Internet and phone plans while travelling fulltime
Gwizz said
09:19 PM Jun 8, 2016
Hi Folks, The Bride and I are soon to be on the road full time and wanted to know what is the best internet provider and what sort of mobile package so we can do our surfing the net, email and keeping in touch with family etc on a laptop. Any assistance appreciated.
Shogun said
10:00 PM Jun 8, 2016
I'm with Telstra and for me they have the best coverage. As for Packages it will depend on how much data you use and how many phone calls you make. If you look at your current mobile bill and see how many calls you make and how much data you use that will give you a starting point. Don't forget that there is a lot of free wifi in certain places so that will help reduce your usage.
Good luck and enjoy the travels
Brett
Vince said
10:26 PM Jun 8, 2016
As a part time traveller I use Telstra, iPhone mobile and Macbook.
I have $550 in calls - unlimited text - 1Gb Data - $55 month
I can connect the iphone to the Mac and use the data or just use data on iPhone
If I'm running low on monthly data I can buy an extra data pack - say - 1Gb $15 which comes with extra voice calls.
The extra data pack can be cancelled anytime, so if not required you aren't paying extra for not using it.
Yes I know there are cheaper plans and different providers, but I'm just giving this info to Gwizz as a platform.
Cheers
Vince
Bruce and Bev said
10:27 PM Jun 8, 2016
We have 3 smart phones.
One is Telstra Phone called "Dave". The benefit is you can have a car cradle for it with an external aerial and get better reception in fringe areas. We only use Telstra pre-paid as Telstra is the most expensive Telco - you can go into any Servo to top up the credit from $10 upwards.
Our other two phones are Optus which are post-paid (a set amount each month which is cheaper than pre-paid). Coverage is good in metro areas and theyre much cheaper than Telstra. Vodafone is another Telco to consider in metro areas
Tony Bell said
11:05 PM Jun 8, 2016
Most farmers now use Aldi prepaid 12 usage out of each top up Telstra coverage cheap call and data.
Tony Bell said
11:14 PM Jun 8, 2016
Also you can take existing number.
Treecrest14 said
11:34 PM Jun 8, 2016
Telstra has the best coverage, so we used Skype on the laptop whenever possible - doesn't chew up much data!
Meredith said
12:08 AM Jun 9, 2016
Telsta has the best coverage by far for areas away from major cities and the east coast so like most others its our choice when travelling. Because we only travel part time we have found the prepaid long life internet works for us, but it probably wouldn't be my choice if I was full time travelling.
Boost is the only other company that gets the full Telstra cover. Others such as Aldi use part of the Telstra network but not the full network, the places it doesn't work is away from the cities, making it unsuitable for travellers.
Dougwe said
06:49 AM Jun 9, 2016
I'm on the road full time and live in my van so need reliable communications. I have a Samsung Galaxy 6 mobile phone with 8gb data and unlimited calls and texts.
I aslo have a Telsra Wifi device with 8gb date that I can connect to a external antenna that I put on top of van if needed. I can connect my Ipad or Laptop to internet via the phone or Wifi device. Between all of them I do everything I want including catch up TV if I want.
I don't store anything in the 'cloud' cos my head us cloudy enough some days when uncle Al gets up first
Edit.....sorry forgot to say I have a fixed monthly plan not pre paid. The bill gets emailed to me each month and I pay on line.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 9th of June 2016 06:51:58 AM
NeilandRaine said
07:20 AM Jun 9, 2016
The boss has a $75 plan, not locked in, that gives her about 13 gig net and unlimited calls and text. it can be data shared
we have 15 gig wifi about $100.
I have $30 prepaid which is way to much.
I know some will be OMG but it is what we do. I do a bit of internet work on the road and we Skype with grand kids a lot.
All with Telstra
we have two lap tops, a galaxy tab also
Krusty said
09:04 AM Jun 9, 2016
I have a $50 - 8GB Plan with Optus which covers the East Coast nicely. I have been looking at changing my plans lately and the Telstra $60 - 10GB + 10GB "Telstra Air" looks good. I'll be following this topic closely over the next few days. (Both plans unlimited calls & SMS's)
Dav4Cris said
10:38 AM Jun 9, 2016
We use Telstra Mobile WIFI plan, it is actually a Bigpond plan which is no longer available, 15Gb per month for $69.00. Telstra is $105.00 now plus with Tesltra you get slugged $10.00 per GB you are over on your plan. We also use Boost prepaid $40.00 pm which gives you unlimited calls and txt plus you get 3Gb of data plus 2 Gb of data each weekend, so you actually get 11Gb of data which we Hotspot off our phones on weekends to update systems, apps and download important documents. Use Optus it sucked in the rural areas, but saying that sometimes it had a better signal than Telstra but not very often and Vodacrap, nothing outside metro or large rural towns. When and if Telstra pull my plan I will go with the 8 Gb plan and continue to use our Boost as hotspots on both our phone, that would be 30Gb per month for $169.00 which is bloody good when you check all the other costs from other suppliers. If you are only a small user then just get a Boost prepaid $40.00 option and you won't need to have a internet plan, just make certain you have a phone that you can attach a aerial to for better reception in remote areas.
