Woolworth’s is dipping into the market dominated by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, with the launch of a new 24-month phone plan including the still-popular Samsung Galaxy S5.
The supermarket giant will offer only a single $30 Phone Plan option for now, including $1000 worth of calls, unlimited SMS and 1GB of data. Handset repayments for the Galaxy S5 per $8 per month.
A standard 2 minute call costs $2.20, so customers will be able to make 454 calls each month. An extra $200 worth of calls or 1GB of data can be added manually throughout the month for $10, but all remaining credit expires at the end of the billing cycle.
Most interesting is that Woolworth’s has what it is calling a ‘Zero Bill Shock Promise’. There are no excess usage charges in the Phone Plan, instead the depleted service (calls or data) will stop working until the beginning of the next month unless you choose to top up the account. You can still send SMS and make free calls, to other Woolworth’s customers for example.
Giving customers this level of control over plans is a fantastic idea and one we hope will catch on across the industry, however unlikely. Despite big changes in the way we're charged for excess usage, these still represent a big portion of telco revenue.
More everything with Prepaid plans
Existing Woolworth’s Prepaid plans also receive a makeover with more of the important stuff going forward. $30 and $45 recharge prices remain the same, but the inclusions have significantly increased.
The smaller $30 option $650 call value to $1000, like the new Phone plan. Data has increased to 2GB with another 500MB bonus on all recharges until 15 February 2016. Unlimited SMS and calls to Woolworth’s Connect phones are also part of the deal.
The $45 recharge moves to Unlimited calls to all numbers in Australia, up from $1500 credit. Data jumps up to 4GB with a 1GB bonus on top until February next year.
Joseph Hanlon
Related Articles
