Optus roaming now cheaper for calls and text

Optus today has announced a major update to its roaming costs, introducing simplicity and cheaper calls, though data remains expensive.

The first major change to the telco's new Optus Travel range is in simplifying the various international travel destinations into only two buckets. Zone 1 includes all of Europe, Asia, North America, Canada and the Pacific Islands, while Zone 2 covers Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

The two zones have one flat rate for calls, messages and data, with Zone 2 costing exactly twice as much for each item. These rates are the same regardless of whether you are a Pre-Paid or Post-Paid customer.

Optus will also offer Travel Packs to Post-Paid customers, with a flat $10 per day fee returning unlimited calls and messages plus 30MB data per day.

While the calling and messaging component in the Travel Packs is exceedingly generous, the data allowance is dangerously small. 30MB is enough to check emails and to use a mapping application cautiously, but with either 50c or $1 per MB charged after the 30MB is used, Optus customers will still need to be very careful with data while travelling.

The announcement of these changes to Optus roaming come a month after Vodafone announced a similar update, with a $5 flat rate for Post-Paid customers who travel. After charging the fee, Vodafone lets its customers use the calls, text and data they usually pay for in their plans, but limits use to only three countries -- USA, UK and New Zealand.

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.

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