Amaysim includes international in world-beating 8GB plan

Amaysim today unveil a big shake-up to its current range of plans, with several plans getting cheaper and a couple with included international calls.

The stand-out is the new Unlimited 8GB plan, with unlimited calls SMS, MMS and 8GB of data to use on the Optus 4G network. Customers with family and friends overseas can also make 300 minutes of calls to 32 countries as part of the standard plan inclusions.

All current subscribers on the outgoing $54.90 plan with 7GB will be upgraded automatically to the new 8GB option.

The Unlimited 5GB plan receives a pretty significant haircut, with the price trimmed from $44.90 to $39.90 while keep all of the same inclusions. This makes way for the new Unlimited 5GB Plus plan that is the same as the cheaper option, but with 300 minutes of international calls.

The foreign flavour in these plans extends further still with unlimited international text messages now part of all amaysim plans. As with the calling minutes mentioned above, these free texts can be sent to 32 different international destinations.

“If you consider the immigration growth stats into Australia, I think it’s about 500,000 migrants coming into Australia every year. We see a lot of customers come in [to Australia], they don’t have a credit history, so BYO is perfect to get your communications set up and call family back home,” says Julian Ogrin, amaysim CEO.

“There are a lot of diverse segments in the marketplace and what we’re offering here, with 32 countries covered, will satisfy this demand.”

Amaysim’s 32 included countries are: Austria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

Roaming incoming

The flip side of international calling is an option to use your phone when travelling, or international roaming. Currently amaysim customers can roam on their SIMs at expensive per minute rates, but cheaper alternatives are something in the amaysim pipeline, according to Ogrin. Interestingly, the end result might not be in partnership with amaysim’s wholesale services provider, Optus.

“There’s some fantastic technology coming through where you can get virtual SIM, over-the-top applications. And, these are the sorts of innovations which interest us,” said Ogrin.

“We’re not interested in trying to work out the old, clunky roaming charges and negotiating cheap roaming rates on the existing platforms, we interested in providing the online experience through future technology that provides a seamless customer experience.”

There is no firm deadline for when roaming services might be part of future amaysim plans, but Ogrin says that it is part of the company’s product development roadmap, and to “wait and see.”

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

Read full bio