Apr 12, 2019, 8:18 pm
Last edit by: Mwenenzi
Summary
https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Australia
Reasonable summary of Au phones, but a changing market.
Networks 3G 4G
There are 3 main mobile phone networks in Australia
TPG was building a 4th network. Link--> https://www.canstarblue.com.au/phone/tpg-phone-network/ But the Australian Government banned Huawei equipment due to security concerns. And TPG & Vodafone may merge. Link
All other mobile phone plan retailers are resellers. Many resellers use the Optus network.
Phone & Data Plans
There are many phone-SIM-data plans available from bricks & mortar shops:- phone shops, supermarkets, post offices, newsagents, gas/petrol stations or on line. It can be confusing comparing the features & costs. Cost per month is reducing and data per month is increasing. The plans are aimed at Australia residents, so may not be that suitable for visitors to Australia. Some plans are 6/12 month locked-in contracts. Some plans include data roll over/bank and others do not. Some plans now have a 1 off bonus data at sign up. So check carefully.
A visitor to Australia should be able to get a 28/30 day plan for about $30 with unlimited local calls and local texts and with some data. Less than 30 days, if available, not a lot different. Check the conditions & fine print. To activate an Australian phone-SIM card an identity check is needed. Please refer below.
Most (all?) of the Australian international airports will have booths or shops selling SIM cards & phone-data plans.
Check if your unlocked phone works on the Australian networks:- http://willmyphonework.net
The supermarket chains offer some reasonable deals, with no locked-in contract.
Pick up a SIM card in the supermarket or have it delivered by mail
Other resellers (alphabetical order - not a recommendation)
There are comparison web sites aimed at Australia residents. These may not be that suitable for visitors to Australia. They may not be 100% independent or show all options.
Identify Check
To activate an Australian phone-SIM card a 100 point identity check is needed. It is not always asked for. There is a post where a FT’er had trouble doing this. Link---> Post 111
The airport booth guys or a phone shop will be able to activate a SIM card. Ask before you buy.
Australian Communications and Media Authority (Au gov) link---> https://www.acma.gov.au/acmas-rules-id-checks-prepaid-mobiles
Australian Government legislation link (very legalistic)--> https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L00399
Aldi pdf for information (typical?) https://www.aldimobile.com.au/m3/docs/identity_verification_policy.pdf
Coverage
The 2 main carriers claim high 90's% coverage of the Australian population centres. Note this is not the same as geographic coverage (land area). Any of the 2 (or 3) mains carriers will have coverage of the main areas where most people will visit. Telstra has the reputation for the largest geographic coverage. (Optus may not agree). If you are 100 miles out the back of Bourke or in remote Western Australia or on the Nullarbor or wherever there may be no coverage. Areas with no coverage exist all over the country. But it is not a problem for most visitor’s to Australia.
Telstra coverage map--------> https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/our-coverage
Telstra block spot program ----> https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/mobile-black-spot-program
Disclaimer
The above is a very general guide only. It may not be 100% accurate
Mobile phone plans are for ever changing.
Any additions or corrections are welcome
https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Australia
Reasonable summary of Au phones, but a changing market.
Networks 3G 4G
There are 3 main mobile phone networks in Australia
- Telstra
https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones - Optus
https://www.optus.com.au/shop/mobile/phone-plans - Vodafone
https://www.vodafone.com.au/plans
TPG was building a 4th network. Link--> https://www.canstarblue.com.au/phone/tpg-phone-network/ But the Australian Government banned Huawei equipment due to security concerns. And TPG & Vodafone may merge. Link
All other mobile phone plan retailers are resellers. Many resellers use the Optus network.
Phone & Data Plans
There are many phone-SIM-data plans available from bricks & mortar shops:- phone shops, supermarkets, post offices, newsagents, gas/petrol stations or on line. It can be confusing comparing the features & costs. Cost per month is reducing and data per month is increasing. The plans are aimed at Australia residents, so may not be that suitable for visitors to Australia. Some plans are 6/12 month locked-in contracts. Some plans include data roll over/bank and others do not. Some plans now have a 1 off bonus data at sign up. So check carefully.
