Sorry if this has been splattered over TV in adverts and you guys already know but I don't watch TV.
Anyway, Telstra has recently started a low cost arm called "Belong".
https://www.belong.com.au/mobile/plans
I'm moving across there and think it may be of interest to others. The main attractions for me are:
1 - Data is permitted to "roll-over" each month ie. unused data can accumulate to an unlimited amount.
2 - It uses the Telstra network.
3 - If you run out of data credit your data is "shaped" to 64kB - which should be sufficient for e-mail.
NB. Currently there is no "Message bank" although apparently one is coming, at present unanswered callers are invited to provide a 10 second voice message which is converted to SMS.
Tony Bev said
02:00 PM Jun 27, 2018
Thanks for that info, Mike
It does look interesting, I shall have the Minister for Finance, scrutinise it
Rob Driver said
08:45 PM Jun 27, 2018
BOOST is worth a close look for great deals on the big T network with full coverage at cheaper prices.
Very good roll over deals but judge it for yourselves.
Please dont criticise my comment without doing accurate research and forgive me for my comment but I have read and commented in detail on the Boost in another topic.
I will find and post the link.
Rob Driver said
08:49 PM Jun 27, 2018
Here is a link to the second page of a topic which is closely related to the above.
The Boost roll-over only applies to their $30/40/50 plans and is confusing; the website states "DATA ROLLOVER TO USE WITHIN NEXT RECHARGE" but I can't find any further information regarding it in their CIS or T&Cs https://boost.com.au/plans/
Does that mean data rolled over from month 1 must be used in month 2 or can it be doubled rolled over to month 3?
The Belong roll-over applies to all plans and accumulates without time or size limits and that is a significant attraction to me.
Meredith said
09:39 AM Jun 28, 2018
Belong clearly states on their website that they use 'part of the Telstra network' and if you look at their coverage map on their website you will see it gives a lot less cover in many areas than the full Telstra network. Still may work for some people, but you should be aware of this if you are looking at one of their plans for travelling.
Delta18 said
10:12 AM Jun 28, 2018
We just recently considered going to Belong after their blanket advertising.
Lynne (who is our researcher) got into the Reviews and it put us off, for now at least.
We will stick with Boost as, now they have a Rollover plan in place is even more attractive to us than before.
Mike, the Boost Rollover data, as you said can only be rolled over once. This simply means unused data from month 1 will roll over to month 2 but if not used in month 2 will be forfeited.
To us we don't see this as a problem because IF we DIDN'T use all month 1 rollover in month 2 then we would still have ALL month 2 data to roll over to month 3.
Make sense?
Cheers Neil
Rob Driver said
10:41 AM Jun 28, 2018
Hi Mike,
We use the $40.00 monthly prepaid and the unused data rolls over each month.
We get 15 g for that cost and if we use for example 12 g then when you renew you will get 15 g plus the 3 g from last month.
This goes on month after month and it just continues to accrue the gigs.
The advantage in this is that you may drop down to a lower level prepaid plan for the month that you have not used much of your data.
You cannot drop lower than the $30.00 plan for if you do you loose the accumulated gigs from the previous period.
I should say hi to Meridith as well here and I wish to point out that Boost use the entire T network as opposed to Belong that only uses part of the network. There was someone who did the side by side test with B and T and stated the result in another post and with our own transport company we did the exercise as well with the same result.
With all other equipment hardware being suitable and compatible then Boost will work anywhere that Telstra will work.
If you read my other post above I have basically pointed this out as have others in the topic linked.
Boost speed is slower than the Telstra plans but is suitable for most uses including watch Netflix.
For example, this month we just renewed at $40.00 for 15 g we now have 27g to use until the next renewal because we have not been watching many movies due to travelling and we have accrued 12 g from previous periods.
If we do use more than the 15 g this period it will not cost any more unless we use up another 12 g and run out of data.
I can not add any more information but I have found the Boost people quite helpful on the phone and to be honest, when I went against my husbands wishes by trying Boost it only cost me one month prepaid to test to see if their service was suitable for us.
Our employees soon realised the gains in using Boost.
I provide this information for anyone thinking about changing providers with the hope of helping but if you feel you will get a better deal with another provider then take that advantage and give them a try, particularly if it only costs a pre paid month and a SIM card worth about $2.50
Thank you for listening to me.
Rob Driver said
10:45 AM Jun 28, 2018
I just read Neils post above and he has described the rollover with Boost far better than I did.
We have never accrued over the two month gig allowance at any time since being on the road as I love my movies and series on Netflix.
Mike Harding said
03:26 PM Jun 29, 2018
On Tuesday afternoon I filled in the web application for a SIM, it arrived on Thursday.
On Thursday I did the web activate SIM thing - a minor issue but Belong "Help" replied within an hour.
