preferably on a budget

Capped plans, any provider.
I'm on telstra-3g for 50 bucks a month (230$ worth of calls) and its good enough. Comes with a free s*** HOUSE phone Motorola-v3x, don't ever get this phone. Samsung phones 4 lyfe.

You could go on a $49 cap with 3, $300 on the cap and you get a really nice SE 610i for free.

their network has improved 100x since their original launch, and if you dont get 3 coverage, it roams on to the telstra network.

I use the pre-paid Optus Turbocharge.

$30 gets $120
$40 gets $200

And it lasts for 30 days.

I like it because if i run out of credit within 30 days i can just recharge straight away, my friends with cap plans are always bitching when they go over their caps so i don't have that problem.

i use optus 79 - $500 credit with $10 data. it is sufficient most months.

Get off the phone NERDS

Vodafone is the best provider I've been on. I've also used optus and telstra.

I used the vodafone pre-pay cap. No contracts, and not possible to go over your amount and get charged a heap - when u run out u run out, and u just recharge. Also, if u buy your recharge from woolworths u also save 10%. So a $49 recharge only costs u like $44.

$49 gets u $230 + 20min free overseas calls
$29 gets u $130 i think

and so on.

Vodafone also rock - after being with them for like a year they gave me a $100 voucher no strings attached to use on any phone. I just bought a cheapo $79 one so it was completely free.

They also gave me free billabong thongs another time.

and best of all no contracts!

I dont understand how anybody makes enough calls to get value out of a "$49 cap" plan or similar, considering how the telcos scale what a call is "worth" by simply charging more per second or what not.

My work has an awesome deal with optus where we get $0 per month connection and $0.05/minute call rate (yes, 5 cents per 60 seconds) - needless to say my phone bill is rarely more than $5, and never has been more than $10. I guess you'd call that a post-paid plan thats fairly close in mechanic to a pre-pay ($0 to stay connected, just with much better call rates).

Gist is, if I were to leave where I'm working and go back to paying; I'd shop around the pre-pay plans and just pick whichever had the best call rates.

Storm, the pre-paid caps are actually 10x better value than standard pre-paid. I've tried both and on $49 cap i can call and text as much as i want without even thinking. When I tried $50 pre-paid normal, and was total tight ass about it and tried not to call and txt'd instead, it still ran out in a month.

Looking into this myself.

Capped plans with Vodophone seem to be winning out. $79 gets you $550 of calls for the month, and you dont pay for the phone if youre on a 24 month plan.
Having said that I know alot of people have reception issues with vodaphone.

Ive been on an optus cap plan, almost through my 24 months. Have never had an reception issues, and values ok.

If you can swing it your better of getting something outright and going on the prepaid cap plans that almost everyone offer now.

I'm on optus prepaid, pay $50 and get $300. Lasts me pretty much exactly one month, so I like it.
Recently changed to that from some s*** arse s***f*** telra plan I was on where I was making literally f*** ALL calls and texts each month but coming in with like a $140 bill. Now I msg like crazy and only just manage to hit the $300 so I'm happy!

cant you get some sort of plan through work?

i get a free n73 and all free calls and free messages

im pretty happy with that plan

i doubt id bother with a mobile if i had to pay for it

$49 gets u $230 + 20min free overseas calls

Really? that's not too bad but on the vodafone site there's nothing there that mentions about the extra free 20 mins to overseas?... are you sure about this?

I'm with optus fully sik turbocharged prepaid and $40 gets me $200 a month. I call and text a lot to overseas and it's like over $2 a minute to iraq so i chew threw it like no tomorrow. I was thinking about going to the vodafone TXTer where you get heaps of texts for free but it's only within australia and not overseas...

Wait

International Calls and Video Calls

$29 Jumbo Cap: 10 mins
$49 Maxi Cap: 20 mins
$79 Super Cap: 60 mins
$149 Mega Cap: 120 mins

I think i'll make a switch to vodafone then eh..

cant you buy call cards made for calling specific countries that give you really cheap rates?
or is that only to vietnam and korea and what not. I swear at least one of those call card posters that are plastered everywhere are in arabic

Yeah there's plenty of those out there and i tried a few but man they're too unreliable. Some cards get you 3 hours for $10 but the line is s***ty and drops out and the connection fees are a ripp off. I was using Australian express at one stage and they weren't too bad but they went bust for crying out loud. I just wanna be able to call and text when i want and not spend 5 bux of the card by the time i get through.

i got the v3x, its ok but ive had to send it back for repairs once

seems to turn off randomly a lot, and s*** like that. not too bad.

i would prefer a tin can and wet piece of string tho

Ok i rang up vodafone and it turns out that the 20 minutes of international calls that come with the $49 cap aren't actually free but is part of the cap and are charged at 41 cents per 30 second blocks plus 27.5 cents flag fall. s*** thing is you can only call overseas for 20 minutes and thats it! They're sitll cheaper call rates than optus international but 20 minutes a month is just really pathetic. At least with optus $40 cap gives me $200 worth of local and international calls that last for about 100 minutes (at $2 a min to iraq).

Internationally voda suck, so ta but no ta.


last edited by Suckah-Free at 15:29:10 12/Mar/07

I use Simplus, I get $450 (roughly) of calls and text for 69 a month. The cap includes overseas calls and text as well. Best plan I have ever been on, I use my phone heaps and I have only come close to limit once or twice.

Yeah but aren't you locked in for 24 month contract?

No contract at all on mine I just pay by the month. You can get a contract the only difference is it comes with a phone.