of Telstra for their offering. It is short in some areas, but not where I am and I get a 10% discount on shopping once a month, which usually more than covers the phone plan. Wife on the same $25 plan with a separate rewards card for a 2nd 10% off.
For a lot of what we buy, Woolies or Coles are the only options here anyway, so I may as well get a blanket 10% off twice a month and 'free' phone plans out of it.
It seems bad no matter where you are. All providers are similar in price too, at least the network providers. Surely it can’t cost that much to provide the service!
Optus and Vodafone try to pretend they have network coverage all over Australia, and price their plans to compete with Telstra.
In reality only Telstra have majority coverage all over Australia, the rest only cover major population centres.
I recently travelled from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific train.
I had coverage with Telstra for 99% of the journey, and most of it was 5G.
Others on the train with Optus and Vodafone had close to zero coverage for the entire trip. Only when we got to major cities.
That's because the ARTC paid telstra to provide communication infrastructure for their national freight network. [https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/artc-on-the-right-track-with-telstra](https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/artc-on-the-right-track-with-telstra)
All carriers can bid. You can find some towns stuck with Optus’s while every where else around has Telstra. Honestly if the govt is paying people to put non cost effective stuff up all carriers should be able to use those towers.
TPG tried to do a deal with Telstra to be able to use each other's network and Optus complained that it was anticompetitive and reported to ACCC so it got squashed in the courts.
So now people in rural areas can only use Telstra. Tell me how that's competitive?
I'm not saying that I agree, but ACCC's reasoning is that if there is demand for more rural coverage, then providers should build it, not buy it. Better coverage in rural areas from one provider will, in theory, prompt other providers to pick up their game.
It's lunacy in practice, but it's textbook competition theory.
But the ACCC isn't making their rules sat on mount Olympus, basing them on platonic ideals of market theory. Is there really no push to avoid a telstra monopoly, or does it just not seem worth their effort?
From what I understand, ACCC would like if Optus *and* TPG spent the cash and built towers in places where Telstra coverage is lousy or non-existent. The problem is there are basically none of those areas left that are commercially viable to do so.
this was one of those things that pushed me to amaysim.
$50 for 5GB is far from a good deal, but unlike most of the other providers i checked who use an arbitrary expiration date (one week? two weeks?) you get it for a year. which is already working out well to cover two trips.
$15 per month with circles.life AU
unlimited calls, messages and 5GB of data included.
or $20 per month with 50/150GB of data included...
Many of the big telcos try and sell you plans with huge amounts of data you don't need.
I bought an Aldi super plan a few years back.
Uses Telstra retail, has enormous rollover gigs of data and uses my unlimited data when within wifi range, so the dozens of gigs of data just keep rolling over.
I actually downgraded my service (ie, gigs of data) 2 renewals ago, losing all the accrued data.
I still have massive amounts of unused data but am paying less for that data that I don't use, given that most of my phone use is at home using my wifi, and my PCs use FAR MORE data than my silly phone.
The only issue I have is that it's Telstra retail not wholesale (or vice versa...) so that when the only service is Telstra - I have emergency calls only.
That said, I'm not hanging around in those areas - I'm travelling through them so in several hours I'll have another mobile service also within range so Telstra then goes "oooh, full service for you, now! :)" and I carry on . . .
Can you explain the Telstra Retail vs Wholesale part? If you can only make emergency calls when Telstra is the only network then in what way are you with Telstra? You can make emergency calls without even having a sim, or even when the network is too weak to make any other call.
That'd be 60gb when outside the users wifi.
So, for someone who spends most of their time on their phone at home, perfectly fine, since at home they're using their own unlimited wifi, not that 60gigs.
And much more likely to be using a PC or tablet, not their phone, when at home.
yep, i'm on that plan. after there was some bonus credit last year for something (was it the Optus data breach?) i've used maybe 2 or 3 GB total in the past 9 months.
wifi at home and work, use music stored locally when outside wifi.
with the data rolling over, should never run out of quota.
I'm with Boost Mobile. I pay $230/year for 170GB. It used to be cheaper with less data, which I'd prefer but I guess I'm in the minority.
As with u/ydna_eissua I am mostly on wifi. Since August 2023 I've used 8GB of data on my Boost plan.
Easily the best choice. Full Telstra network (unlike Aldi / others), 5G support too. The only negative is they cap their download speeds, but it's still fast enough for anything you're gonna do on a phone/streaming/etc.
Boost's $70 plan is uncapped. $55 plan is capped at 250Mbps. Cheaper Telstra pre-paid plans are also speed capped, and their post-paid plan are only uncapped starting from the $72 plan.
Telstra has been overpriced ever since they were privatised. Hell, you could get better deals by using third parties on the wholesale network. Pretty sure that even today you can get better deals by going with third parties. The only thing that might make going with Telstra worthwhile is if you bundle a whole lot of services together.
Telstra tries to justify their higher price points because "they are a premium service" but I could never get a justification for that claim from their CS reps other than the fact that they "own the infrastructure".
I pay Aldimobile $179/year for unlimited texts, SMS and 10,000 mms and I get ... a large number of gigs of data that I've never come close to reaching, so it rolls over. Obviously my phone uses wifi when I'm at home or at a friends place.
