hi my wife and I are about to join the grey nomads travelling around Australia and we were wondering what you suggest for wi fi access whilst on our travels and who do you think is the best provider thanking you for any assistance
We agree. If youre just sticking to populated areas (large towns) then you may be lucky with another Telco, but Telstra provides the most coverage (which is not that wonderful compared to other countries, especially for the cost). You can buy a dongle from places like Dick Smith for about $15 and it will be pre-charged with up to 1GB of data - shop around Dicks, JB HIFI and sometimes the supermarkets (but not often).
12GB of data from Telstra will cost you $200!!!!! and lasts for 365 days or until you use up the data. Don't download movies etc - you will make whatever Telco you finally choose, even richer
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
I've got Optus. $60 unlimited phone calls, sms and 6GB of Internet per month. I mostly stick to coastal areas on the east coast so coverage is fine for me. I also paid a once off of $5 to get an extra sim for my iPad which is connected to that plan. Telstra does have the best coverage though.
Be absolutely certain that the retailer DOES NOT INITIALIZE the device before you leave the shop. If they do then the usage time for the device starts immediately.
I usually make my purchases when they have 'specials' & then wait until I need the device before I initialize it. On one occasion JB Hi Fi claimed to be following their normal procedure & initialized the one I got from them. When I went to use it a couple of months later it had expired.
In the end they gave me another at a very reduced price & the great guys at Telstra gave me an extra 3 gig of data & extended the time limit from one month to three. You couldn't get better than that & it wasn't Telstra's fault!
These days I usually purchase those that can be used as a hot spot allowing connection of several devices. eg my Lap Top, iPad & smart phone.
I use only Telstra because of their network quality & excellent customer service ... & of course my share value.
The sad part is that I leave 100gig/month of fast cable unused at home. Must look into that.
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 23rd of March 2015 10:08:57 AM
Welcome to the gang Instrsteve, enjoy here and out in the playground.
I have a Telstra 4G Wifi gizmo that I can plug an external antenna to. I also have a Testra iPhone 4s that I can check out the internet etc or tether my iPad to via Personal Hotspot. Both work for me in different ways.
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There was a post on here a few weeks ago that kind of covered this. Apparently Aldi sell WIFI devices at a real cheap price - $5 for a trial and then you can buy more data on-line. They use Telstra and very much cheaper BUT the question that went unanswered is it exactly the same as Telstra ie 3G and 4G?
If you buy a dongle which is a small device about 3" long that plugs into a USB port of whatever device you use, make sure it will operate as a "hotspot". That way you can use it for the various types of tablets that have no USB port. A hotspot allows other devices that aren't physically plugged in to communicate into the internet - but the hotspot needs to be connected to something else - like a laptop.
Confusing, isn't it lol
Find yourself an older salesperson in a retail store to help you out - don't go for the young ones who will totally confuse you and leave to feeling stupid and in the process of buying a ticket to the moon in their attempt to maximize their commission. Don't go to these retailers on a weekend when theyre busy - and when mums/dads are dropping off or picking up their school kids are good times to - stores are often quiet then. If they confuse you - don't buy - go to another store until to find someone who will clearly explain your options and doesn't make you feel like an idiot
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
I use AMAYSIM for WIFI - costs $2 for the SIM, $25 online for the Optus dongle/wireless modem and $10 for 1GB of data which lasts 3 months. AMAYSIM use OPTUS as their carrier. OPTUS have about 90% of the coverage of Telstra.
There was a post on here a few weeks ago that kind of covered this. Apparently Aldi sell WIFI devices at a real cheap price - $5 for a trial and then you can buy more data on-line. They use Telstra and very much cheaper BUT the question that went unanswered is it exactly the same as Telstra ie 3G and 4G?
The Aldi coverage is not the same as the full Telstra coverage, its only part of the network. You can see coverage maps for Telstra at http://www.telcoantennas.com.au/site/telstra-next-g-coverage-map and Aldi at http://www.telcoantennas.com.au/site/aldi-mobile-coverage-maps
The same site has coverage maps for most companies, to help work our where you intend to go and who has the best coverage for your needs.
Like many we have Telstra for travelling for both our phone and internet, though not for home. The extra coverage is for us worth the extra cost.
We have had great success with Virgin( Uses Optus network ) and Telstra.
So far in our travels there have been few places where the Virgin hasn't worked.
Usually( for us ) if Virgin doesn't work then neither does Telstra. I'm sure Telstra will work better when we go more remote but playing the game of averages works for us.
As your question is on WiFi mobile internet I'll stick to that.
Both our Telstra & Virgin phones can be Hotspoted to our laptop plus we have a Dongle for the laptop.
Telstra "remote area" Dave smartphone.
Virgin Sony Smartphone.
Virgin dongle.
Our favorite is the Virgin Dongle deal we got.
Bring your own dongle.
No contract,post paid monthly.
Cancel or reduce data at will.
12 GB per month for $40. ( less for less data )
We use all our 12 GB a month so it's great for us.
My wife and I each have a $2 a day plan from Optus. This gives us unlimited calls to mobiles and national calls + unlimited text's AND we can tether both our laptops to a phone and get 500MB of data daily and all this for $2.00 A DAY. Bonus is if we don't use the phone we don't get charged the $2. Only catch is you need a smart phone to tether the laptops, but who doesn't have a smart phone these day's (now just waiting on the avalanche of replies for those that don't).
Average cost for us works out to be about $50 a month each
save looking here's the link..... http://www.optus.com.au/shop/mobile/prepaid/plans?gclid=CKm91Yr2vcQCFUMsvQodeyEACA&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CP-RmIv2vcQCFcESvQodciAA-A#daily-plus?CID=sem:con:goog:bau:acq:premob::0:plapre:slink&ppc=1
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Hi madaboutleds, just so as you are not disappointed, I don't have a smartphone! Although I feel this may have to change soon, but the non smart one still works just fine and I tend to believe that 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'
Annie
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Hi madaboutleds, just so as you are not disappointed, I don't have a smartphone! Although I feel this may have to change soon, but the non smart one still works just fine and I tend to believe that 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' Annie
Nah, not disapointed. I used to have just a standard mobile phone + a telstra WIFI thing for the laptops but together that was costing over $120 a month for my phone alone and another $60 a month for the wifes phone. My son then told me about the optus plan and bought me a smart phone for my birthday from Aldi. Took some getting used to but now I wouldn't be without one, so many more things it can do. Now we've reduced our phones and internet costs between us to an average of $100 a month ($50each).
Regards Steve.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
I for one don't even own a mobile phone - and like it that way
We were driving through a small country town recently, & the wife said "Look, there's an old pay Telephone booth with a guy actually using it"..... that must have been you.
Just kidding couldn't resist LOL.
Regards Steve.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
I for one don't even own a mobile phone - and like it that way
We were driving through a small country town recently, & the wife said "Look, there's an old pay Telephone booth with a guy actually using it"..... that must have been you.
Just kidding couldn't resist LOL.
Regards Steve.
Might see a resurgence of Phone Booths. Some talk around that Telstra is looking at setting up a network of Wi Fi hotspots that will include phone booths. Perhaps also sharing home Wi Fi's operating as public hotspots too.
I have a telstra dongle prepaid with $200 and 12 month use
I transfer a lot of this money onto my prepaid phone account by using credit2u facility @ $10 per day, that way I get to use all of the money before it expires
Ken
