Felix is a new mobile operator from TPG which offers a single unlimited mobile plan for $35 month. The plan includes unlimited call and texts on the 3g/4g Vodafone network along with unlimited data capped at 5mbps (should be enough to stream a single HD video)
1 Month Free or $35 Credit for referrer and referee after SIM activation.
You lose the 1 GB uncapped but the throttled speed is increased from 1 Mbps to 5 Mbps. The price has also risen significantly from $9.99 to $35 however I do believe the $9.99 price was always only supposed to be an introductory offer.
Hahaha, 5Mbps. Sorry, but that's barely enough to use social media these days. Loading Twitter alone is a few MB, Facebook is even bigger.
It's about what you would get on the 3G network, I think it should be good enough for most people who want a set and forget option.
You might think so, but i used a similar service overseas and it was not nearly as big a difference as i expected. FB and Twitter was OK, Instagram was a little more noticeable, i think their images are higher quality or something. But it was a minor thing. Mobile optimization for content has come a long way it seems.
Few MB for twitter. So 4-8 seconds to download on a 5mbps connection. Not amazing but not terrible.
I still think it's aboutt $20 a month too expensive however
Went to Europe last year and the only decent priced SIM was a plan that only had shaped data (2Mbps.) Apart from uploading photos to Facebook it was usable.
~ 1.3TB of data per month.
I am sure they would have a FUP which would stop you long before you download anywhere near that amount.
This is similar to Visible (sub brand of Verizon) I used back in the US, which also offers capped unlimited LTE for 40 USD. Although now they're going to get 5G and eSIM and the MVNOs here in Australia… get none (except for SpinTel).
I've used a 5mbps capped 5G service before (overseas) and Netflix HD worked fine for mobile, so pretty sure this would too. To be frank i didn't notice that big a difference on the phone for normal use, social media and browsing, was a real eye opener just how much stuff gets optimized for mobile. It was a lot less of an issue than i thought it would be. What did shit me though was tethering, that sucked.
This would be a better deal if it was priced a little lower. It feels a bit off the mark given what you can get for $40-$45.
No VoLTE available either.
While overseas travel is limited right now, the international roaming with 4GB data to use over 365 days for $20 seems to be good value along with ability to recharge again.
While scanning their site, I notice something which sounds attractive if and when we can go overseas again. Their $20 International Roaming pack includes 4GB at speeds of up to 5Mbps, 100 standard international minutes and 100 standard international texts in 40 countries which include the usual destinations and valid for a year (see https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/international-roaming). And you can also "pause" your main Felix subscription for the period that you travel overseas.
Thus the minimum cost is just $35 (the 1st month in Australia to start the subscription) + n * $20, depending on how much data/call minutes you need while roaming overseas. This is particularly attractive if you need to visit several of those 40 countries, as you don't need to buy separate SIM/packages for each country and can have it all set up before going.
The big question of course is when overseas travel is possible again, and if things would have changed by then…
Make it $20ish/month and you have a deal aka my current more than 5 mbps boost mobile plan atm but with only 240gb to use in 12 months not unlimited unfortunately.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/581622
Boost Prepaid $249 | 12 Months Expiry | 240GB Data | Unlimited Talk & Text | Overseas Calls | AFL NRL Streaming @ Officeworks
Will this be a good substitution for home internet? I live alone and am currently using Vodafone mobile plan as my internet.
I have used this in my modem for the past few days. It handles 2x 720p streams + light browsing without much difficulty.
The 5mpbs is pretty much a guaranteed speed; ping around 20 - 30ms in SW melbourne.
It feels snappier than the old ADSL2 we had 4 years ago.
For me, it's really that I don't mind paying $35 for a slightly slower internet.
Felix has sent this email
We're jumping into your inbox today to let you know that we've increased your maximum data speed from 5Mbps to 20Mbps for use in Australia.
To enjoy endless data at speeds up to 20Mbps in Australia, simply restart your phone.
20Mbps is great for streaming HD video and music, scrolling and sharing to your socials, and using cloud storage. Very large files may be slow to load. More information
Happy browsing, social scrolling and HD watchin'.
Merry Christmas,
The felix team
This makes the plan much more appealing
Though their T&C now forbids using the SIM in a modem, where as previously at 5mbps, they allow tethering.
Not sure what happens if I end up using 500gb each month, lol
They still allow tethering from a mobile device:
"The felix plan is intended to be used with your personal mobile phone. You are permitted to tether other personal devices, such as your laptop or tablet, to your mobile phone by creating a mobile hotspot from your phone via Wi-Fi.
However the felix plan must not be used to provide tethering to other people's devices (for example the devices of members of your household, colleagues or friends), nor used as a substitute for a home internet service or in a modem."
@User2049: I've been using the SIM in a Huawei 5G router without issue so far. Sounds like now it's time to switch to my phone lol.
How are they going to tell if I'm sharing with my family? My phone supports unlimited simultaneous devices.
@YRT: If it works on your phone. Maybe try to use a cheap phone as a hotspot if you want to replace the modem.
Glad they finally did something close to their so-called 4G Unlimited Data plan 2 years ago….