Both of our phones are pre-paid with Telstra. $30 lasts six months. The only reason we opted for pre-paid was because my wife made several phone calls to some one that was with a different provider and one of the phone calls was $43. With the pre-paid, the phone is basically for emergency and if anyone needs to contact you then they can ring you. It works, haven't spoken to my brother for months!
Also, a quick phone call to family on birthdays etc is cheap. Lap top with pre-paid dongle is a must, the email is a hell of lot cheaper than phone. Skype seems to be cheaper too, but can be of poor quality.
I agree ..
We have an old Telstra prepaid & change to a "Long Life" plan before recharging. It that gives you around 6 months for $30. You then change your plan (I think they charge $1 for the change of plan, to "Simplicity" that charges calls at 15c/min & you retain the long life credit expiry time.
I also use a Mobile Broadband prepaid dongle for Internet stuff when on the road. Have Telstra cable at home. Got 3 gig for 30 days for $29 on a special, but that might not be available anymore.
If you want to save money choose other than Telstra.
If you want a reliable access/coverage when on the road away from major population areas there is no option but Telstra.
Of course if you are on the road full time then the equasion changes.
-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 16th of February 2013 08:27:59 PM
Both of our phones are pre-paid with Telstra. $30 lasts six months. The only reason we opted for pre-paid was because my wife made several phone calls to some one that was with a different provider and one of the phone calls was $43. With the pre-paid, the phone is basically for emergency and if anyone needs to contact you then they can ring you. It works, haven't spoken to my brother for months!
Also, a quick phone call to family on birthdays etc is cheap. Lap top with pre-paid dongle is a must, the email is a hell of lot cheaper than phone. Skype seems to be cheaper too, but can be of poor quality.
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Never growing old, just getting dusty around the edges.
Hi we have a prepaid with telstra long life 12months , We also have a TPG sim only account one which you use your own phone it uses the optus network we pay $17.95 a month for $550 worth of call which you can kept check of your useage on the net and also get SMS when you have used 50% and 75 % . We only have the Telstra in case we do not have optus coverage but these days that is not often
I have a Telstra pre-paid too. I found the 6 month top up option suited me best - can't remember how much it cost. I also use a Telstra pre-paid dongle for internet connection on my laptop. I've got Skype downloaded onto my laptop so if I have to make a phone call to a landline that may take a while (talkative aunt/bank/Centrelink etc) I call them using Skype - that way I only pay 3c a minute which is considerably cheaper than using my mobile.
Hi we have a prepaid with telstra long life 12months ,We also have a TPG sim only account one which you use your own phone it uses the optus network we pay $17.95 a month for $550 worth of call which you can kept check of your useage on the net and also get SMS when you have used 50% and 75 % . We only have the Telstra in case we do not have optus coverage but these days that is not often
Have a look at changing the Long Life to "Simplicity". You will retain your Long Life credit but get the cheaper 15c/minute calls. Change back to longlife before the next recharge & then repeat the cycle.
May I add that, if you have coverage by ANYONE other than Telstra where you are likely to want coverage (and this, in itself, is a major consideration),
then look at the Optus resellers packages (eg Dodo, Amaysim) or,
maybe but only if you are civic-centred, Vodafone resellers (eg Red Bull).
For consideration as but one example: I live on acreage but within (HSDPA/3G) coverage of Optus and I tend to travel on the East Coast.
I bought an $80 mobile smartphone and a $2 Amaysim SIM. I now get all calls, messagebank and 4Gb of data downloads (i.e. heaps) for $40 per month with no contract and an Aust helpdesk
.....and that is their most expensive option.
-- Edited by EllenajoeL on Sunday 17th of February 2013 06:58:59 PM
-- Edited by EllenajoeL on Sunday 17th of February 2013 07:00:01 PM
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A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. ~ Lao Tzu
There are some great options. I have Mynetfone Voip account $4.95 for 100 untimed calls to landlines anywhere in Australia or 40 countries. I think about 12c a minute to mobiles. I use it on my adsl at home and use a softphone app to use it on my mobile phone as well.
The technology is wonderful but a learning curb if you're keen to save money and commit to learning.
I have lycamobile $24 a month unlimited to all phones also mobile and text its on the back of telstra 2g ,so internet is very slow, but phone coverage is ok so far in tassie
Why not just keep one phone on business & the other with a free hour if you are on a plan-business if needed for anything in business hours etc & free hour whenever the best time for you. Ours are both Next G blue tic as we are more outback than close to coverage & have the Sat phone for emergencies.
Oma I am looking at buying / renting a sat phone for when I go north later this year.
I will be in an area for at least three months with no phone or internet connection and are considering options also an EPERB.
I would be interested in your thoughts and what you think of the phone you have.
You can PM perhaps to keep this thread on topic.
I use bigpond phone on a $59 plan as I needed lots of time when I got the phone as I was sitting two 14y boys while there mother was seriously ill in hospital and I was the contact for friends and family and relayed messages from her husband who needed to be with her for many weeks and then 3 or 4 days at a time. Also I use the APPS a far bit now so I try and use the data allowance if I can.
My modem is a Bigpond home modem. I have 240v 24/7 so power is no problem and I find with a large external area I get good coverage in most places.
At the end of the month I try and use all allowance by downloading music etc as I hate to give them money for nothing. On the moodem I always run it until the download speed drops and it gets too slow. Often I will just let it idle along if I see something I want LOL
Regards Brian
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11 Mtr house Boat based at Mannum hoping to travel up the Murray as far as I can get then drift back again
We use a $49 a month plan which gives us something like $400 plus for all calls and data per month. We never use it all but because we have our home phone, internet and wifi internet with Telstra. We also get a discount so our plan becomes $39. We can ring whoever we want whenever we want pretty much for as long as we want. We won't be without a home phone as our security connects back to base via it.
We also have a Sat Phone for remote areas. We bought a Inmarsat using the Federal Government's subsidy scheme. Beats an HF radio in our humble opinion. There we use prepaid and haven't had any problems connecting to anyone when no other service is available. We bought it specifically for emergencies and it has performed admirably.