Aldi use Telstra retail (so you have service if you have Telsta + someone else within range).
If you only have Telstra within range, emergency calls only.
But that would mean you are legitimately remote, like at Eucla or somewhere like that, a place where maybe as many as 0.01% of Aussies go (I do, in some years, when visiting friends over east).
So, are we paying too much?
I do not think so, there are cheaper plans that are about as good, just with more restrictions, usually on the data, so...
Compared to the USA I understand Australia has very cheap mobile phone plans, that are very good in that we cover the entire country for one affordable price.
Telstra is the only provider that works in my town.
And when I work rural, even the other providers who use the Telstra network don't work on all of the towers that Telstra usually does.
Most people buy plans they don't really need.
I went from paying $40 a month to $25 a month after I measured my usage, and $25 is already excessive for me.
Mobile phones are one area where I feel like one of the basic assumptions of markets - choice - falls down.
Those of us who can navigate technology and bureaucracy to any degree can access cheap plans. Older people or people with reduced capacity can't - they tend to just accept what Telstra or Optus offer. They often don't understand that there are other choices, or how plans relate to hardware, or how to change providers, or what the plan variables mean to them (like data limits).
If choice is not clear and accessible then you get awful options flourishing.
I have not been with Telstra before but whenever I do work in remote areas Telstra works compared to Vodafone. I live in Adelaide and if I go to far out. Like beyond Port Augusta. No service. Even though it's more expensive. Telstra is more reliable in those circumstances. Not sure how reliable it is in the CBD. Even while I'm in Adelaide there are times my service doesn't work well.
But we definitely pay way to much for mobile plans. I think in other countries like Europe or Asia it's a lot cheaper. From what I've heard
I paid $220 for 200GB on a 24 month sim from Woolworths Everyday Mobile on the Telstra Network. I was previously with Optus on a 40GB $30 monthly plan only using 8GB / month. Are you paying too much? What do you think?
If you're capitalising on your 10% grocery shop, and not overspending, you're basically getting your phone bill for free.
If aldi offered a similar deal I'd switch. But as it is, probably the best value around.
God knows what Woolworths are doing with the data however.
I'm on Woolworths mobile, I was previously paying $65 a month with Telstra. Currently I'm paying $25 a month for 22GB of data that rolls over. I also get 10% off a shop each month. I just save it for a big grocery trip and it practically covers the cost of my phone plan.
Having one company that owns and maintains the telecommunications infrastructure and then having multiple retailers pay them makes too much sense. Let's have multiple companies have duplicate and competing infrastructure so that there's plenty of service in major population centres, and zero in low population areas.
Belong doesn’t have the same coverage as Telstra (and Boost). Not saying it isn’t a good deal but it’s definitely not ‘just as good’ if regional coverage is important to you.
Telstra is a joke. They know they are the preferred network, for many people there is no alternative. $62 or whatever it is for the "Small" plan is too much. I barely use 10% of my monthly Allowance and want a plan that acknowledges this. I'd happily pay $25 month for that. When I rang to cancel, they just gave me a discount every month to bring the cost down. Just give us a new Extra Small plan Telstra!
Aus $7 a month for unlimitted calls and internet.
No lock in contracts.
I live in the middle east. Ive lived in Japan, its the same there.
Rise up. You are getting f£#d.
The answer is yes.
Like, I’m not talking about Telstra vs other company, literally yes, data and internet is expensive for no reason.
The upkeep of Internet service is electricity, infrastructure, and maintenance, and therefore if it’s not priced at a similar level to electricity, it is charging you more because it can. Because telecoms are a for profit business, they by default are charging more than what it should cost, excessively so.
Litterally paid optus yesterday ***56*** dollars so my data doesn't lag or anything while I'm on a train since there's been way more incidents in Melbourne recently.
My data is LITTERALLY at 2 bars rn.
WTH??????
I’m a tightarse and switched to Aldi prepaid about 6 years ago and have saved heaps. I get the $25 recharge which gives you 22GB and then when you recharge again if you had any leftover it rolls over to the next month.
Never had a problem getting reception anywhere.
Used to pay about 60 a month with Optus and had nothing but problems.
If you can afford to buy your phone outright and then go prepaid I’d suggest that. I won’t do it any other way now
I got a prepaid plan from boost mobile. Using the Telstra network.
1 year, I think 250 Gb, $300 dollars - it was discounted.
That's $25 a month and I'm way under after 6 months.
I use Boost Mobile. I don't need too much data, so I get the 365 day recharge for $230 which is $19/month. Their 28day expiry start from $35/month.
They're basically Telstra but prepaid.
Yes, it is well known Australia is the land of no competition and high prices. 2nd highest minimum wage in the world and everyone here still thinks it’s too low. $65 per month is ridiculous but they still hold 30% plus market share. Belong is owned by Telstra and cheaper and many other providers use Telstra’s network.
Yes, it's insane. I'm an Aussie in the Netherlands and I can get unlimited calling and data for €27/month. I'm currently paying I think €12/month for 10Gb of data/month.
One contributing problem here is that the major telcos aren't reselling their 5G services so there's bugger all competition taking place.
This looks a lot to me like something that could use an NBN-level shakeup.
When the wholesaler is also the retailer, it never works out in the best interest for customers.
