charw

We ll be landing in Perth next week on our 176, & just in a dilemma for following.

1. Once landed I need a SIM.

Who is the best operator? Should it be post paid or pre-paid. Since my mobile is N97 is with heavy network dependant, I need a data plan for at least 1GB per month.


2. My initial stay won't have Wi-Fi. Apart from that I consider a portable hi speed internet, so considering giving dongle a try.

So unlimited data plan with good service & low costs is what I m after.

We have here bundled data & phone charge plans do just curious to know whether Oz operators have same framework.

What would be the cost for Dongle + connection fee for broadband? Monthly cost for unlimited data plan?

Any option other than dongle for portable internet?

Further is there any way I set-up a small Wi-Fi area where I initially stay temporarily.

Speak up dudes. It's really hard to compare using their web portals, since experience will speak louder.

freebo

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/E6939

As to the SIMM question, too many options, maybe look at pennyel simm with data.

mark213

Post paid is hard to get if you havent been in an address for +3 months. I got declined initially for that

Pre-pay is easier and faster to setup. Telstra has the best coverage but the worst value, Voda, Optus, 3 less coverage, are all pretty much the same and it doesnt make any real difference who you choose on coverage or value. Just know your usage plans and if you want bundled data thats good, go with a cap plan. I know Voda quite well and a 49 or 79 cap is good value.

No unlimited data plans around on dongles, only on ADSL plans. We got a pre-paid dongle for $100 and then for $100 for around 6GB but there are loads of these around worth different operators. Note that this is separate to your mobile bill/cap plan so its extra to what you pay for calls on your mobile. We used GRLMobile and that was good value at the time. Bundling doesn't exist with mobile operators unless they are on the same sim.

No other internet other than finding a free hotspot or cafe or going to a mall and putting $2 in a machine for 20 mins.

For wi-fi in your area you can setup you can do this without internet connection already if you just want local area connection (ie to your own servers erc), wi-fi boxes do this already. However if you want internet you can get a wi-fi box that you put a sim card in to and it effectively a dongle with a wi-fi attached, but these arent ADSL compatible if you change connection later on.

charw

Impressive. This means newly arrived aren't in a position to get ADSL in first months?

freebo

No, once you have a local address you can get ADSL.

I think the PP was talking about certain mobile plans & operators wanting to do credit checks for post paid mobile (or even prepaid in some cases).

GarryP

Virgin Mobile

You can get their pre-paid SIM from supermarkets, Dick Smith, etc. for $2. They use the Optus network, and at present are doing a 1GB free for a month on "Your Cap" recharges, which include the $19 recharge. Cheapest way to get bandwidth in a country that still measures by the MB.

Suggest you look to see if you can do tethering with your phone, unlimited isn't a dirty word here, its unknown - and the dongles aren't cheap.

mark213

You can get ADSL straight away if you move in to a permanent rental - however most short stays dont have ADSL and you need to use public WI-FI.

Post-paid mobile is the problem for having no address record.

I thought you wanted Internet to be portable? - ADSL isnt.

dave99

ahh I did have a chuckle at the unlimited bit, the first thing you should know about aus is that their data plans either on adsl or wireless mobile 3 are very restrictive.
I remeber having unlimited in the UK, those were the good old days, when I could play games online at fast connections.

Well, welcome to aus, thats all behind you now !.

Be prepared to pay far for for restrictive plans. Currently I pay about $90 a month for 70gb of data on a naked adsl connection, technically its 140gb but half of it is offpeak only usable between 1am and 8am, which is silly, so really its just 70gb.

Grab a pre pay sim, from somewhere like optus, dont ask for a pay as you go, like i first did, or they look at you like your crazy. There are lots of internet access places, cafes in the city and some in shopping centers you can use to get you started or grab one of the mobile dongles like the ones here :

http://personal.optus.com.au/web/oca...&site=personal

They are all pretty similier in pricing from different providers but you wont find any unlimited its like the 90's here still in that regard

mark213

AAPT do an 8pm-8am "unlimited" plan
http://www.aapt.com.au/services/pers...dband-internet

Jen1977ni

Optus do several BYO plans, where you basically just take out the plan for a year using your own handset. I'm on the $59 cap plan and it comes with 1GB of data (and unlimited SMS/MMS, and quite a bit of $ for phonecalls, can't remember how much) and I use my iphone ALOT outside of the wireless in the house, so far I haven't gone over the 1GB! Unlike the UK I haven't seen any mobile plans with unlimited internet usage but I'm sure Oz will catch up eventually lol

GarryP

When they phoned me up to say "can we do a survey" (eg can we sell you something) I made sure to ram home that sensible included Internet bandwidth for a low cost was a must.

And far as landline data is concerned, its Telstra that's the problem. OFCOM might be **** but at least they didn't let BT get away with the games Telstra pull.

Jen1977ni

Yeah I got phoned up yday to do the survey -

Optus 'We are going to give u the ability to search for restaurants, check cinema listings, check your emails, all from your phone, wow how handy would that be!?' -

Me 'ERM, I hate to tell you this love but I've been doing that for years on my iphone!' DOH!

GarryP

"On my UK pre-paid smartphone I can get unlimited Internet for 6 months for $35 (£20)"

"We do good deals of 350MB for $10, that's not to different to $35 pm"

"No, $35 only, for the whole 6 months, unlimited."

"Oh............"

I do wish they would catch up with Android here. It's all iPhones at silly expensive prices. Catch up guys!

PaulandNic

Yeah gotta admit the 'unlimited' bit tickled me too.

Reality of Australian ISP's ...

silver

Checkout three.com.au they also sell the mifi instead of the dongle.

Three are usually the market driver in terms of data plans on 3G. I would also look at Optus and Voda. You can buy the sims from many shops

The best network in terms of speed and coverage is Telstra NextG but its expensive!!

You can download software for the N97 to turn it into a wifi hot spot negating the need for an extra dongle..

Look at www.whirlpool.net.au in the forums for good detailed upto date advice..