Dav4Cris said
10:41 AM Jun 9, 2016
Telstra Air is great on the coast but once you head inland unless you are staying in a large town it sucks, we tried it in Wellington NSW only 3 Telstra Air spots, in Gulargenbone none had to use Boost hotspot or Telstra Internet. Then again we try to only stay in showgrounds or free camp, so no good for us.
RosieW said
11:54 AM Jun 9, 2016
Phone is with Telstra - prepay $30 a month, $700 national calls/texts, $200 for international, 1.5gb data (used mainly for maps & tracking down phone numbers while on the go).
We have a Telstra modem, which we use rarely. for the main, we use Virgin, $40 a month for 15gb, which does both our surfing need (mainly news, family catchup on the dreaded Facebook & emaail) and my school requirements (degree through UTas). Telstra offers better cover, but along the Eastern seaboard, Virgin is fine for internet run through Optus.
Bruce and Bev said
12:48 PM Jun 9, 2016
I think the most important thing to consider now days is getting an "unlocked" device - phone or whatever. These weren't readily available up until a year or so ago, but you can buy them at Telco retail shops, supermarkets and other retailers and on EBay.
With an unlocked phone, you just need to pay $2 to buy a SIM card from whoever you like (and often they come with a couple of GB of free data). If travelling in a remote area for quite a while then you go Telstra pre-paid. Then when you get back to a metro area or home, change to a cheaper Telco that has coverage in your area by buying their $2 SIM card. You can leave a SIM card for (I think) about 6 months before the number is cancelled ad you would have to replace that particular card. The only downside is you cant transfer the same phone number between cards
Leather Tech said
02:43 PM Jun 9, 2016
To follow on from what Bruce said, if you can be bothered arguing enough they will port your number from one sim to another . Not easy but can be done.
Regards Peter
Hi Folks, The Bride and I are soon to be on the road full time and wanted to know what is the best internet provider and what sort of mobile package so we can do our surfing the net, email and keeping in touch with family etc on a laptop. Any assistance appreciated.
Good luck and enjoy the travels
Brett
I have $550 in calls - unlimited text - 1Gb Data - $55 month
I can connect the iphone to the Mac and use the data or just use data on iPhone
If I'm running low on monthly data I can buy an extra data pack - say - 1Gb $15 which comes with extra voice calls.
The extra data pack can be cancelled anytime, so if not required you aren't paying extra for not using it.
Yes I know there are cheaper plans and different providers, but I'm just giving this info to Gwizz as a platform.
Cheers
Vince
One is Telstra Phone called "Dave". The benefit is you can have a car cradle for it with an external aerial and get better reception in fringe areas. We only use Telstra pre-paid as Telstra is the most expensive Telco - you can go into any Servo to top up the credit from $10 upwards.
Our other two phones are Optus which are post-paid (a set amount each month which is cheaper than pre-paid). Coverage is good in metro areas and theyre much cheaper than Telstra. Vodafone is another Telco to consider in metro areas
Telsta has the best coverage by far for areas away from major cities and the east coast so like most others its our choice when travelling. Because we only travel part time we have found the prepaid long life internet works for us, but it probably wouldn't be my choice if I was full time travelling.
Boost is the only other company that gets the full Telstra cover. Others such as Aldi use part of the Telstra network but not the full network, the places it doesn't work is away from the cities, making it unsuitable for travellers.
I'm on the road full time and live in my van so need reliable communications. I have a Samsung Galaxy 6 mobile phone with 8gb data and unlimited calls and texts.
I aslo have a Telsra Wifi device with 8gb date that I can connect to a external antenna that I put on top of van if needed. I can connect my Ipad or Laptop to internet via the phone or Wifi device. Between all of them I do everything I want including catch up TV if I want.
I don't store anything in the 'cloud' cos my head us cloudy enough some days when uncle Al gets up first
Edit.....sorry forgot to say I have a fixed monthly plan not pre paid. The bill gets emailed to me each month and I pay on line.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 9th of June 2016 06:51:58 AM
we have 15 gig wifi about $100.
I have $30 prepaid which is way to much.
I know some will be OMG but it is what we do. I do a bit of internet work on the road and we Skype with grand kids a lot.
All with Telstra
we have two lap tops, a galaxy tab also
We have a Telstra modem, which we use rarely. for the main, we use Virgin, $40 a month for 15gb, which does both our surfing need (mainly news, family catchup on the dreaded Facebook & emaail) and my school requirements (degree through UTas). Telstra offers better cover, but along the Eastern seaboard, Virgin is fine for internet run through Optus.
With an unlocked phone, you just need to pay $2 to buy a SIM card from whoever you like (and often they come with a couple of GB of free data). If travelling in a remote area for quite a while then you go Telstra pre-paid. Then when you get back to a metro area or home, change to a cheaper Telco that has coverage in your area by buying their $2 SIM card. You can leave a SIM card for (I think) about 6 months before the number is cancelled ad you would have to replace that particular card. The only downside is you cant transfer the same phone number between cards
Regards Peter