A visitor to Australia should be able to get a 28/30 day plan for about $30 with unlimited local calls and local texts and with some data. Less than 30 days, if available, not a lot different. Check the conditions & fine print. To activate an Australian phone-SIM card an identity check is needed. Please refer below.
Most (all?) of the Australian international airports will have booths or shops selling SIM cards & phone-data plans.
Check if your unlocked phone works on the Australian networks:- http://willmyphonework.net
The supermarket chains offer some reasonable deals, with no locked-in contract.
Pick up a SIM card in the supermarket or have it delivered by mail
- https://www.colesmobile.com.au (Optus network)
- https://mobile.woolworths.com.au (Telstra network)
- https://www.aldimobile.com.au/plans/value-packs (Telstra network)
Other resellers (alphabetical order - not a recommendation)
- https://www.amaysim.com.au/mobile-plans/
- https://www.belong.com.au/mobile (owned by Telstra)
- https://boost.com.au/plans/
- https://www.dodo.com.au/
- https://www.lebara.com.au/mobile-plans/30-day-plans
- https://www.tpg.com.au/mobile
- https://www.vaya.net.au
- and others
There are comparison web sites aimed at Australia residents. These may not be that suitable for visitors to Australia. They may not be 100% independent or show all options.
- https://youcompare.com.au/mobilephones/
- https://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/
- https://whatphone.com.au
- https://www.canstarblue.com.au/compare/mobile
- and others
Identify Check
To activate an Australian phone-SIM card a 100 point identity check is needed. It is not always asked for. There is a post where a FT’er had trouble doing this. Link---> Post 111
The airport booth guys or a phone shop will be able to activate a SIM card. Ask before you buy.
Australian Communications and Media Authority (Au gov) link---> https://www.acma.gov.au/acmas-rules-id-checks-prepaid-mobiles
Australian Government legislation link (very legalistic)--> https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L00399
Aldi pdf for information (typical?) https://www.aldimobile.com.au/m3/docs/identity_verification_policy.pdf
Coverage
The 2 main carriers claim high 90's% coverage of the Australian population centres. Note this is not the same as geographic coverage (land area). Any of the 2 (or 3) mains carriers will have coverage of the main areas where most people will visit. Telstra has the reputation for the largest geographic coverage. (Optus may not agree). If you are 100 miles out the back of Bourke or in remote Western Australia or on the Nullarbor or wherever there may be no coverage. Areas with no coverage exist all over the country. But it is not a problem for most visitor’s to Australia.
Telstra coverage map--------> https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/our-coverage
Telstra block spot program ----> https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/mobile-black-spot-program
Disclaimer
The above is a very general guide only. It may not be 100% accurate
Mobile phone plans are for ever changing.
Any additions or corrections are welcome
Prepaid SIM (Data or Voice) - Australia
May 8, 2013, 5:34 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: DTW
Programs: HH Gold, Delta Gold
Posts: 120
Check out Truphone. They are geared towards Australia, UK and USA. www.truphone.com
May 8, 2013, 11:37 pm
#17
Join Date: May 2013
Location: USA
Programs: AA Plt Pro, UA Silver, DL, QF; HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 128
I used Amaysim in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth last year with no problems. Very pleased with the cost of data/airtime. Coverage was good. Not Telstra good as previously mentioned, but good enough.
They did make me show ID when I bought it at a Coles (grocery store).
They did make me show ID when I bought it at a Coles (grocery store).
May 9, 2013, 6:03 am
#18
formerly danblar
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 249
If you're there than less than a month or don't mind changing numbers after 30 days. Telstra regularly has the $30 Prepaid SIM Starter pack on sale for $10. You can use this SIM for an iPad and it will provide you with 3GB to use inside a month.
Which is cheap, considering Telstra has the best network in Australia.
Which is cheap, considering Telstra has the best network in Australia.
May 9, 2013, 8:51 am
#19
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: SNA Rwy 20L
Programs: QF Silver
Posts: 703
Welcome to FT AussieExPat! (from a soon to be one)
Although if you need to keep your Telstra prepaid number for a while just add some time to your account. Don't remember the exact amounts but IIRC $50 will extend it 6 months and $100 a year or so.
