Money Magazine – September edition (as seen on A Current Affair)
Mobile phones do it all these days — from music to photos and satellite navigation. But with all these extras comes confusion over costs.
Faced with a mountain of carriers, plans and call charges, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the best deal.
Nicola Field from Money Magazine shops around for mobile phone plan deals to let you know how to enjoy the convenience of a mobile while keeping a lid on call costs.
The findings are courtesy of Phonechoice. The September edition of Money Magazine is on sale now.
THE BEST DEALS
If you only make a few calls and text messages each day:
Savvytel’s SIM Starter Kit capped plan offers the best value for low usage customers like you. The kit will cost you $20 upfront, but with basic usage you should use around $13.22 of that – and since Savvytel does not have expiry times on their caps, the balance will roll over indefinitely.
Not far behind id Virgin Mobile’s Motor Mouth Rates which will cost you around $14.20 each month, followed by Think Mobile’s 12c Plan, which should set you back $14.63 per month with average low use of your phone.
TIPS FOR SAVING ON YOUR MOBILE BILL
- Not all networks have the same sort of coverage. Vodafone, Telstra and Optus have coverage in major cities and rural areas. Some 3G networks only have coverage in cities.
- If you want to use your mobile overseas, check your network offers global roaming.
- It is more cost-effective to be on the same network as your most frequently called mobile numbers.
- Make sure you know when you make most of your calls as call rates are differ between business hours and weekends.
- Know the average length of your calls. Most providers charge a connection fee (flag fall), plus a fee for the time you are on the phone. Those making short calls (under one minute) should select a plan with low connection fees, while those making fewer but longer calls should select cheaper call rates.
- If you make short calls, pick a provider that charges by the second, not in 30-second increments.
- Take SMS and other messaging services into account — 10 SMS messages a day for a month can quickly cost you more than the calls you make.
- Be aware that voicemail can be costly if you are charged to retrieve it.
- Only choose a capped plan if the number of calls you make is consistent each month and pick something slightly higher than what you think you need. Once you go above your cap, call costs spiral.
- If your call pattern varies, pick a plan with the lowest call rates instead, and don’t go with a capped plan or a plan with a high monthly minimum spend.
- It is more cost effective to include a phone with your plan, provided your plan has the appropriate phone, but don’t pick an expensive phone just because you can as you are still the one paying for it.
