Leaving Vaya because data is charged in 1MB incraments, who to go to?

Ldan1985 on 16/05/2013 - 08:56

Hi All,

Apologies if there is a post on this already, I did a bit of searching and couldn't find it.

Background - I was with TPG for three years and really happy with them, since my internet is with them I got my plan for $15 a month on a purchased outright iPhone 4. Last month I saw this deal (http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/99285) and decided to buy an iPhone 5 and go to Vaya for 4G.

I've been very unimpressed with Vaya, 4G wasn't as fast as I was expecting and I got a big shock when I got my bill that I went over my data allocation. In the three years I've been with TPG I never came close to using 1.5 gigs of data so was pretty surprised to see I had in half a month. That is when I learnt that Vaya charges per MB rather than per KB. Now I'm not contesting the charges, it's clearly my fault for not doing enough research before changing plans. I've got a case with the TIO to try to get them to start charging per kb but I'm sure I won't get anywhere with that.

Now I'm looking for a new provider, I like the idea of 4G but I believe that Vaya is the only 4G re-seller and I won't stay with them. I'm thinking of going back to TPG, but am also open to Woolworths, Kogan, Aldi, Amaysim (as long as they charge per Kb).

Can anyone recommend the best deal for someone who barely uses the phone to talk but uses data; mainly for emails, facebook, twitter, etc? I like the $15-20/month price point.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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Comments

  • Johnny-Kun on 16/05/2013 - 09:36

    Im in the same boat as you, I was looking at LiveConnected, seems like they are the only people I've found that charge per Kb.

    • issh on 16/05/2013 - 14:52

      TPG as well.

      Differences between the two are

      LC is cheaper
      TPG has phone support
      LC you have to pay a fee to interchange between plans, TPG you don't

      • dan1985 on 16/05/2013 - 15:17

        I think I'll be going back to TPG.

        Woolworths is looking ok though with it's 5gb (even though rounded to the Megabyte)

  • rusty_oz on 16/05/2013 - 09:46
    +1

    Mate, I'm also looking a prepaid provider for my wife that doesn't charge data in MB increment. Does anyone know? Currently I'm with crazy john which is ok IMHO but it doesn't take any new customer.

    Does anyone know how Aldi prepaid or Kogan prepaid or dodo prepaid charge their data? Is it in 1MB increment or not?

    How about pennytel (penny sim)? I'm not sure about its reliability

    I personally don't care about 4G as long as the 3G is good enough that's fine by me

  • TheAviator on 16/05/2013 - 09:51

    Apparently there are going to be some fixes to the data calculation from 1 June. They admitted that the data was being broken into too many fragmented blocks and this was amplifying the per mb billing even more. Perhaps you could stick around til June and see if the situation improves?

  • cloudy on 16/05/2013 - 10:08
    +1

    When I was looking for a new plan 3 months ago I tossed up vaya LC and woolies, LC raised their new plans and made them bad value. So I didn't go with them, I didn't pick vaya only coz they were fairly new and I wanted something more proven. So I ended up with woolies, I questioned the woolies 1mb data blocks too, but with the 5gb over 45 days, and as hard as I try to use them all, I can't :) I do use a lot more data than before, but the 5gb is so damn much, it doesn't matter it's counted on 1mb increment, u just can't get thru it.

    So I suggest the woolies per-paid.

    • iseenya on 20/05/2013 - 16:15

      And with Woolworths prepaid, there's a 10% discount on the recharge cost just for showing your (free) Everyday Rewards card. I can't use up that 5GB data allowance either, lol.

  • nowlan on 16/05/2013 - 11:24

    How can 1mb possible make sense?
    Is it read over a minute,15min,hour,day?
    connections can be like 64 bytes.

    • rusty_oz on 16/05/2013 - 11:41
      +1

      It's 1MB per-session. How long a session is it depends. It's rubbery figure.
      If what you do is just check twitter (which might consume tiny data) and then not doing anything for a while until connection time out then it's charged 1MB event though you might only use 25KB.
      The same thing happen if for instance you attempt to use service that consumes data but then get disconnected and then connected again, every connection and disconnection will cost you 1MB (even if it only takes 1 byte to be extreme)

      That's why I'm desperate to find prepaid provider that charge per KB while the average cost works out to be < $10/month (TPG & LC are excluded because they are not technically prepaid)

      • TheGMan on 16/05/2013 - 12:43

        so does this mean if I have my email being checked ever 5 - 10 minutes it will stop session time outs? because I always thought that phones were an "always on" connection especially with push notifications.

        I would be interested in how they define what a session is before jumping up and down about 1MB sessions since it may not make a whole lot of difference at the end of the month.

        • rusty_oz on 16/05/2013 - 13:00

          well, based on my understanding a session time is period between initial connection until it gets disconnected. How long your phone maintains that connection I don't know. As I said it depends (rubbery figure).

          If for instance you manage to keep session connected all the time, in the end you eventually have to disconnect (eg. you switch to a wifi, then your previous 3G session get disconnected). Let say if during your connected session you consume 10.01 MB data, you will be charged with using 11MB (see, 0.01 MB is rounded up to 1MB).

        • retiredfeline on 27/05/2013 - 14:49

          It depends on various factors, like the likelihood of your connection breaking e.g. do you use the phone a lot going through rail tunnels, how reliable your phone is at holding connections, what happens if WiFi hijacks the connection, how your phone and apps behave, and so forth.

