Courier Mail: Save yourself money and switch telcos

WhistleOut spokesperson Kenny McGilvary talks about how switching phone providers can help people save money and provides tips on making the process simple.

Mobile phone customers wanting to save themselves some serious cash can switch telcos within a matter of hours.

Keeping the same phone number makes it easy for consumers to jump providers if they aren’t locked into a contract, making it the perfect time to hunt around what is a very competitive market.

Some competitive offers for SIM-only no-contract deals with a minimum of 10GB of data and unlimited calls start at around $20 per month.

However for those customers who are still in a contract it's often best to see out the fixed term before switching to avoid hefty break costs.

Telco comparison websites WhistleOut’s spokesman Kenny McGilvary says before switching make sure you don’t cancel your existing mobile service because the new provider will do the switching for you.

A“Once you’ve identified the plan you want then order a new SIM card online, over the phone or in store,” he says.

“During the sign up process you’ll be asked whether you want to port or transfer your existing number to the new account.”

Mr McGilvary says all you need to do is provide your existing phone number and provider to your new telco.

Then once you receive your new SIM card you’ll need to activate it yourself.

This usually takes just a few hours.