Really wish Telstra were not the only viable option in Tasmania.
Really wished Telstra realised you can get better offers with prepaid / buy phone outright then any of their phones on contract.
Not completely relevant to the OP (who's looking for a handset contract), but I've been really happy with Spintel (spintel.net.au)
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$36 per month
Unlimited Calls
Unlimited Texts
2.5GB of Data (on the Optus 4G network)
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Best thing is their bump-up policy.Ā Hard to explain, but check it out on their website.Ā
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Worked out considerably cheaper for me to buy the Iphone6 outright and use the above, rather than a comparable plan with one of the major telcos.
So i bit the bullet and went with the iPhone 6 plus on the Optus plan (Unlimited calls and txt, 5GB data; $93/mth).
Got a $200 Optus voucher thrown in as well so am happy.
I am coming from Telstra so hope signal strength is not a let down which is the reason I switch from Optus in the first place. Friends and co-worker recent Optus experience suggest great improvements in this department though.
Vaya is a good option too if anyone is looking for a plan to use with existing handset.
4G $18/mth, $600 calls, unlimited txt, 1.5Gb data. Piggy-backs off Optus network.
I am tempted to switch to Yatango, they have the same plan, for a dollar cheaper (nothing), but it's 4G. The catch there is it's only 1GB data.
NOT THE SAME PLAN THEN, IS IT?
Also I've found Optus' customer service to be complete ā ā ā compared to Telstra's.
Telstra customer service has been great gotta give them credit for that.
I bought a Ā S3 a while back, fine for me so prepaid is good and use the 'hello' mobile service. Spend about 30 pcm in toto for phone and data usage, can be less. They put the credit where it is needs it and recharge at 7/11.Ā
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It is on the vodafone network but service has been fine. Calling overseas the audio used not to be great but locally its okay over the last 18 months. See absolutely no need to carry heavy contracts for the sake of a new phone. Buts that me.
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I suspect these packages will keep dropping dramatically in price. Now that everyone has a smartphone, the sheer need to upgrade to the latest phone just wont be true for everyone.Ā
Nope, i've switched providers 3 time in as many years, still have the same number.
Have Telstra 4G for work, and TPG 3G for personal. Both phones are the same (Nexus 5), but I don't really find a massive difference in terms of speed or coverage. I've found customer service across a range of phone providers over the years to be consistently sh*t. Does anyone have a dual sim phone?
Have Telstra 4G for work, and TPG 3G for personal. Both phones are the same (Nexus 5), but I don't really find a massive difference in terms of speed or coverage. I've found customer service across a range of phone providers over the years to be consistently sh*t. Does anyone have a dual sim phone?
amaysim had good customer service.
Is it difficult to port over a number?
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Amaysim took me about 2 minutes of downtime once I got the SIM in the mail and clicked through the website IIRC. Easy as.
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As for Optus coverage I've never had drop out
So just an update: OPTUS suck!
thats a given!
Vodafone seem ok. Wife has them, and if they werenāt any good, Iād know, trust me, Iād know.
Really wished Telstra realised you can get better offers with prepaid / buy phone outright then any of their phones on contract.
Absolutely.
I had 150$ business plan. After the phone was paid off I didnt renew the contract and went on 30$ prepaid. Free text to any numberā¦free calls to other telstra numbers. ā¦300$ of international and 800 or so of data.
Their customer service is rubbish and dysfunctional. Ive had the ombudsman onto them twiceā¦once for putting me on bad credit rating for a bill I had actually paid a year ago. The bad credit was wipedā¦it pays to keep all your paperwork people 
Going off the contract was a pain alsoā¦it took three attempts. Seriously, Iāve had easier divorces.
Unfortunately they have me by the nuts as far as signal goes. They win that one hands down. Living, working and traveling outside metro areas means I need them.
ā ā ā ā you telstraā¦and carlton.
Not strictly about Apple, but Iām wondering if anyone has experience of Vodafone since the merged with TPG and (so they claim) vastly increased their coverage.
Iāve been with Telstra forever and like many aspects of their service, mainly the width of their coverage. I have a house at Beech Forest in the Otways only about 200metres from the transmission tower so the reception is sensational. In the past there has been zero Vodafone coverage.
Why would I consider switching to Vodafone? Because I travel overseas a couple of times a year, and if I use Telstra international roaming it costs $10 a day for 1 GB per day. Often with increased use of GPS for navigation, 1 GB is not enough, so I buy a local SIM which is not expensive but means I have to switch SIMS every day or so to keep track of emails etc back in Oz, which is a pain in the arse. Voda on the other hand charged $5 per day to give you access to all your Aussie data allowance while keeping your Aussie number.
So Iām thinking that if I can have Voda access to the same coverage in Oz as I have with Telstra, and use it overseas as well, then switching may make a lot of sense. I know Voda had a terrible rep here, but that was quite a while ago and I have heard theyāve lifted their game.
Anyone have personal experience?
You can predownload maps so you effectively use zero data.
What phone do you have? If you have a phone that supports it (I think most from the last few years would) eSim is the way to go when travelling. No need to switch back and forth. Iāve even changed my everyday Australian sim card to an eSim now.