Optus vs. Telstra – Which provider has the best mobile plan?
Australia’s telecommunications market is increasingly competitive. Whilst Telstra and Optus remain dominant, holding 42% and 34% of the mobile market share respectively, both have introduced new ‘no-lock in’ plans to provide consumers with greater choice. Competition largely stems from budget, no frills wholesalers such as Amaysim and Kogan. This article will go through the pros and cons of joining a Telstra or Optus mobile plan.
Optus - $2 days
This is a great new plan. There’s not much on the market like Optus’ $2 days.
How does it work
For $2 a day Optus will give you?
- Unlimited calls to Australian mobiles, fixed lines ad 13/1800 number;
- Unlimited standard national SMS/MMS to Australian mobiles;
- Unlimited mobile internet browsing on your mobile handset within Australia.
The best thing is, you only have to pay for the days that you use! Your monthly bill may only be $20 if you only used your phone on 10 days.
The only catch is you can’t use Optus’ $2 to hotspot tether wireless internet. You can’t tether the internet to your computer or other devices. Basically, its limited your mobile device. This is pretty reasonable. If this rule weren’t in place, there would be too many customers simply signing up to $2 days for its cheap internet. If you did want to tether, Optus have a $3 days option that allows you to do so with no limits whatsoever.
For more information, contact Optus on 1300 137 897.
Who is this plan targeted at?
$2 days is targeted at two key groups of consumers: irregular users and people who use their phones A LOT!!
Irregular users will be able only pay for the days they use. Often when these consumers do use their phone, it’s for long phone calls. With $2 days, there’s no need to worry about paying for anything you don’t need. There’s also no need to worry about bill shock.
For people who may a lot of text messages, a lot of calls and use a lot of internet, $2 days will allow them to do so with no limits. Choosing a limited ‘included value’ plan or prepaid option would mean that if the included value is exceeded, the customer would either be charged a fine for exceeding, be barred from phone access or forced to pay for more credit. $2 days provides customers with peace of mind. At most customers will pay $60 for the month, and often less.
Telstra - No Lock-In Plans starting at $60 per month
Telstra has responded to its customers; they want the option of accessing the Telstra network without being tied into long-term contracts (usually 24 months). For the first time, consumers can choose flexibility to reconsider their plan and Australia’s most comprehensive mobile network.
How does it work?
Pay $60 per month and Telstra offer:
- $600 worth of included calls and MMS;
- Unlimited SMS;
- 1GB of mobile internet data (bonus additional 1GB for the life of the plan if the sign up occurs before the 1st of July).
Telstra’s new No Lock-Plans are also available at $80, $100 and $130 per month. The $130 per month deal will allow customers to make unlimited calls and texts as well as use 4GB of data. Business plans are also available at the same prices.
Who is the plan targeted at?
Telstra’s main asset is its extensive infrastructure. The mobile networks of Optus and Vodafone struggle to compare.
Telstra’s new No Lock-In Plans are targeted at indecisive consumers with a lot of money to spend and consumers who need to be serviced by the Telstra network (those in black spots) but also want the flexibility to consider their options/are moving.
Overall, this plan is not targeted at consumers who are looking for value…it’s not great value. It’s a classically over-priced Telstra plan. However, if you’re looking for reliability and the 4G network, it may be a reasonable option.
However, if you’re not too fussed about being on contract, I would highly recommend choosing to sign up to a Telstra contract as opposed to choosing this month-by-month option. For $71 per month, on a 24 month contract, Telstra will give you the same plan plus a free iPhone 5!