Although if you need to keep your Telstra prepaid number for a while just add some time to your account. Don't remember the exact amounts but IIRC $50 will extend it 6 months and $100 a year or so.
May 9, 2013, 11:52 am
#20
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai
Posts: 3,652
This is in response to the prior post about Truphone. I considered recommending it to the person because of the fact that you are in your home zone in the US and Australia. If your wife who is presumably Australian, registers the SIM as an Australian living in Australia, you'll have an Australian number that you can keep. Get her a dual SIM Android phone in the US and she can stay in touch with the folks back home easily (but remember to put a do not disturb app on your phone that kills Truphone during the sleeping hours).
Its rates aren't expensive in Australia, but the prepaid SIMs are cheap, easy to purchase, and give you much better deals on the data side. Ten cents a meg for data isn't bad, it is still $10 for 100 megs. (Note, I'd also check how they round things). The other thing that is compelling is the fact that you can keep the number alive for a year easily Lastly, it calling the US is no more expensive than calling Oz.
That said, calling card calls to the US are dirt cheap and forwarding a Callcentric free phone number to an Australian mobile is $0.09 cents a minute. There was another company that charged $1 a month for the line, but was only $0.03 a minute for the call forward. (I forgot its name). Conversely, you'll have to pay Truphone $8 a month for a virtual US or Australian number and I think $0,17 a minute for the call to the US number.
For light use staying at a private home with wifi, Truphone might be an easy solution. If your phone is your lifeline while in Australia, I'd go with Amaysim's unlimited plan. It is a great deal. Make one of the numbers that is your favorites something like Callcentric's Australian dial-in number.
Its rates aren't expensive in Australia, but the prepaid SIMs are cheap, easy to purchase, and give you much better deals on the data side. Ten cents a meg for data isn't bad, it is still $10 for 100 megs. (Note, I'd also check how they round things). The other thing that is compelling is the fact that you can keep the number alive for a year easily Lastly, it calling the US is no more expensive than calling Oz.
That said, calling card calls to the US are dirt cheap and forwarding a Callcentric free phone number to an Australian mobile is $0.09 cents a minute. There was another company that charged $1 a month for the line, but was only $0.03 a minute for the call forward. (I forgot its name). Conversely, you'll have to pay Truphone $8 a month for a virtual US or Australian number and I think $0,17 a minute for the call to the US number.
For light use staying at a private home with wifi, Truphone might be an easy solution. If your phone is your lifeline while in Australia, I'd go with Amaysim's unlimited plan. It is a great deal. Make one of the numbers that is your favorites something like Callcentric's Australian dial-in number.
May 10, 2013, 5:23 am
#21
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: London, UK
Posts: 174
I used Optus 4G Social $50 tariff when I was in Sydney for 3 weeks over Christmas. The tariff comes with 2.5GB of data and unlimited social data (Facebook, my space, twitter, etc). In three weeks I used only about 500MB because of the unlimited social data.
https://www.optus.com.au/shop/prepai.../prepaidoffers
I bought it at an Optus reseller and had to show passport and a credit card. When I picked up a second SIM card from another dealer, I didn't get asked for any ID.
Speed was pretty decent. I was able to achieve LTE speeds around the CBD and in the inner suburbs. At one point, I hit 60Mb/s
https://www.optus.com.au/shop/prepai.../prepaidoffers
I bought it at an Optus reseller and had to show passport and a credit card. When I picked up a second SIM card from another dealer, I didn't get asked for any ID.
Speed was pretty decent. I was able to achieve LTE speeds around the CBD and in the inner suburbs. At one point, I hit 60Mb/s
May 10, 2013, 8:31 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SGF
Programs: AA, QF, UA
Posts: 45
Prepaid SIM - Australia
Thanks for the discussion from my original post.
It looks like when visiting the in-laws I can look for a prepaid SIM. With some data and phone time on it.
Data isn't all that necessary. I can use family's wifi at home for that. It would be more phone use while in city in case they need to reach me or me calling home to see if I need to pick anything up.
It looks like when visiting the in-laws I can look for a prepaid SIM. With some data and phone time on it.
Data isn't all that necessary. I can use family's wifi at home for that. It would be more phone use while in city in case they need to reach me or me calling home to see if I need to pick anything up.
