There are over 2000 mobile plans available in Australia which obviously causes confusion when its time to upgrade. There are three basic types of plans: Capped, Contract, and BYO. The capped plans are advantageous for relatively high users with a large dollar value of included calls for a fixed price. The thing to watch out for is the high per minute charge that eats up your included calls quickly and the types of usage that may not be included (SMS/MMS or voicemail may not be included so are charged above your capped amount). This means that you could end up with a much larger bill than expected. Handset Subsidy or Contract plans provide a 'free' handset if you sign up for 24 months. The cost of the handset is factored in to the overall expected usage of the customer. There is a minimum 'plan fee' that includes calls to that value each month so a $30 plan includes $30 of calls. The call rates usually get lower as the plan gets bigger. So a person who commits to $200 per month will have far cheaper rates than the one who commits to just $15 per month. BYO plans are generally simpler and often with no contracts. You simply 'BYO' your current phone to the new network. Generally, things to watch out for when looking for a new plan are high flag falls, and whether the charges are per second or per 30 seconds and whether you want to lock into a contract or not. Some Telcos provide a Simple mobile plan that fits in the BYO sector. It has no minimum monthly commitment, no capping and no inflated price to cover the cost of a handset. You simply pay for the calls you make at a flat rate of 0.5c per second and a 15c flag fall. The call rate is comparable to a $50-$90 per month plan, but with no minimum spend and no contractual requirements. The money you save on the call rates can be used to pay off a new handset purchased over any nominated period of time giving you complete flexibility. This provides you with a low cost call rate bill per second, no minimum monthly spend no contractual commitment and the option to have a new handset if you want it. |