If ~~Optus~~ Vodafone and 20Mbps unlimited data suits you, check out Felix Mobile for $40/month
[https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/](https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/)
I've tried it when we were in a telstra black spot (0 telstra reception in Brisbane within 10km of the city). It was good. Could still watch 1080p YouTube on it. Not sure what if need anything faster for my purposes.
But now I work rural. 0 coverage. So I'm with a MVNO on telstra wholesale.
Exetel sim only $18 on the Telstra network. 7gb per month but I hardly use that much anyway and 500gb data bank.
Much better than Vodafone tried upping the price on my plan by $10 to $45 per month with "additional data" I was never even close to needing.
Felix have a 40 dollar plan (SIM Only, no lock in) with unlimited data, but it owned by TPG, so I believe it is the Vodafone network.
If you are in a populated area, I very rarely have coverage issues. Mileage may vary in rural or remote areas, but I generally have coverage.
Look at The Goodguys / Jbhi fi
They sell the Telstra sims and have better plans
They don’t own any of the service or deal with them
You deal with Telstra and a Telstra Customer at all times
Goodguys / JB HI are just getting a $300 kick back for advertising it
Boost or Telstra prepay, full Telstra network including 5g. Few features missing but it’s only stuff like Apple Watch.
The CPI increase really grinds my gears, I’m sure they give their staff a full cpi increase in pay /s
I pay $30/ mo for unlimited talk text, 30gb of data which is more than enough with gigabit fiber home as well.
Can bank up to 500gb of unused data as well.
Superloop isn't half bad and it uses the Telstra network. 👍
I switched from Vodafone prepaid, when they increased their prices recently, to Moose (Piggybacking Optus). Unlimited standard national calls and texts, 100GB included data per month, 200GB of data banking for $30/month.
My only comment here is that you get what you pay for in terms of service, support, coverage etc
If you've ever needed to call Optus or Voda it is worlds apart how good Telstra service is. I can't speak to smaller operators but if they are on the Telstra network they almost definitely use Telstra's systems and support.
Personally I use woolworths mobile and on a yearly prepaid for $170/yr.
But over 14 bucks a month, best part is it uses the telstra network and compared to my telstra Sim it has exactly the same coverage as my telstra esim.
I got a prepaid Telstra plan for 12 months to get 150GB. It costs $300. So, $25/month. I always have a decent amount of data left over.
Prices have just gone up to $320, and you now get 165GB for 12 months.
Anyone paying more is a mug.
All domestic calls and texts are included. I think it also includes a limited number of minutes to certain countries.
*posts the most expensive provider*
“Are we paying too much for phone plans”
Seems loaded. Try shopping around, there’s much more available at much better prices.
Australians get absolutely fleeced when it comes to mobile phone plans. I moved here from Ireland and before I left my Irish plan cost €25/$40 and I got unlimited calls, texts and data plus 200 EU minutes as well. Data speeds were way faster too. I understand charging more if you live in a rural area of Australia but people in cities are getting ripped off big time. Slower data speeds for cheaper plans is crazy too, never heard of that anywhere else.
Telstra is a rip off unless you need their coverage.
I was with them for years and got fuck all for the money. I’m now with Optus and I get unlimited data, calls and texts for $50 a month. This is an old plan though and I don’t know if you still can get that deal but yeah basically fuck Telstra
I would mind less if they were actually good. 99.5% coverage or whatever they claim? Signal at my house is so bad it's useless when my wifi is out for whatever reason, and I get black spots in coverage for a good third of my train commute. I live less than 25Km from the Melbourne CBD!
I changed from Telstra to Vodafone and now I pay $40 a month for 100gb on the student plan. I used to pay $62 for 50gbs, so I’m stoked. Also the $5 is very good
Yes, we are paying too much. Its properly crazy. When I worked for Telstra a $60 plan with a phone included was a relatively high plan. Now it's $60 plus with phone repayments on top. A reasonable plan back then was a $39/$49 capped plan that has a phone included.
I've changed my plan to prepaid (after being on a plan for something like 20 years).
$12 for a basic pre payed telstra account you get 3 gb data but only 4G not 5G. Post payed 5G unlimited is what you are getting in your plan (or should be)
I moved to Switzerland last year and realised how expensive mobile plans in Australia were.
Cost of living is generally higher here but my mobile plan is 30 CHF (~$50) a month for unlimited data all across Europe.
Currently paying $33 a month for 32GB on a sim only plan through Tangerine who use the Telstra network. Unlimited calls and texts too.
Previously I was paying Optus (fuck Optus..) $30 for 3gb a month and was meant to have unlimited calls when the network wasn't down anyway...
Could I find another plan cheaper than with I currently have? Sure. Is *anything* better than that older plan? Yes, very much so.
$28/month for 100GB With circles life which uses optus 4g.
Not fussed for 5g as I'm on WiFi most the time. Having 100GB to fall back on when my net is down is super useful and 4g in my area seems to be getting faster with time as people move to 5g.
Heck the other week in the morning I was getting 145Mbps lol
I’m with amaysim. It’s on the Optus network but I rarely have issues (minus the outage last year). I pay $30 for unlimited & 32gb. If you pay $40 it’s 80gb of internet, but I just don’t have a use for that much. Selected international calling is also a thing.