I completed the activate process and the number porting from an Optus supplier was completed with ten minutes! Impressive.
As I have a second (and third - don't ask!) phone on kosher Telstra I'm well placed to make comparisons regarding coverage and I'll report back when I have such info. although I probably won't be going deep bush again for a month or two.
Tony Bev said
04:04 PM Jun 29, 2018
Thanks, I for one appreciate comparisons and feedback
mullpadd said
06:14 PM Jun 29, 2018
Hi,
I have heard there is no such thing as a dumb question so here goes... This is very interesting however my knowledge is lacking about phone technology. Does it mean that you have watch Netflix on the phone or can you use your laptop or ipad.
Dougwe said
06:25 PM Jun 29, 2018
Once Netflix and your account is set up you can use on Laptop, PC or Mobile Phone. I often watch Netflix on the phone.
mullpadd said
06:29 PM Jun 29, 2018
Hi,
I have heard there is no such thing as a dumb question so here goes... This is very interesting however my knowledge is lacking about phone technology. Does it mean that you have watch Netflix on the phone or can you use your laptop or ipad.
Mike Harding said
07:57 AM Jun 30, 2018
mullpadd wrote:This is very interesting however my knowledge is lacking about phone technology. Does it mean that you have watch Netflix on the phone or can you use your laptop or ipad.
First of all, if you are intending to use Netflix you will need a phone plan with at least 5GB of data and preferable more - maybe someone who uses Netflix on a phone will comment with more accuracy?
In order to use the internet (watch Netflix) you need some way to view the data, this could be your phone or a laptop. If you use your phone it's straightforward - plug the SIM into the phone and it should all work.
If you wish to use data provided by the SIM on the laptop it gets a little more complicated and there are two main ways to do it:
1 - Configure the phone as a "wireless hot-spot" and then use the wireless ability of the laptop to connect to the phone - most smart phones less than, say, four years old can do this.
2 - Buy a USB "wireless dongle" and plug this directly into a USB port on the computer - you will have to plug the SIM into the wireless dongle and that may be tiresome if you need to swap it back and forth to the phone, the ideal is a dedicated SIM for the dongle.
It is also possible to configure some phones to create a USB hot-spot but this can become a little complicated.
The hot-spot method is cheaper and pretty easy to set up but it will put a significantly larger drain on the phone's battery.
Or you could read a book? :)
Rob Driver said
09:25 AM Jun 30, 2018
Hi mullpadd,
We justBluetooth the phone with the Sim to our IPad or laptop and it works fine for watching movies on the device.
My husband and I each have an iPad and with Netflix installed on both we can watch our own programs when we want to without interfereing with the others viewing.
I am not completely sure but I think that the Bluetooth may work with Chromecast to watch the shows on the TV set but we prefer the iPads as the tv can be invasive to the other person who may not necessarily be interested in the show being watched particularly in the caravan.
Is there anyone on here that may confirm if Bluetooth works on chromecast?
A message would be fine so as not to take this thread off topic.
mullpadd said
09:45 AM Jun 30, 2018
Thanks Dougwe, Mike and bentaxlebabe. I can now see the way forward. Seems easy when it is explained so clearly.
Cheers
Tony
Dougwe said
04:54 PM Jun 30, 2018
Just be carefull of your data use Tony, Netflix, like all video stuff loves to chew your data up.
You can here it say 'yes, munchies' as you open Netflix. Must think it's popcorn.
Sorry if this has been splattered over TV in adverts and you guys already know but I don't watch TV.
Anyway, Telstra has recently started a low cost arm called "Belong".
https://www.belong.com.au/mobile/plans
I'm moving across there and think it may be of interest to others. The main attractions for me are:
1 - Data is permitted to "roll-over" each month ie. unused data can accumulate to an unlimited amount.
2 - It uses the Telstra network.
3 - If you run out of data credit your data is "shaped" to 64kB - which should be sufficient for e-mail.
NB. Currently there is no "Message bank" although apparently one is coming, at present unanswered callers are invited to provide a 10 second voice message which is converted to SMS.
It does look interesting, I shall have the Minister for Finance, scrutinise it
Very good roll over deals but judge it for yourselves.
Please dont criticise my comment without doing accurate research and forgive me for my comment but I have read and commented in detail on the Boost in another topic.
I will find and post the link.
My post is toward the bottom of the page.
thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t64550414/telstra-or-optus/
The Boost roll-over only applies to their $30/40/50 plans and is
confusing; the website states "DATA ROLLOVER TO USE WITHIN NEXT
RECHARGE" but I can't find any further information regarding it in
their CIS or T&Cs
https://boost.com.au/plans/
Does that mean data rolled over from month 1 must be used in month 2
or can it be doubled rolled over to month 3?
The Belong roll-over applies to all plans and accumulates without
time or size limits and that is a significant attraction to me.