May 13, 2013, 5:55 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: I 35 south bound, finally stopped
Programs: LT Plt, 4mm, *A GLD, burned out medical provider, executing our estate plan
Posts: 1,665
we had 2.5 weeks there last month, mostly in rural Tasmania and Hunter Valley, not much in the cities. I went with the $30 prepaid Telstra due to coverage and had pretty good data and phone (android) except in Tarraleah. Had to show my passport to buy it in Hobart. Took 10 minutes and we were good to go for google maps and email checking.
May 28, 2013, 6:30 pm
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SGF
Programs: AA, QF, UA
Posts: 45
Prepaid SIM - Australia
Update. Just got a Virgin Mobile prepaid SIM. No need to show identification at Virgin store. They all seemed about same but this was one that was recommended by a few at electronic stores.
$30 for 1GB data and $450 credit for talk/text. Should be equal to about 400 minutes.
Since I really won't be anywhere too remote, this seemed like a good deal. It is on 3G right now in suburbs. But don't really need 4G speeds anyway.
Thanks for everyone's help
$30 for 1GB data and $450 credit for talk/text. Should be equal to about 400 minutes.
Since I really won't be anywhere too remote, this seemed like a good deal. It is on 3G right now in suburbs. But don't really need 4G speeds anyway.
Thanks for everyone's help
May 31, 2013, 9:43 am
#26
formerly danblar
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 249
Update. Just got a Virgin Mobile prepaid SIM. No need to show identification at Virgin store. They all seemed about same but this was one that was recommended by a few at electronic stores.
$30 for 1GB data and $450 credit for talk/text. Should be equal to about 400 minutes.
Since I really won't be anywhere too remote, this seemed like a good deal. It is on 3G right now in suburbs. But don't really need 4G speeds anyway.
Thanks for everyone's help
$30 for 1GB data and $450 credit for talk/text. Should be equal to about 400 minutes.
Since I really won't be anywhere too remote, this seemed like a good deal. It is on 3G right now in suburbs. But don't really need 4G speeds anyway.
Thanks for everyone's help
Jun 1, 2013, 2:22 am
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SGF
Programs: AA, QF, UA
Posts: 45
Prepaid SIM - Australia
Not bad. It has been pretty consistent but have been primarily in metro Sydney area. Even decent signal underground on train.
Will be heading to Blue Mountains and Canberra soon. Will give update on signals there.
BUT a word of warning. My dad bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 at Verizon before leaving and the person told him it is an international phone. Well apparently it isn't a true unlocked phone. It is if you go to the UK, Russia, Nepal, and a couple of other countries.
In order to use it elsewhere you have to download some APN app that allows you to get around the Verizon settings so it can be used in other countries. This would be for data only. Phone and text work fine on the local network.
My iPhone 5 works like a charm and didn't have to do a thing other than insert the SIM and activate.
Will be heading to Blue Mountains and Canberra soon. Will give update on signals there.
BUT a word of warning. My dad bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 at Verizon before leaving and the person told him it is an international phone. Well apparently it isn't a true unlocked phone. It is if you go to the UK, Russia, Nepal, and a couple of other countries.
In order to use it elsewhere you have to download some APN app that allows you to get around the Verizon settings so it can be used in other countries. This would be for data only. Phone and text work fine on the local network.
My iPhone 5 works like a charm and didn't have to do a thing other than insert the SIM and activate.
Jun 3, 2013, 3:43 pm
#29
Join Date: May 2013
Location: USA
Programs: AA Plt Pro, UA Silver, DL, QF; HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 128
I would think the cheapest option if you're planning on using service with any regularity in both countries would be to buy a SIM card in both places. But that's just a guess -- I could be way off in that regard.
Jun 3, 2013, 5:05 pm
#30
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne Australia
Programs: QF WP, NZ G
Posts: 291
Yes, all Australian telcos have roaming agreements for NZ and vice versa. But this is at an international roaming charge, not local call charge. Data of course is very expensive. Vodafone have an arrangement which reduces international roaming charges, though I'm not sure whether this is available for pre-paid. (The AUS and NZ arms of Vodafone are separate).