Cheapest Mobile Phone Plans with Data under $9/Month?

• 

  epicfacepalm on 15/09/2019 - 03:26

  +2

  Some time ago, Exetel was offering a $9 plan with 2GB of data, but these days it looks like the Jeenee plan is the bottom of the market. Others will either match it or be there or thereabouts.

  If you port around, then you might get around the 'lazy tax', as you call it. But even then it's not really fair to call it a lazy tax, because this point in the market has extremely thin margins, and phone companies are making next to nothing on these plans.

  Perhaps it's worth asking what the point of all this is, especially if your needs are going to be met by products that are already quite cheap. Say you find a saving of $1 per month - that's $12 per year. What do you give up for that saving? Customer service? Ease of managing your account? Ease of tracking your usage?

  Sure, this is Ozbargain, but everything costs something and if it's free, you can be sure there's some good reason for it.

  • 

    Russ on 15/09/2019 - 11:10

    phone companies are making next to nothing on these plans.

    I really doubt that, for a couple of reasons.

    • The true cost of data is under $1 per gigabyte, evidenced by 80GB for $65 plans that are available right now. Phone calls are really just data, and making 1 hour of calls per day, every day for a month, uses about 2.5GB over the month. SMS messages use so little data that they aren't even worth counting. So an average phone user with a 1GB unlimited-call plan consumes up to 3.5GB a month, which means the cost should be under $3.50 a month.

    • Dodo's $5/month plan proves that the true cost of "unlimited calls/unlimited SMS" is under $5, as an MVNO (Dodo) is selling it at a profit.

    • Even with the current prices, we have TPG trying to become Australia's fourth mobile-network operator. TPG wouldn't do that if it wasn't going to be profitable.

    If I could have the Dodo plan with 500MB for $6 or $7, I'd jump on it. And Dodo (and Optus) would still be making a profit.

    What do you give up for that saving? Customer service? Ease of managing your account? Ease of tracking your usage?

    After the plan is set up, I shouldn't have to contact customer service, so I wouldn't be giving up anything. Nor should I need to manage anything, and with my usage pattern, tracking usage shouldn't be needed either.

    that's $12 per year

    That pays for a new cheapie phone every three years, thanks to OzBargain!

    • 

      whooah1979 on 15/09/2019 - 12:16

      is selling it at a profit.

      They’re making $1 profit per customer. That is next to nothing.

      • 

        Russ on 15/09/2019 - 13:51

        $1 profit per customer. That is next to nothing.

        I disagree with you on that.

        Your average bakery gets by on a lot of small purchases, probably averaging $1 profit per customer per purchase. And that requires maybe a minute of customer contact per transaction.

        For a small telco with maybe 25000 customers, $1 per customer per month is $300,000 profit per year, not an insignificant amount. Particularly when it is mostly passive income, handled almost entirely by computers. Add in two staff members to answer calls in a call centre in a country where labour is cheap, and you'll still have more than half of that $300,000 left.

        • 

          whooah1979 on 15/09/2019 - 13:55

          @Russ: I disagree with you. Call it even.

          • 

            epicfacepalm on 15/09/2019 - 16:02

            +1

            @whooah1979: The suggestion of having two customer service staff for 25,000 customers says a lot about the level of understanding of how business works…

            • 

              whooah1979 on 15/09/2019 - 16:14

              +1

              @epicfacepalm: Making $300k out of 25k customers is crap.

• 

  trustnoone on 15/09/2019 - 04:42

  +1

  Best I can see is Jeenee Mobile at $9.90 a month but has 1.2 Gb of data (for the whole 12 months I think) so not too great (under Value Plan)
  https://www.jeenee.org.au/products/sim-packs/

  I don't seem to remember the name, but I saw on a news site (or maybe ozbargain?) about a new mobile company cropping up, I think they were on Optus coverage and they were doing 3 months of completely free on a month to month plan, don't remember price after that but figured free is free, if you're able to find it.

  Belong mobile I think is $10 with 1GB free data: https://www.belong.com.au/mobile/plans

  Mind the dodgy advertising link but comparison I got from WhistleOut: https://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/Search?fullspeedd…

  • 

    John Dough on 15/09/2019 - 09:53

    +1

    Belong deal is pretty good as the data rolls over. Good referral codes on OZB too if you search.