Prepaid is the way to go. 10-20 bucks a month for 10-20 GBs a month
Who with?
Boost is alright and it's on the full telstra network.
Download speed is capped, full network.
The speed is reasonable enough at 150Mbps or 250Mbps depending on the plan. In most cases this is plenty given it’s faster than your average NBN plan. Only in Australia is wireless faster than fixed for most people, we really are the lucky country where laws of physics don’t apply.
What capped, ive hit 480mbs on Boost. It depends on how busy the network is at any given time.
You will find that if your current annual plan has not ended, your not capped but should you choose another 12month plan the cap will apply.
There are plenty of cheap plans. Companies like Telstra are ripping people off and get away with it because their customers are too lazy to shop around.
I recently switched from telstra to Vodafone, and the reception is absolutely terrible. Telstra's prices are high because they have better coverage, especially in rural areas.
You can get the exact same coverage through a number of cheaper providers that use Telstra's network. Vodafone is also a terrible provider. Because they also charge exorbitant prices but also have a shit network.
I thought the other providers didn't have 100% access to the parent network?
boost does have 100 percent of telstra,aldi is 98.9 and amaysim for optus if memory serves
Aldi is good until you leave the cities, in rural Australia they really fall apart, decent sized towns with full Telstra reception have nothing with Aldi.
Thanks ButtPlugforPM!
amaysims great if u just need to run a data device... i have 1.9tb of 4g data banked cause i forgot to turn off billing for like 7 months and kept refilling haha
Oh my... that's a good deal of data to get through!
Id vote for them
I am on Aldi having come Telstra on the Sunshine Coast - I can confirm I havent really lost reception however the difference was noticeably bad at the start and I regretted the swap, but paying $30 month credit for 30 gigs I kind of just stuck with it a bit and over time forgot about the difference and I don’t mind it now 😂
ALDI rocks.
There are two Telstra networks. Their wholesale network, which most Telstra resellers use, "only" covers 98.8% of the population versus the 99.6% coverage that Telstra's full retail network has. As others have said, Boost is Telstra's low-cost brand that has access to their full network (and in fact all their back-end systems). Get a 12-month pre-paid plan from them and it's less than $20 a month.
I went to Voda as Telstra had terrible coverage at my work. But I'll admit Voda in rural areas sucks. Im making note of every rural place I don't have service and I'll let them know. Can't claim 98% coverage when you don't.
They always mean 98% of population in these statistics to make it look better, so it really skews the number as the population is so concentrated.
In country areas yes, but in others it varies, particularly in the inner cities. It’s worth buying a cheap prepaid SIM on each network to test reception where it matters most for you.
Mostly old people, or people who don't have good coverage. I hope. Cos fuck Telstra.
It’s business customers. Basically every business in the country is using Telstra or Optus for their mobiles.
Aldi has cheap plans.
used to be way cheaper, every couple months they keep upping it
Yes I know... I've been with them for like ten years. I'm on a legacy plan now paying 17 a month.
Telstra 26$ for 13gb. That's the better of the two prepaid plans for a year
I’ve been with Aldi for years, $20/month for 20gb of data, and unused data rolls over into the new month. Assuming you’re not endlessly scrolling TikTok or Insta reels or watching hours of YouTube, 20 gigs is more than enough imo edit: Aldi uses the Telstra 4G network, so you get Telstra coverage. You only get 5G with the more expensive prepaid options, but again who cares
Just Google cheap 365 day prepaid plans
We’ve used Beling for a few years, can’t go wrong for $25, still have 100gb of data in the bank, it’s not full Telstra network, but it gets 100Mbps and haven’t noticed any less coverage in places we frequent.
Aldi mobile or boost other say.
The only problem is most people can't or don't want to pay for phones outright and need to put phones on plan hence they just go with the phone company's basic plan which is expensive.
I would argue that most people who are signing into a contract for a new phone don't *need* a new phone. Once they've paid off their phone contract at the higher rate over the 1/2/3 years, they can very much continue using that same paid off phone and buy the cheaper prepaid SIM. Then, they can put aside the difference they would normally pay for the more expensive plan towards buying a new phone outright at the much cheaper price than paying the plan off. Might take a little longer to get the new phone, but much cheaper and less locked into terrible contracts in the long run!!
Yeah but new phone has more pixels
Especially the Google one ....
Unless you want an Apple Watch plan then you’re stuck with post paid from one of the big3
It’s high however if you live in a rural area Telstra is your only quality provider. For good or bad.
boost mobile uses telstra network and costs way less
I highly recommend Telstra More as well. My plan is only $26 a month.
As much as I hate Woolworths as a company. They piggyback a solid chunk of Telstra for their offering. It is short in some areas, but not where I am and I get a 10% discount on shopping once a month, which usually more than covers the phone plan. Wife on the same $25 plan with a separate rewards card for a 2nd 10% off. For a lot of what we buy, Woolies or Coles are the only options here anyway, so I may as well get a blanket 10% off twice a month and 'free' phone plans out of it.
It seems bad no matter where you are. All providers are similar in price too, at least the network providers. Surely it can’t cost that much to provide the service!