          As an example of good behaviour which suits me, I turned on 3G data last Friday and left it on for about a couple of hours. In that period I read and replied to a dozen emails (using a browser, not email app, so I was getting all the banner ads also), in addition to the normal sync of calendar, whatsapp, etc. I expected to be charged 5 or 6 MB, but it only came up to < 2MB (10c) for me.

  • ozzie13 on 16/05/2013 - 14:03
    +1

    Interesting that in their FAQs they state:

    "How is the data usage billed?

    Modified on: Thu, May 16, 2013 at 11:58 AM

    The data usage is calculated in kilobyte packets. Depending on the plan, the rates can differ. You are able to check the data rates for your desired plan at vaya.net.au"

    http://support.vaya.net.au/support/solutions/articles/85219-…

    Misleading???

    • rusty_oz on 16/05/2013 - 14:48

      Not really misleading I think (confusing may be). What they mean is if you are on PowerPlan, you'll be billed in MB increment. So, if you use 1.01MB it means you will be slugged for 2MB usage

      I've seen an example where a provider is even more misleading/confusing. Their data rate is 3c/MB. Instead of saying session is charged/billed perMB, they say charge is rounded up to the nearest 3c (which means rounded up to the nearest MB)

  • mattie on 16/05/2013 - 15:13

    Pennytel ( Data sim ) 4GB data, billed per kb $13.88 a month, plus calls @ 11.5c min no flagfall,

    they also have 1GB for $8.88

    Vodafone network so will need 850 mhz phone.

    Pennytel are no contract, they direct debit each month. very painful getting setup allow 2 weeks.

    Also Vodafone are switching on there 4G next month,don't know if pennytel will get to use it.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/05/2013 - 13:34

      Do you have a Pennytel VOIP a/c? just wondering if you can link them together & the money comes out of it?
      I'd save the direct debit setup.

      • mattie on 21/05/2013 - 21:57

        Hi Yes i linked them, it saved some setup pain but still be prepared for some sim activation grief.

  • zerocritical on 17/05/2013 - 07:41

    I've been with kogan for around 2 months now and I'm quiet happy.

    Earlier I was with Vodafone with 2GB on my plan. I used to consume around 1 to 1.25GB a month on that. Though with kogan it's charged in MB increments, I've not gone over the 6GB limit(also 400mb daily limit) with almost the same if not less usage as Vodafone. I found their 3g speed a bit faster than Vodafone, clocking around 7 to 8mbps (used to get 4 to 5 mbps with voda) better coverage and I pay half the price.

    I find their $79 recharge for 3 month usage best value for money. Hope this helps

  • BuyoTheCat on 20/05/2013 - 17:49

    That explains why I got an sms that I am at 1/2 my allowance! I was going to look into that today.
    You explained my problem.

  • rusty_oz on 22/05/2013 - 10:35

    I've started a new thread to discuss what alternative we have for good value prepaid.
    I've put my thought there. Feel free to add/comment
    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/104056
    Thanks

  • dan1985 on 24/05/2013 - 08:44

    Hey All, Just thought I'd report back to let you know that I've made the decision to go Woolworths Mobile prepaid.

    $29 top up (with 10% off if you have an every day rewards card) equals $26.10 every 45 days or $211.70 a year. TPG, at $15/month, works out to only $180, but I have been charged excess usage fees on one occasion (when I first downloaded Pandora and didn't think about how much data I was using), so the extra $30/year for prepaid is worth it to me to know I won't go over and get slugged with a $70 excess usage charge like last time.

    Thanks for your help everyone!

    • [Deactivated] on 24/05/2013 - 13:52

      If you buy vouchers with 5% off WishCards (or ING paywave) that bring it down to $24.80/recharge
      or about $201/yr

      Alas it runs off Optus, which I've found in the past very slow for data & lots of missed calls. Otherwise I'd go for this. The Kogan (eeek) 3mth or 12mth plan is looking ok. There's a few other weird & wacky providers out there too that do the free calls between plans such as GoTalk, Hello Mobile and of course Virgin Simple ($19 lasts 90 days).

      • dan1985 on 27/05/2013 - 11:36

        I think I'm going to go Kogan actually! Can't find a woolworths sim card in Melbourne (Woolworths and Big W QV say they've been out of stock for over 2 months!) and need to be out of this plan before the first of the Month so Vaya doesn't bill me again!

        • [Deactivated] on 27/05/2013 - 14:36

          Have you tried DSE or Woolies/Caltex?

        • cloudy on 29/08/2013 - 16:46

          i know this is super-old to reply to, but i went to a woolie petrol station, this was back when they also offered $10 off my petrol for buying the sim.

  • impoze on 04/06/2013 - 17:31

    i'm in the same boat but also considering woolworths over TPG because of the new T&C that TPG have put in place

    the $20 deposit is now a "prepayment" and is non refundable, reloaded everytime you hit $10, as well as $20 for the sim card and now a $11 port out fee if I want to move. So already the initial outlay would be $40 just for a deposit & sim card.

    woolworths would be $29/45 days, after 10% = $26.10 and paying with 5% wish gift card would bring it down to $24.80, approx $17 for a 31 day month.

    I might still consider kogan also as I havn't used 400mb a day before.

  • sasukewa on 04/07/2013 - 16:28

    Customer complained to TIO and got refunded.

    http://www.tio.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/127885/De-…

  • Series4Episode10 on 27/08/2013 - 22:42

    LiveConnected is owned by Vaya … so go figure!

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