  • 

    Russ on 15/09/2019 - 11:30

    Best I can see is Jeenee Mobile at $9.90 a month but has 1.2 Gb of data

    The Jeenee "Kids Plan" matches that if you contract for 12 months, but cheaper at $8.91/month:
    https://www.jeenee.org.au/kids-plan/
    Odd that they are selling the same plan under two names, but one is cheaper.
    There's no age requirement for the kids plan, as far as I can see.

    I saw on a news site (or maybe ozbargain?) about a new mobile company cropping up

    I saw that too, deal is here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/483208
    I don't want to be hopping from telco to telco, using introductory offers. I don't want to be a "leech", I'm happy for a company to make a profit from me. Just not a huge profit.

    comparison I got from WhistleOut

    Of the cheapest plans I found, comparison sites don't tend to list them. So I'm assuming comparison sites do deals with the telcos, and don't actually list the cheapest plans. The Moose mobile plan is listed, but the $8.91 Jeenee plan isn't, despite Whistleout listing other Jeenee plans. And the Exetel plan isn't listed at all

    So I'm guessing the cheapest deals won't be found on comparison sites, but there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of small telcos. Which is why I'm asking here on OzBargain, hopefully someone has found a cheaper deal.

    Belong mobile I think is $10 with 1GB free data

    That plan has good value for a lot of people, and the shaping of data is really a great thing. But I am a low-usage customer, so the Jeenee and Moose deals are cheaper for me.

• 

  roonie on 15/09/2019 - 10:55

  +1

  Wouldn't an annual plan be better value (if not cheaper)? I'm on a $120/60gb plan and I'd be sure you could do better

  • 

    Russ on 15/09/2019 - 11:02

    I've looked at a few companies and comparison sites (listed in my original post), but haven't found anything cheaper. Hence why I'm asking.

    I think I should be able to find cheaper, but the telcos and re-sellers don't seem to be interested in low-usage plans, I have found very few. There seems to be an aversion to going below $10/month.

• 

  Suzique on 15/09/2019 - 13:20

  +1

  I'm with Aldi $99 /year plan…..all texts and calls included, 15gb of data. This is my second year with them….very happy with it all. Not sure if it's available all year…..I know it is advertised instore a few times a year. Just ask at your local Aldi.

  • 

    Russ on 15/09/2019 - 14:44

    I've been checking that deal out. I know new customers can only buy it when on special, but do you know if you can renew your existing plan without waiting for the plan to go on special price?

    This comment suggests you can: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/5594984/redir
    This comment suggests that the renewal option will only appear AFTER your existing plan expires, and a possible work-around: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/5603219/redir

    At $8.25/month, your plan is the cheapest so far. Thanks!

• 

  quill on 15/09/2019 - 18:07

  +1

  Have you checked into kogan? 4.90 for 40gb a month and I believe unlimited calls and text. Howerever if is only for new customers and if you want to avoid swapping numbers every month you will need another sim to receive calls. Also it is suppose to only be a promotional that only last a few months, but they always seem to extend the expiry date. At the very least it works extremely well as a supplement any other deal. Just remember to turn off auto recharge otherwise you get stung with $49.90.

  • 

    Russ on 17/09/2019 - 23:02

    +1

    if you want to avoid swapping numbers every month you will need another sim to receive calls.

    I hadn't thought of using a dual-SIM phone this way, it's an ingenious idea. I've considered ways two SIMs could work, and if I had a dual-SIM phone, I'd use the Dodo $5 plan one one SIM, for voice calls and SMS and MMS, and have an Aldi 365-day SIM just for data. That would get my average monthly cost to about $7.50, and I wouldn't have to be continuously on the lookout for new cheap mobile plans.

    I have done the calculations on this. I don't currently have a dual-SIM phone, and the cheapest one I can find for sale in Australia is about $150. As I buy a <$50 phone roughly every five years, a dual-SIM phone would cost me $20 more per year. Overall, that would cost me more than I saved (compared to Suzique's idea above), so I have decided against it.

    Thanks for the interesting idea!