Articles By Tara Donnelly
Exetel Now Has 4G Mobile Plans
We’ve been keeping an eye on the state of 4G in Australia over the last few months, and eagerly awaiting news of when smaller resellers will be passing 4G mobile coverage on to their customers. While Optus MVNOs such as Vaya, Amaysim and Spintel have stated they hope to provide 4G sometime in the first half of 2013, it looks like they've been pipped to the post.
How to Prevent Mobile Phone Theft
Some tips on securing your phone and personal data against theft, and advice on what to do if it is stolen.
New and Rumoured MVNOs for 2013
2013 looks set to welcome a few new players to Australia's prepaid mobile market, as the competing big telcos continue opening up their wholesale networks to smaller operators. Telstra continues to take steps to challenge Optus' dominance as a mobile wholesaler, by allowing the newly launched Kogan Mobile, and new partner Boost Mobile, access to its Next G 3G networks. For now, the carrier is keeping 4G LTE access reserved exclusively for Telstra customers.
Goodbye Crazy John's
One of Australia’s most recognised independent mobile phone retailers is effectively no more, with Vodafone confirming plans to shut down the Crazy John’s brand next month. All Crazy John’s stores will be closed entirely, or rebranded as Vodafone stores, by February 20th – meaning that from this date, no new customers will be able to sign up under the Crazy John’s brand. Around 40 of the 60 Crazy Johns stores in operation will be closed, with the rest being transformed into Vodafone outlets.
Vodafone Cuts Free Social Networking
UPDATE: Since this post, Vodafone has revised the decision to begin charging for data in 1MB blocks. The telco have issued a press release stating that, after many customers "expressed concern" about the proposed changes to how data would be billed, it would be dropping the minimum data session for prepaid customers from one megabyte to one kilobyte. The original change would have seen many prepaid customers' data usage and monthly plan costs go up significantly.
When Will Optus' MVNOs Offer 4G?
With Telstra and Optus in the process of expanding their up-and-running 4G LTE networks, customers in metropolitan and some regional locations are already experiencing the benefits of crazy fast speeds and seamless browsing and downloading. Being the only two carriers with their own 4G network gives both companies a distinct advantage over rival telco Vodafone - still yet to roll out its billion dollar upgrade – and over the smaller providers (mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs) piggybacking Optus, Telstra or Vodafone coverage (not including the Optus-owned Virgin Mobile, who are offering customers 4G).
Crazy John's Change Mobile Plans
Changes are afoot at Crazy John’s – namely, the telco will be making some adjustments to their post-paid mobile plans. The company has tweaked their Value Plans and SIM-Only Value Plans, and also added new bonus offers for customers to take advantage of if they buy online. All of the revisions and new offers are effective from today (November 14) onwards.
Optus Launch Prepaid 4G Plans
If you're a smartphone user wary of post-paid or not wanting to be locked into a contract, time to get excited: Optus has announced that it will finally be making its shiny new 4G network available to prepaid customers. Optus' Managing Director of Marketing, Michael Smith, acknowledged the huge demand for 4G shown by customers since the network’s launch, stating that the company is ‘excited’ about giving prepaid customers to opportunity to enjoy 4G speeds.
Changes to Optus Broadband Plans
The original blog post regarding the change to Optus' broadband plans stated that the company will no longer offer both Naked DSL and its 'yes' Fusion bundles to new customers. Since the post's publication, Optus have informed us that 'yes' Fusion and Naked DSL will not be scrapped, and both options will still be available to new and existing customers (although there will be pricing changes). Fusion plans, however, are undergoing a name change, and will now be called Home and Broadband Bundles. The rest of the information below is correct at the time of this update.
Virgin Mobile Update Phone Plans
Virgin Mobile has announced changes to its post-paid plans as of October 2nd. Although the updates aren't huge, one of the big losses for customers is the restructuring of the popular $29 Big Plan, which until now offered up to $450 of included monthly value. Under the new $29 plan, the $450 in plan value has been significantly decreased to $250, although the data allowance (250MB) will remain unchanged.
