Is Yatango right for you ?
Yatango might be right for you if :
- You’re after a SIM Only plan and already have your own phone
- You are not in to contracts
- You need 4G data speeds
- You spend a lot of time online
- And have usage which is :
- Super social – all social networking data is included in their plans
- A very low usage pattern – that’s where they offer the best value compared to competitors
- Or you have very unusual usage requirements – such as all talk, no text or all data
Yatango are not the company we would recommend to everyone. They are certainly not a conventional phone company.
- If you believe your usage requirements are more standard we recommend Vaya. Read the review here.
- And, if you needs heaps of calls and data, we recommend Amaysim. Read the review here.
Who are Yatango?
Yatango is a Australian company with an entirely new model of mobile phone plans : Yatango let you design your own.
Yatango is a low cost SIM only provider. They use the internet, social links, bulk bought rates for access to the Optus network and they borrow from the strength of their customer base to improve their customer support. The result is that they bring a unique phone offering to market.
Yatango have added a social networking layer to the production of their mobile plans. Their totally configurable plans give their customers freedom and control. One key benefit to customers is that they can move between plans whenever they want to. With Yatango, you can move up or down bundle levels every month without penalty.
How do Yatango keep their rates low ?
The fundamental difference between Yatango and the major phone companies you know is that Yatango are an MVNO. That means they bulk buy network access from Optus and resell it to their customer base. Yatango are one of the more modern MVNOs. They use the entire Optus 4G network.
Yatango have only seven staff in Australia, no hardware is involved in their plans ( they don’t buy or sell the phones that use their network )and, as a result they have no warehouses to maintain.
They also have very low self service fees. Yatango primarily lets users help themselves. According to company founder and CEO Andy Taylor, there is no call center, either. Yatango use user references and have an internal support team. All customer service provided is through forums, chat and email.
What’s good about Yatango?
- They have a free trial introductory offer :
Yatango are the only phone company we’re aware of which let you trial their service, for free. The benefit of a trial with them is that it helps you determine how many minutes, how many SMS and how much data you’re going to use. It’s free for 30 days. After signing up, your SIM will be sent to you within 3-5 business days. The trial consists of 30 days’ access to the 600 Voice Pack : 600 minutes of calling time with 600 SMS. You’ll also get 1GB of data to use as you please.Yatango’s trial helps give you an understanding of how you use your SIM and how you might want to build your plan if you decide to stay with them.
Note! Anything that you use which is outside of what comes with your mobile plan, such as international calls, will be charged separately.
- No contracts :
A big issue consumers have when it comes to choosing a mobile providers is the contracts that come with it. Increasingly, smart consumers are moving away from contractual commitments to the ‘tier 1’ telcos – like Optus, Telstra etc., buying their phones outright, getting a SIM Only plan and saving themselves a fortune.
- Free social media use :
Yatango are one of the few Australian telcos who still offer free social media access to their customers. Typically, social media constitutes around 25% of all network traffic – a huge amount. Of course, your usage of Social media is a completely personal thing. However, if you get in to Facebook and watch any videos embedded in to Facebook, that your friends recommend at all then free 4G access to social services is something you’re going to want to seriously consider.
- Yatango’s plans are totally configurable :
Yatangos’ differentiator is that they let you building your own plan that tailors to your specific needs. No other providers have minute or payments plans that can be customized from a monthly payment to a weekly payment. And, again, you can move between them without charges.
- It’s easy to change month to month :
Getting penalized for wanting to make either subtle or major changes to your mobile plan is a real pain for most people. Whether it’s due to financial issues or simply wanting a plan with less minutes because you just don’t talk on the phone that much, moving around is a hassle for most. Yatango make it easy. If your usage varies a lot, month to month, Yatango might be right for you.
- You can keep your current phone number if you move to Yatango:
Move to Yatango and you’ll have the option to keep their current number and change or adjust their plan at any time without fees or penalties.
- Yatango use the Optus network :
Yatango also runs on Optus 3G, with 97% coverage in Australia with 4G coming soon. Free calling minutes are also offered. You’ll get free calls to others with Yatango customers.
- You can earn your credits towards you phone bill – by helping other customers in their support forum :
With Yatango, you are offered the option to earn free credit by helping other customers through the online customer support forum they have. Every question you answer, gets you 50 cents worth of credit applied to your account.
- Bonus minutes !
You’ll get bonus minutes when purchasing a Yatango Voice Pack. These bonus minutes apply to calling your friends on the Yatango network. The free Yatango to Yatango customer minutes are provided at the same level of pack you purchased. For example, buying a 400 minute Voice Pack will give you 400 bonus minutes to call other Yatango mobiles for free.
- No hassle ‘recharge’ :
You can set your service up to auto renew if you’d like it to. Removing that ongoing recharge is as easy as removing your SIM if you don’t want to continue. Staying with Yatango will also include a $20 security deposit, but that’s refundable after 30 days.
- Customer service without the hassle of waiting :
Yatango’s customer service is entirely online. For most questions you have or problems you’re likely to be facing, the forum has an answer. And, if you need to, you can get help through their live chat facility. All the benefits of a quick answer without having to queue in an IVR ? Sign us up.
What’s not so good about Yatango?
- If you’re not in to social and online Yatango might not be right for you :
If you’re not a fan of using your Facebook or other social networking site, Yatango might not be for you. Yatango is a pretty revolutionary mobile service but comparing the headline rates they have with the compeitition, unless you have extremely unusual or extremely low usage, Vaya or Amaysim are likely to be right for you.
- Beware termination fees :
One thing we noticed in our use of the Yatango facility which irked us was their termination policy. Once your service is terminated, you won’t be able to use their service again And your phone number is cancelled unless, of course, it’s already tethered to a different carrier.
- If you like to talk to call center agents :
Another aspect of Yatango that might be off-putting for the more ‘chat oriented person’ is the customer service. There’s no formal method of getting help, as their support is through community-based forums. Some more ‘classically trained’ ( older ) customers who need help and have questions regarding their mobile device want to speak with a representative in person. People like people and when you call a customer service team, you get the security of a human interaction. Forums aren’t right for everyone.
How does Yatango’s website work ?
You build your plan using Yatango’s billing and contract system. Their web interface lets you choose the number of calls, amount of data and the number of SMSs you need on user friendly sliders.
The totally web based interaction removes unnecessary operating costs and allows you to customize Yatango’s contracts exactly to your liking.
Every aspect of the service can be established online – including, for example, things like international roaming which, withy other phone companies, you would need to call the call center to arrange.
Summing up – Yatango are like Marmite
If you’re an internet lover who spends their life online, you’re extremely socially connected and if you have low or variable usage behaviours, Yatango might be right for you.
Their facility to build a plan you’re comfortable with and easily see what you use each month, monitoring and managing your usage with no contracts is revolutionary in Australian telco.
Yatango’s focus is flexibility and online, which means you’re not locked into anything you don’t want. You’ll save money and have a great community with updates, news and help when you become a part of Yatango.
However, their rates are more expensive than competitors for the most common plans and their customer service will not be right for everyone – especially if you like to talk to a customer support representative.
In summary, Yatango are a bit like marmite. They’re not right for everyone. However, people who like Yatango love them and there’s no convincing them otherwise.