SuperSeagulls

Hi

Can anyone shed any light on what the best Australian mobile phone network is? Do they offer free 'anytime' minutes (to any network?) and texts like Vodafone and Orange etc......?

Are there any horror stories?

Cheers

SS

Centurion

Like mobile companies the world over I found when I was researching this that its the usual swings and roundabouts with deals. The only thing I didnt want was to end up using "3"!!!. We ended up getting sim free mobile phones in the UK, as the handset prices are actually cheaper for the most up to date phones, and then getting Vodaphone red sim cards to put in them on a pay as you go basis.

The vodaphone deals looked quite good by comparison to the others. Pay as you go sim comes with $50 of call credit for £15 and then you can set it to top up automatically via card when you get low so you dont have get bogged down into a contract and can switch plans when you like and in fact they change your plan automatically so you get the best deal.

Just my experience.

pattyyap

for calling back to oversea or Australia national, prefer prepaid phone card, it is clear and cheap calls

welshpom

Check the coverage before you buy and try to talk to the locals where you're headed.

CDMA is the only option for some of us who live outside of the city. The GSM coverage down here on the Fleurieu Peninsular (SA) is shocking. Every tradesman who relies on a mobile in this area has to use CDMA.

Get outside the big towns/cities and chances are that GSM coverage will disappear long before the CDMA signal dies. Telstra claim GSM coverage around here is as comprehensive as CDMA, but the reality is different.

Timber Floor Au

Is CDMA satellite phones ?

ozzieeagle

Orange uses the CDMA network, We use Orange, to talk to one another free, as Orange to Orange are free for the first 5 mins. As most of our calls are to each other, that saves us a bomb.

Also with Orange, they are actually cheaper to use to phone Oseas, than a normal telstra or optus home phone line, for the first 20 mins at least. At 8 cents per 30 secs.

Orange also has the cheapest mobile rates to another network, at 8 cents per 30 secs as well.

Nothing flash about them, just cheap to use.

As far as I know CDMA, is just a different method of transmissision where the signal travels further.

I checked out vodaphones 3g network today, be very wary, all the things I wanted to use on the 3g network, are added on prices and not included in the cap. IE: Video chat to the UK, is 85 cents per 30 secs and not included, also straight out net browsing, is only unlimited if one uses the 99 dollar plan. a bit over the top for me. My buy in price for that would be 50 bucks.

Vodaphone has lots of gimmicky things attached, like 8 bucks extra, for unlimited streaming of sky news etc etc. That aspect of use would only be a 5 min wonder for me.

jarv

Optus are doing a good deal at the moment, top up and get "Turbo Charge" i.e spend $50 and get $250 credit, $30 and get $120 etc etc.

sue&bob

hi,
I need a new phone ,been thinking about getting a LG flip(the cheep model) phone on 3 network,has anyone got one,or is anyone connected to 3 network?

appreciate any info
thanks

biggy

We Both Have Virgin Mobiles 5c Per Min And 5c Per Txt To Each Other

GoingToOz

I am interested in this post - Is Australia Orange the same Orange as UK Orange? I am with them here, can I take it with me as it were, or do I need to cancel, then get new?

Thanks.

Bed Of Roses

Yes same company but you cant take your phone without unlocking it first, i checked with them only tuther day.

plan to down rate to lowest tarrif to get out of contract about £60 cheaper to do it that way

SuperSeagulls

Thanks for the advice everyone.......

SS

BillnLinz

Warning: The Bas***ds charge you for everything > charge you to connect your call, charge you for leaving a message, charge for diverting calls, charge you for retrieving messages, charge you per 30 seconds if you dont watch out :scared: :scared:

I use the phone a lot, salesman, thank god my company pays for most of it but they are OTT the way they charge, like the UK ten years ago!!!

They are all at it

alexc

I didn't do any research but I bought a pay as you go phone yesterday in Brisbane from Vodafone.

The cheapest phone was $89. Cheapest with camera $150. They charge 60 cents/minute but you can take the cheap talk option to bring it down to 40 cents (or take a free texts option or a talk for free after 8pm option). Its only 36 cents to call the UK (bizarre). Good discount for phoning another vodafone phone.

Carkedit

A couple of months ago I was on vodafone pay as you go. I took my unlocked phone from UK and for $50 a month I got something like $270 of credit on the phone. It had to be used each month as it didnt roll over but it was good for me. As it only included 20mins of overseas calls in the $270 I used to buy a phone card and call from my mobile. I phoned the UK for 45mins and it used up $20 of credit. Better than standing in a phone box at 11pm!