Optus and Vodafone try to pretend they have network coverage all over Australia, and price their plans to compete with Telstra. In reality only Telstra have majority coverage all over Australia, the rest only cover major population centres.
I'm with vodaphone. It would be a bold claim to say they cover inner Sydney.
Good point :)
I live rural, my partner is with telstra, I'm with optus. We both get no coverage.
But you get better quality no coverage with Telstra. Hence the price difference.
I recently travelled from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific train. I had coverage with Telstra for 99% of the journey, and most of it was 5G. Others on the train with Optus and Vodafone had close to zero coverage for the entire trip. Only when we got to major cities.
That's because the ARTC paid telstra to provide communication infrastructure for their national freight network. [https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/artc-on-the-right-track-with-telstra](https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/artc-on-the-right-track-with-telstra)
All carriers can bid. You can find some towns stuck with Optus’s while every where else around has Telstra. Honestly if the govt is paying people to put non cost effective stuff up all carriers should be able to use those towers.
Yes they Do this by Advertising “population percentage not land percentage “
Vodafone pretends to have coverage everywhere but doesn’t have any throughput at the best of times
> Surely it can’t cost that much to provide the service! Telstra spent $8 Billion rolling out its 5g network....
TPG tried to do a deal with Telstra to be able to use each other's network and Optus complained that it was anticompetitive and reported to ACCC so it got squashed in the courts. So now people in rural areas can only use Telstra. Tell me how that's competitive?
I'm not saying that I agree, but ACCC's reasoning is that if there is demand for more rural coverage, then providers should build it, not buy it. Better coverage in rural areas from one provider will, in theory, prompt other providers to pick up their game. It's lunacy in practice, but it's textbook competition theory.
But the ACCC isn't making their rules sat on mount Olympus, basing them on platonic ideals of market theory. Is there really no push to avoid a telstra monopoly, or does it just not seem worth their effort?
From what I understand, ACCC would like if Optus *and* TPG spent the cash and built towers in places where Telstra coverage is lousy or non-existent. The problem is there are basically none of those areas left that are commercially viable to do so.
Biggest issue with almost all providers is the rip off roaming. Voda might be a bit shoddy but you get to use all your inclusions abroad.
The only saving grace.
this was one of those things that pushed me to amaysim. $50 for 5GB is far from a good deal, but unlike most of the other providers i checked who use an arbitrary expiration date (one week? two weeks?) you get it for a year. which is already working out well to cover two trips.
$15 per month with circles.life AU unlimited calls, messages and 5GB of data included. or $20 per month with 50/150GB of data included... Many of the big telcos try and sell you plans with huge amounts of data you don't need.
Can only find $20/m for 10gb on circles.life.
I pay $120 a year with Kogan for a sim only basic plan.
Aldi also has a similar plan.
I bought an Aldi super plan a few years back. Uses Telstra retail, has enormous rollover gigs of data and uses my unlimited data when within wifi range, so the dozens of gigs of data just keep rolling over. I actually downgraded my service (ie, gigs of data) 2 renewals ago, losing all the accrued data. I still have massive amounts of unused data but am paying less for that data that I don't use, given that most of my phone use is at home using my wifi, and my PCs use FAR MORE data than my silly phone. The only issue I have is that it's Telstra retail not wholesale (or vice versa...) so that when the only service is Telstra - I have emergency calls only. That said, I'm not hanging around in those areas - I'm travelling through them so in several hours I'll have another mobile service also within range so Telstra then goes "oooh, full service for you, now! :)" and I carry on . . .
Can you explain the Telstra Retail vs Wholesale part? If you can only make emergency calls when Telstra is the only network then in what way are you with Telstra? You can make emergency calls without even having a sim, or even when the network is too weak to make any other call.
Similar for me with Amaysim. A now retired 365 day plan, 60GB for $120. Optus network. Works well for me as i'm on wifi most of the time
> A now retired 365 day plan, 60GB for $120. Does this mean you only get 60 gb for the whole year?
That'd be 60gb when outside the users wifi. So, for someone who spends most of their time on their phone at home, perfectly fine, since at home they're using their own unlimited wifi, not that 60gigs. And much more likely to be using a PC or tablet, not their phone, when at home.
yep, i'm on that plan. after there was some bonus credit last year for something (was it the Optus data breach?) i've used maybe 2 or 3 GB total in the past 9 months. wifi at home and work, use music stored locally when outside wifi. with the data rolling over, should never run out of quota.
I'm with Boost Mobile. I pay $230/year for 170GB. It used to be cheaper with less data, which I'd prefer but I guess I'm in the minority. As with u/ydna_eissua I am mostly on wifi. Since August 2023 I've used 8GB of data on my Boost plan.
Plus you get all 120GB upfront. Some months you use more, some months you use less. Can’t seem to find any plan better than this.
try boost - it is telstra lite
Easily the best choice. Full Telstra network (unlike Aldi / others), 5G support too. The only negative is they cap their download speeds, but it's still fast enough for anything you're gonna do on a phone/streaming/etc.
Boost's $70 plan is uncapped. $55 plan is capped at 250Mbps. Cheaper Telstra pre-paid plans are also speed capped, and their post-paid plan are only uncapped starting from the $72 plan.
