Mobile phone plans explained

Choosing the wrong mobile phone plan can be a costly error but working your way through the myriad of information available is almost impossible as YOURLifeChoices subscriber, Brian, has found.

Q. Brian
I have an 80 year old friend who has a problem evaluating which mobile telephone company is the best deal for him. He presently has a "use only"
account with Optus which he pays at the end of a month. This industry is a minefield for everybody but especially for the aged as it is so complex. Is there a website in existence that can give clarification in this matter?
Thank you

Your mobile phone plan may come with $100 bonus minutes, but it may amount for less than $20 on another network!

The mobile phone industry in Australia is increasing rapidly with thousands of mobile phone plans on offer, but what do they all mean?

I will detail two different plans for SIM only (you already have your own phone) on offer and compare what they really mean.

Three $29 Cap
Plan Cost per month: $29
Included Monthly Value: $150

SMS (text messages) – $0.25 per message
MMS (multimedia messages) - $0.75 per message
PXT (picture messages) - $0.75 per message
Mobile Phone calls – $0.30 flagfall, $0.40 per 30 seconds
National Phone calls – $0.30 flagfall, $0.40 per 30 seconds
Video Phone calls – $0.30 flagfall, $0.50 per 30 seconds

Vodafone $29 Cap
Plan Cost per month: $29
Included Monthly Value: $150

SMS – $0.25 per message
MMS - $0.75 per message
PXT - $0.50 per message
Mobile Phone calls – $0.35 flagfall, $0.42 per 30 seconds
National Phone calls – $0.35 flagfall, $0.42 per 30 seconds
Video Phone calls – $0.35 flagfall, $0.63 per call

As you can see, Vodafones flagfall fees are $0.05 more per phone call and $0.02 per 30 seconds than the Three deal. SMS and MMS prices are the same. If making phone calls and sending SMS messages are all you need, then the Three $29 cap would be better value for you, though if you make Video phone calls, the Vodafone $29 Cap offers a fixed rate on all Video Phone calls at $0.63 per call which seems quite reasonable, and is a far better price than the Three $29 Cap’s $0.50 per 30 seconds.

You can find a wide range of deals with or without phones included at YouCompare.