I'm currently assessing whether to go with Telechoice or LC.
My research so far has found that:
Telechoice
They claim to use Telstra network (albeit only "some parts of" Telstra network). They offer 24 month contract at 20/month with 1GB data, or 25/month with 1.5GB data.
I like the sound of Telstra as I can finally break free of the horrible Optus reception. However the contract part is scary, if not pricey. I also do not know anyone who is with Telehoice, so the lack of knowledge and experience makes me a little concerned with this choice. Also, mystery surrounds on how the data is billed e.g. per KB or MB.
LiveConnected
They run off Optus network which is what I'm running on at the moment. I heard if I sign up before 1/1/2014, I can get 1.5 GB of data with no lock in contract at 20/month, and this will not change for the next 24 months (subject to change of policy anyway).
The drawbacks here is that there appears to be loads of complains about customer service and exit fees. Also, with Vaya buying them out, I'm afraid they can change the data to per MB billing, which would be a real killer.
So if you have experience in Telechoice/LC (or an even better choice), I would like to hear from you… time is running out fast though.
Thanks.
I recently signed up to LC. Found it very easy to change over to them. My sim card was express post mailed to me and my porting process(optus to LC) went smoothly and quickly.
Where did you hear about exit fees? I would assume there are none since there is no lock in contract. I would also assume they won't change to MB billing as they would lose a lot of customers. They were bought out a few months back now and things still seem ok, however if they did introduce it easy enough to switch to another provider since there are no contracts.
However I think it will be too late for you to sign up before the 01/01/2014. They don't work public holidays and you have to be activated before the 01/01/2014. So that means you need to receive the sim card by post, then you can activate and have it ported over. The new prices for similar plans is $30 a month.
EDIT: Live Connected no longer offer the old plans on their site. I think you missed the boat on that one.