What does your mobile plan offer you that others don’t? What made you opt for your existing company in the first place? Having trouble trying to frame the answer? Don’t worry you’re not alone, a 2016 survey conducted by finder.com.au reported that 2 in 5 Australians were confused when asked to choose the best mobile service provider. A further 40 percent and 14 percent confessed puzzlement over their monthly mobile phone costs and data allocation respectively. Despite all of this three quarters of Australians haven’t switched plans in the last two years, and a staggering 39 percent haven’t switched in 10.
With statistics like this is it any wonder that major Telecommunication giants like Telstra and Opta see no reason the change? In fact with tricky billing, fluctuating data rates and in-network incentives they seem to take advantage of your ignorance, by complicating matters further. Instead, we’ve compiled this handy guide to allow you to judge some of the competition for yourself.
iPrimus
iPrimus has been operating in Australia for the best part of 20 years now, and with exchanges in over 66 locations across the nation their coverage compares well to industry leaders. Their range of offerings includes fixed mobile and internet services including ADSL, NDN to home phone and mobile broadband with iPrimus.
iPrimus offers a variety of SIM only plans that provide combined phone and internet services. These plans come in three basic packages with limits of 1.5 GB available for $20, 3 GB for $30 and 10 GB for $50 per month, with unlimited calls, SMS’s and MMS’s nationally and internationally on each. Each plan is available on flexible contracts that can run anywhere from 1 to 24 months, but be warned that early termination will cost you $55.
Amaysim
Started back in 2010, this relatively new entrant in to the mobile internet field has made big strides recently, now serving hundreds and thousands of customers across the country. Their internet services run on the Optus broadband network covering 98% of Australia. Amaysim looks to differentiate its product with great customer service available 16 hours a day.
Amaysim’s mobile broadband plans start at $10 for 1 GB of data, however in order to get the advantage of unlimited national texts and phone calls you have to start with their 2 GB plan at $30 a month. This includes free calls to other amaysim numbers and free voicemail access. Their most popular plan by far is the $39.90 per month 5GB data package with unlimited calls and texts nationally, however unlimited international calls are only available on higher end packages. Amaysim’s plans are non-contract so you can sign-up or switch at any time with no added charges.
Kogan
Operating since 2013, Kogan offers its services on Vodaphone’s 4G data networks. With an emphasis on affordability their plans start at $16.90 providing unlimited calls and texting within Australia with a 1 GB data limit per month. The other plans on offer include 5 GB at $29.90, 10 GB at $36.90 and 14 GB at $49.90 per month.
Once you’ve chosen a data limit that works for you, you can lock yourself into a recharge period of 30, 90, or 365 days with data limits reset at the end of every month. Kogan does not offer any post-paid services so you’ll need to find a prepayment period that works best for you, opting for a longer period may restrict your ability to switch plans, but it will also net you cost savings in the long-run.