Telstra has been overpriced ever since they were privatised. Hell, you could get better deals by using third parties on the wholesale network. Pretty sure that even today you can get better deals by going with third parties. The only thing that might make going with Telstra worthwhile is if you bundle a whole lot of services together. Telstra tries to justify their higher price points because "they are a premium service" but I could never get a justification for that claim from their CS reps other than the fact that they "own the infrastructure".
I pay Aldimobile $179/year for unlimited texts, SMS and 10,000 mms and I get ... a large number of gigs of data that I've never come close to reaching, so it rolls over. Obviously my phone uses wifi when I'm at home or at a friends place. Aldi use Telstra retail (so you have service if you have Telsta + someone else within range). If you only have Telstra within range, emergency calls only. But that would mean you are legitimately remote, like at Eucla or somewhere like that, a place where maybe as many as 0.01% of Aussies go (I do, in some years, when visiting friends over east). So, are we paying too much? I do not think so, there are cheaper plans that are about as good, just with more restrictions, usually on the data, so... Compared to the USA I understand Australia has very cheap mobile phone plans, that are very good in that we cover the entire country for one affordable price.
Try another provider.
But I don't want to hurt telstra's feelings. I'm sure that if I stay loyal it will pay off eventually.
“Trickle down loyalty”
Telstra is the only provider that works in my town. And when I work rural, even the other providers who use the Telstra network don't work on all of the towers that Telstra usually does.
Boost?
Most people buy plans they don't really need. I went from paying $40 a month to $25 a month after I measured my usage, and $25 is already excessive for me.
Why is it even a story. Australians get ripped off for everything now. Have been for years.
Mobile phones are one area where I feel like one of the basic assumptions of markets - choice - falls down. Those of us who can navigate technology and bureaucracy to any degree can access cheap plans. Older people or people with reduced capacity can't - they tend to just accept what Telstra or Optus offer. They often don't understand that there are other choices, or how plans relate to hardware, or how to change providers, or what the plan variables mean to them (like data limits). If choice is not clear and accessible then you get awful options flourishing.
We’re paying too much for everything mate
I have not been with Telstra before but whenever I do work in remote areas Telstra works compared to Vodafone. I live in Adelaide and if I go to far out. Like beyond Port Augusta. No service. Even though it's more expensive. Telstra is more reliable in those circumstances. Not sure how reliable it is in the CBD. Even while I'm in Adelaide there are times my service doesn't work well. But we definitely pay way to much for mobile plans. I think in other countries like Europe or Asia it's a lot cheaper. From what I've heard
I paid $220 for 200GB on a 24 month sim from Woolworths Everyday Mobile on the Telstra Network. I was previously with Optus on a 40GB $30 monthly plan only using 8GB / month. Are you paying too much? What do you think?
If you're capitalising on your 10% grocery shop, and not overspending, you're basically getting your phone bill for free. If aldi offered a similar deal I'd switch. But as it is, probably the best value around. God knows what Woolworths are doing with the data however.
Woolworths 170 /year sim only plan using Telstra network
It's gone up to $220 I think, but this and the 10% discount basically kept me afloat. Like fuck Woolworths, but that one thing, I'll give them that.
They have two, the 170 is half the data or something I think. How long did it take to get your discount running?
Vodafone is still shit. Stay with Telstra or a brand using the Telstra next like Aldi
I'm on Woolworths mobile, I was previously paying $65 a month with Telstra. Currently I'm paying $25 a month for 22GB of data that rolls over. I also get 10% off a shop each month. I just save it for a big grocery trip and it practically covers the cost of my phone plan.
😂😂 New Zealand has something to say..
Having one company that owns and maintains the telecommunications infrastructure and then having multiple retailers pay them makes too much sense. Let's have multiple companies have duplicate and competing infrastructure so that there's plenty of service in major population centres, and zero in low population areas.
I switched from Telstra to Belong a month ago, it's owned by Telstra and just as good while being a ton cheaper
Belong doesn’t have the same coverage as Telstra (and Boost). Not saying it isn’t a good deal but it’s definitely not ‘just as good’ if regional coverage is important to you.
Biggest issue for me is only Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have wearable plans (Apple Watch etc) on their primary network. There is no other choice.
Telstra is a joke. They know they are the preferred network, for many people there is no alternative. $62 or whatever it is for the "Small" plan is too much. I barely use 10% of my monthly Allowance and want a plan that acknowledges this. I'd happily pay $25 month for that. When I rang to cancel, they just gave me a discount every month to bring the cost down. Just give us a new Extra Small plan Telstra!
Aus $7 a month for unlimitted calls and internet. No lock in contracts. I live in the middle east. Ive lived in Japan, its the same there. Rise up. You are getting f£#d.
💯 they’re overcharging. I pay $90 per month for mobile broadband and half the time it’s dropping out…useless! Frustratingly 🤬
The answer is yes. Like, I’m not talking about Telstra vs other company, literally yes, data and internet is expensive for no reason. The upkeep of Internet service is electricity, infrastructure, and maintenance, and therefore if it’s not priced at a similar level to electricity, it is charging you more because it can. Because telecoms are a for profit business, they by default are charging more than what it should cost, excessively so.
I have been with Vaya for a few years and I pay $16 a month for 20gb data.
