Wireless broadband: 3's time has come
Adam Turner dissects the new plans from Optus and Vodafone, and says that 3 could be about to hit its straps.
Optus is the first Australian telco to offer pre-paid mobile broadband, which sounds exciting but make sure you read the fine print. After the $199 modem cost, the minimum recharge is $30 - which gets you 2GB - but this credit is only good for 30 days. The $40/3GB and $50/5GB recharges also only last 30 days, while the $70/6GB and $100/9GB recharges last 60 days.
New Optus plans sound great, until you read the fine print
As if this wasn't bad enough, after you've used 30MB in a day each session is rounded up to the nearest 10MB. So even if you just get online to check your email, you've instantly blown 10MB.
Suddenly 2GB for $30 doesn't seem so generous. The was a time when Optus was "the good guys" but, when you consider these pre-paid deals along with some of the outrageous Fusion plans, I'd say Optus had joined Telstra in being more interested in ripping off newbies rather than offering value for money.
There is a "$10 Fast Credit plan", but it charges you $1.02 per 10MB and the credit only lasts seven days. Optus' prepaid plans might be a good idea for very occasional users, but if you're using it more than once every two months or so then you'd probably be better off on a mobile broadband contract with Hutchison's 3 or Vodafone.
The Vodafone Net Stick
Speaking of Vodafone, it has launched a tiny Internet Stick to rival 3's offering. While 3's Internet Stick is a rebadged Huawei E169G, Vodafone's Internet Stick is the Huawei K3715 which includes a microSD slot so you can use it as a USB storage device as well. Sounds pretty handy, although naturally the microSD card isn't included.
If you're not an existing Vodafone voice customer, the Internet Stick starts from $35 per month for 1GB once you include $5 per month for the modem (the same as Optus post-paid).
What is 3 offering?
Wander over to the 3 shop and you'll get the same deal for $20 per month if you're not an existing 3 customer. 3 offers better value for power users as well, offering 7GB for $49 whereas Vodafone only offers 5GB for the same price (again the same as Optus).
What about network coverage?
3's restricted coverage has always been the competition's excuse for not matching its pricing, but all this is about to change. In what I'd say is the biggest strike in the mobile broadband war yet, 3 has announced plans to expand its network and also offer roaming on to Telstra's fast Next G HSDPA network.
For a lot of people, 3 is about to become a viable alternative to Vodafone and Optus.
Currently 3’s Broadband Zone covers metropolitan Sydney, Melbourne & Geelong, Brisbane & Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. Outside of these areas you've got the expensive option of roaming onto Telstra's slower networks.
The Broadband Zone expansion is set to include Newcastle and the Central Coast in NSW as well as the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Around 50 sites will be added by the end of the year.
As a Mexican (south of the border) who likes to holiday down the coast, Mornington Peninsula coverage is the only reason why I opted for Vodafone over 3 when I signed up for mobile broadband at the start of the year.
I've been frustrated with Vodafone's pathetic download speeds ever since and 3 has always offered better service in the metro areas. Now 3 is expanding its coverage, and offering the ability to roam onto Next G in an emergency, I'll almost certainly ditch Vodafone when my contract expires.
A good choice for the iPhone
3 is also starting to look like the network of choice for an iPhone 3G when my current Next G contract expires in January. If I can get something like NetShare running on the iPhone I won't even need a separate USB modem for my notebook.
3's iPhone Starter Kit is certainly better value than Telstra's offerings, but I still haven't given up hope of 3 selling the iPhone 3G by Christmas. By then Apple might have worked the bugs out and maybe it will be worth retiring my iPhone 2G.
It looks like 2009 is going to be a wireless wonderland.
Other Blog Entries written by Adam Turner:
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