We just recently considered going to Belong after their blanket advertising.
Lynne (who is our researcher) got into the Reviews and it put us off, for now at least.
We will stick with Boost as, now they have a Rollover plan in place is even more attractive to us than before.
Mike, the Boost Rollover data, as you said can only be rolled over once. This simply means unused data from month 1 will roll over to month 2 but if not used in month 2 will be forfeited.
To us we don't see this as a problem because IF we DIDN'T use all month 1 rollover in month 2 then we would still have ALL month 2 data to roll over to month 3.
Make sense?
Cheers Neil
We use the $40.00 monthly prepaid and the unused data rolls over each month.
We get 15 g for that cost and if we use for example 12 g then when you renew you will get 15 g plus the 3 g from last month.
This goes on month after month and it just continues to accrue the gigs.
The advantage in this is that you may drop down to a lower level prepaid plan for the month that you have not used much of your data.
You cannot drop lower than the $30.00 plan for if you do you loose the accumulated gigs from the previous period.
I should say hi to Meridith as well here and I wish to point out that Boost use the entire T network as opposed to Belong that only uses part of the network. There was someone who did the side by side test with B and T and stated the result in another post and with our own transport company we did the exercise as well with the same result.
With all other equipment hardware being suitable and compatible then Boost will work anywhere that Telstra will work.
If you read my other post above I have basically pointed this out as have others in the topic linked.
Boost speed is slower than the Telstra plans but is suitable for most uses including watch Netflix.
For example, this month we just renewed at $40.00 for 15 g we now have 27g to use until the next renewal because we have not been watching many movies due to travelling and we have accrued 12 g from previous periods.
If we do use more than the 15 g this period it will not cost any more unless we use up another 12 g and run out of data.
I can not add any more information but I have found the Boost people quite helpful on the phone and to be honest, when I went against my husbands wishes by trying Boost it only cost me one month prepaid to test to see if their service was suitable for us.
Our employees soon realised the gains in using Boost.
I provide this information for anyone thinking about changing providers with the hope of helping but if you feel you will get a better deal with another provider then take that advantage and give them a try, particularly if it only costs a pre paid month and a SIM card worth about $2.50
Thank you for listening to me.
We have never accrued over the two month gig allowance at any time since being on the road as I love my movies and series on Netflix.
On Tuesday afternoon I filled in the web application for a SIM, it arrived on Thursday.
On Thursday I did the web activate SIM thing - a minor issue but Belong "Help" replied within an hour.
I completed the activate process and the number porting from an Optus supplier was completed with ten minutes! Impressive.
As I have a second (and third - don't ask!) phone on kosher Telstra I'm well placed to make comparisons regarding coverage and I'll report back when I have such info. although I probably won't be going deep bush again for a month or two.
Hi,
I have heard there is no such thing as a dumb question so here goes... This is very interesting however my knowledge is lacking about phone technology. Does it mean that you have watch Netflix on the phone or can you use your laptop or ipad.
Hi,
I have heard there is no such thing as a dumb question so here goes... This is very interesting however my knowledge is lacking about phone technology. Does it mean that you have watch Netflix on the phone or can you use your laptop or ipad.
First of all, if you are intending to use Netflix you will need a phone plan with at least 5GB of data and preferable more - maybe someone who uses Netflix on a phone will comment with more accuracy?
In order to use the internet (watch Netflix) you need some way to view the data, this could be your phone or a laptop. If you use your phone it's straightforward - plug the SIM into the phone and it should all work.
If you wish to use data provided by the SIM on the laptop it gets a little more complicated and there are two main ways to do it:
1 - Configure the phone as a "wireless hot-spot" and then use the wireless ability of the laptop to connect to the phone - most smart phones less than, say, four years old can do this.
2 - Buy a USB "wireless dongle" and plug this directly into a USB port on the computer - you will have to plug the SIM into the wireless dongle and that may be tiresome if you need to swap it back and forth to the phone, the ideal is a dedicated SIM for the dongle.
It is also possible to configure some phones to create a USB hot-spot but this can become a little complicated.
The hot-spot method is cheaper and pretty easy to set up but it will put a significantly larger drain on the phone's battery.
Or you could read a book? :)
We justBluetooth the phone with the Sim to our IPad or laptop and it works fine for watching movies on the device.
My husband and I each have an iPad and with Netflix installed on both we can watch our own programs when we want to without interfereing with the others viewing.
I am not completely sure but I think that the Bluetooth may work with Chromecast to watch the shows on the TV set but we prefer the iPads as the tv can be invasive to the other person who may not necessarily be interested in the show being watched particularly in the caravan.
Is there anyone on here that may confirm if Bluetooth works on chromecast?
A message would be fine so as not to take this thread off topic.
Cheers
Tony
You can here it say 'yes, munchies' as you open Netflix. Must think it's popcorn.