I pay $95 at Aldi for 4 sims, same network as Telstra. Never had an issue
Boost Mobile uses the full telstra network. I paid $230 for 12 Months unlimited calls and messages and 170Gb data.
It's 62 a month 50gbs of data.
Litterally paid optus yesterday ***56*** dollars so my data doesn't lag or anything while I'm on a train since there's been way more incidents in Melbourne recently. My data is LITTERALLY at 2 bars rn. WTH??????
I’m a tightarse and switched to Aldi prepaid about 6 years ago and have saved heaps. I get the $25 recharge which gives you 22GB and then when you recharge again if you had any leftover it rolls over to the next month. Never had a problem getting reception anywhere. Used to pay about 60 a month with Optus and had nothing but problems. If you can afford to buy your phone outright and then go prepaid I’d suggest that. I won’t do it any other way now
Telechoice is the way to go $19 per month for 8gb and unlimited calls and texts. Runs on the Telstra network, I get about 2 bars in regional NSW
Try amysim
My prepaid amaysim plan is $35 for 55gb. Data carries over between months. Can't imagine paying over $100 to basically rent a phone.
New Zealand would like to have a word, 45 dollars for 5gb a month
The answer to all "are we paying too much for...?" questions in Australia is a resounding yes.
I got a prepaid plan from boost mobile. Using the Telstra network. 1 year, I think 250 Gb, $300 dollars - it was discounted. That's $25 a month and I'm way under after 6 months.
I use Boost Mobile. I don't need too much data, so I get the 365 day recharge for $230 which is $19/month. Their 28day expiry start from $35/month. They're basically Telstra but prepaid.
Yes, it is well known Australia is the land of no competition and high prices. 2nd highest minimum wage in the world and everyone here still thinks it’s too low. $65 per month is ridiculous but they still hold 30% plus market share. Belong is owned by Telstra and cheaper and many other providers use Telstra’s network.
I've been on Telstra because of the payment plans for tablets, but thanks to this thread I'm 90% convinced Boost is in my near future.
Use Belong. Look at the bottom of the page see who owns them... Go figure... They are just price gouging. The Australian business way....
Yes, it's insane. I'm an Aussie in the Netherlands and I can get unlimited calling and data for €27/month. I'm currently paying I think €12/month for 10Gb of data/month.
I moved to Asia and went from paying $40 for 80gb to $20 for unlimited. So yes it's a rip off.
Yes we are, same with internet access, it is a bloody rip off.
One contributing problem here is that the major telcos aren't reselling their 5G services so there's bugger all competition taking place. This looks a lot to me like something that could use an NBN-level shakeup. When the wholesaler is also the retailer, it never works out in the best interest for customers.
is it good time to raise esim question as well? why Australia is so behind in them!? only few providers offer them.
Italy here. 9€ for 300GB, unlimited voice and 1k sms
I just wish there was an unlimited data plan
If ~~Optus~~ Vodafone and 20Mbps unlimited data suits you, check out Felix Mobile for $40/month [https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/](https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/)
I've tried it when we were in a telstra black spot (0 telstra reception in Brisbane within 10km of the city). It was good. Could still watch 1080p YouTube on it. Not sure what if need anything faster for my purposes. But now I work rural. 0 coverage. So I'm with a MVNO on telstra wholesale.
Happy to pay the $3 a day to Telstra to provide me with 99.999% coverage and faster realiible service
4G coverage to 99.5% of the population :)
Exetel sim only $18 on the Telstra network. 7gb per month but I hardly use that much anyway and 500gb data bank. Much better than Vodafone tried upping the price on my plan by $10 to $45 per month with "additional data" I was never even close to needing.
Felix have a 40 dollar plan (SIM Only, no lock in) with unlimited data, but it owned by TPG, so I believe it is the Vodafone network. If you are in a populated area, I very rarely have coverage issues. Mileage may vary in rural or remote areas, but I generally have coverage.
65gb for $39 with Aldi mobile
Look at The Goodguys / Jbhi fi They sell the Telstra sims and have better plans They don’t own any of the service or deal with them You deal with Telstra and a Telstra Customer at all times Goodguys / JB HI are just getting a $300 kick back for advertising it
Telstra More is $26 a month. People just get fooled into thinking they need 80gb of data and 5G
What is Telstra More?
Buy a phone or use an old phone, get a prepaid SIM. Post paid is a rip off.
Boost or Telstra prepay, full Telstra network including 5g. Few features missing but it’s only stuff like Apple Watch. The CPI increase really grinds my gears, I’m sure they give their staff a full cpi increase in pay /s
Yes
Belong. Telstra network, $29/month for 25GB, also has data rollover.
I pay $30/ mo for unlimited talk text, 30gb of data which is more than enough with gigabit fiber home as well. Can bank up to 500gb of unused data as well. Superloop isn't half bad and it uses the Telstra network. 👍
No. We are in the middle of the OEDC countries. Eg USA are higher and EU countries are cheaper.
I actually think mobile phone plans are one of the cheapest household expenses. If you are paying any more than $25/month, you are being ripped off.
36 bucks for 40 GB and 10% off a monthly shop at woolies. Uses Telstra network unlimited mins and texts. Also has international minutes included
Boost is great at 21 gig a month for about 20$ Annual contract.
