I have an iPhone on Telstra network and use that to connect to the internet using wifi. I then connect my iPad or Laptop through personal hotspot on the phone. Has worked well for me now for 3 years.
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DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
Hello Road Tourer. We have a plan with Telstra for both our phone and internet. Both are 4G, and gets pretty good coverage. We don't have a dongle any more, we now have a wifi "hotspot" in the van, so both Mr D and I can hook up whenever we want/need to. It can handle up to 5 separate devices. On the van, we also have a Next G marine aerial which we use when we are in a limited area (currently in a national park and are using the aerial, with out it, no range)
We pay $50.00 per month for our phone, and have up to $650.00 worth of free calls and a small amount of data (1g I think). The Bigpond wifi costs us $45.00 per month with 4g plan. After (and it rarely happens) the 4g is used, the plan slows down to 64k until the next monthly anniversary, so you don't have to stop using the internet, but have to be patient. We are on a 24 month plan.
We have been on the road for over three years, and have travelled with Telstra all the way.
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Pay it forward - what goes around comes around
DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
I'm just wondering how you all go about your travels and with internet?
I have been looking at gongles and know they are available but wondering how you all go about accessing the internet while on the road.
Currently we are with TPG on ADSL+ but am looking into buying a dongle and what great plans are out there. Or ways?
I know Telstra has best coverage so looking at using them but wanted any advise or suggestions you might have from personal experiences.
Thank you in advance
Hi roadtourer
This is what we are using at the moment,we are with Telstra this mobile modem cost $99.00 that included 4gb to be used in 30 days the 4gb was $50.00 included in the $99.00,we are away at the moment hasen,t failed yet, you cold pay $186.00 for 12gb for twelve months,or it may have gone up in price, just remember if you don't use your gb,s in the time frame they state you lose them,a great little unit.
It all gets down to the network coverage, but without a doubt, Telstra is the only one the provides best cover.
In fact, the cheapest way to buy phone or internet time is pre-paid. You are not locked into contracts and if you can find a knowledgeable and honest sales person at a Telstra shop, they will explain that you can buy a pre-paid for your phone which has a huge amount of phone time and another for just data (internet - we use one that costs us $200 and runs for a whole year with no loss of credits each month as with most contracts).
To go pre-paid, you can buy a SIM card from a Servo or wherever for $2. You keep the phone number for as long as you want (permanently). You can buy phone or net time from a Servo, supermarket, Deli etc or on-line with Telstra.
The best Telstra shops to go to are those classed as "country or regional shops". You don't have to go looking in the country for them - Telstra have metro shops throughout AUS designated as such. You can find out the name and location of these country shops by going onto Telstras site and talking in real time with one of their call centre staff - most of them are very helpful as well in giving you options.
Avoid the busy Telstra shops in the shopping centres staffed by young staff - their knowledge is limited for the applications we are looking at here
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
and BTW, you can buy a mobile hot- spot shown in this thread from Dick Smith for half the price and they have 4gb of data loaded onto them. Without a doubt Telstra is the best, but both their gear and services are the most expensive (their aerials either for vehicle mount or magnetic base mobile ones are usually twice the price you can source locally and with the same quality)
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Thank you all on the replies i will have to get daddio to have a read of this too.
We have been thinking Telstra too due to the 4G coverage and they are the best for that.
We are currently on home internet with TPG but will be looking to turn that off once we hit the road.
As for wifi connections etc... will be 3 mobiles for sure
3 tablets and a laptop lol but not all at once of course.
I am on optus mobile plan which comes with my phone but daddio is with Telstra.
We were looking at getting the Telstra Mobile Broadband Explorer which seems reliable but might look into what you guys have mentioned
Thank you muchly for your descriptions and advice
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Hugs from the Road Tourers Frank, Liz, Maxx & Steve
Our Fur kids (Pippa, Sash & of course Lara)
"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends.... The mind can never break off from the journey". - Pat Conroy
We use the Aldi sims which use the Telstra 3G network and so far have not had an issue. They have a $30 for 30 day plan with 3 GB data. You can get the mini wifi router at Coles on special at times with pre loaded Telstra data included and when that runs out the Aldi sim works fine without getting it unlocked.
For the phone you can get the 365 day plan and it works out better value IMO. The mini router supports up to 5 devices so you can run the phone laptop tablets off it.
As above , you have a phone plan with Telstra and a iphone , you need one with decent amount of calls and data ( internet ) , you'll be looking at about $50 a month with Telstra or $35 or so with aldi or Boost etc ( who go through Telstra ) Then you need a ipad or laptop that's compatible with the iphone , then you can link them together by turning on " hotspot" on the iPhone and turning on The Bluetooth function on the ipad then connect by selecting the link that is there ( usually that is titled with your phone description ) , then away you go :)
I think it all comes down to what you can afford if you are not short of a dollar and it is absolutely essential that you are connected all of the time go with Telstra, otherwise go with Optus and you will be able to connect most of the time for about half the cost, if using Optus, it is much better to connect using suppliers such as Savvytel or Amaysim for the cheaper deals rather than direct with Optus.
Hi all, I noticed in this post that some are using a phone aerial..... what brand of phone has an aerial jack? most phones I have looked at don't seem to have one.