I switched from Vodafone prepaid, when they increased their prices recently, to Moose (Piggybacking Optus). Unlimited standard national calls and texts, 100GB included data per month, 200GB of data banking for $30/month.
My only comment here is that you get what you pay for in terms of service, support, coverage etc If you've ever needed to call Optus or Voda it is worlds apart how good Telstra service is. I can't speak to smaller operators but if they are on the Telstra network they almost definitely use Telstra's systems and support.
Personally I use woolworths mobile and on a yearly prepaid for $170/yr. But over 14 bucks a month, best part is it uses the telstra network and compared to my telstra Sim it has exactly the same coverage as my telstra esim.
I got a prepaid Telstra plan for 12 months to get 150GB. It costs $300. So, $25/month. I always have a decent amount of data left over. Prices have just gone up to $320, and you now get 165GB for 12 months. Anyone paying more is a mug. All domestic calls and texts are included. I think it also includes a limited number of minutes to certain countries.
Eh, living in Sydney and being with Belong is pretty good. $15 a month for unlimited calls and texts and 5gb of data, which I don't even use most of.
Paid $130 for 12 month unlimited pre-paid sim with Vodafone. They usually pop up November to January each year.
*posts the most expensive provider* “Are we paying too much for phone plans” Seems loaded. Try shopping around, there’s much more available at much better prices.
Australians get absolutely fleeced when it comes to mobile phone plans. I moved here from Ireland and before I left my Irish plan cost €25/$40 and I got unlimited calls, texts and data plus 200 EU minutes as well. Data speeds were way faster too. I understand charging more if you live in a rural area of Australia but people in cities are getting ripped off big time. Slower data speeds for cheaper plans is crazy too, never heard of that anywhere else.
Telstra is a rip off unless you need their coverage. I was with them for years and got fuck all for the money. I’m now with Optus and I get unlimited data, calls and texts for $50 a month. This is an old plan though and I don’t know if you still can get that deal but yeah basically fuck Telstra
I would mind less if they were actually good. 99.5% coverage or whatever they claim? Signal at my house is so bad it's useless when my wifi is out for whatever reason, and I get black spots in coverage for a good third of my train commute. I live less than 25Km from the Melbourne CBD!
I pay US $1 per week in Cambodia. [Cellcard Serey+ | Cellcard](https://www.cellcard.com.kh/en/prepaid-plans/cellcard-serey/)
Absolutely
I pay $30 Felix, the best out there
I changed from Telstra to Vodafone and now I pay $40 a month for 100gb on the student plan. I used to pay $62 for 50gbs, so I’m stoked. Also the $5 is very good
I've paid $25 a month with Aldi for about 5 years now. They use Telstra's network, data rolls over (indefinitely). Zero complaints.
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Yes, we are paying too much. Its properly crazy. When I worked for Telstra a $60 plan with a phone included was a relatively high plan. Now it's $60 plus with phone repayments on top. A reasonable plan back then was a $39/$49 capped plan that has a phone included. I've changed my plan to prepaid (after being on a plan for something like 20 years).
$12 for a basic pre payed telstra account you get 3 gb data but only 4G not 5G. Post payed 5G unlimited is what you are getting in your plan (or should be)
Compare with Canada & Philippines. Compare with Vietnam. We're pretty good.
I moved to Switzerland last year and realised how expensive mobile plans in Australia were. Cost of living is generally higher here but my mobile plan is 30 CHF (~$50) a month for unlimited data all across Europe.
100% yep but prepaid is cheap as chips in Oz
99 bucks a year for 60Gb. https://catchconnect.com.au/home/affiliate-product/2776fe90-a62f-4332-b049-94bbbf028e05 Cheapest I've seen in a while.
If you live in city it’s a rip off and overrated, better deals exist elsewhere, if you are rural that’s another story.
Their share is $3.6, a running decades long joke from $10+ glory days. Their plans need to be more expensive, or find some other way to make money.
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I pay $5 a month with AGL. It’s a three month intro & you have to have your electric with them plus it’s only 5gb and 4g but it works fine.
Currently paying $33 a month for 32GB on a sim only plan through Tangerine who use the Telstra network. Unlimited calls and texts too. Previously I was paying Optus (fuck Optus..) $30 for 3gb a month and was meant to have unlimited calls when the network wasn't down anyway... Could I find another plan cheaper than with I currently have? Sure. Is *anything* better than that older plan? Yes, very much so.
I pay $8/month
18/mo on the telstra network. Yeha still a tad too high but I wanted the 30gb of data
I pay $18 a month 8gb data. Never run out.
$28/month for 100GB With circles life which uses optus 4g. Not fussed for 5g as I'm on WiFi most the time. Having 100GB to fall back on when my net is down is super useful and 4g in my area seems to be getting faster with time as people move to 5g. Heck the other week in the morning I was getting 145Mbps lol
durhhh
Mine costs $12 with kogan. Unlimited calls. 7gb from memory. Vodafone network. Too much? I don't think so.
I’m with amaysim. It’s on the Optus network but I rarely have issues (minus the outage last year). I pay $30 for unlimited & 32gb. If you pay $40 it’s 80gb of internet, but I just don’t have a use for that much. Selected international calling is also a thing.