Optus postpaid plans now cost more
Optus just hiked their prices across most SIM-only plans, leaving postpaid customers with a higher bill than a month ago. The telco’s announcement followed Telstra’s recent price hike.
While Optus customers might find the latest price increase inconvenient, the telco’s revamped plans will at least give customers more data than before. However, Optus has also stopped including Optus Sport and OS Fitness in their SIM plans, so customers who value sports content will have to pay extra in addition to their monthly bills.
In this article, we’ll tell you about Optus’ recent price hikes and charges for Optus Sport and how they might affect you. Read on to find out.
Details about Optus postpaid price increases
Nowadays, most phone companies offer SIM-only plans to give customers more straightforward options. Such phone plans allow you to bring your device and plug in the provider’s SIM without purchasing a phone from the telco.
On 18 July, Optus greeted its postpaid customers with a price hike, so they now have to fork out more money for most of Optus’ offers.
Not only did the telco increases SIM plan costs, but it also removed some of its attractive inclusions. Here’s a look at what to expect from new Optus plans:
- $4 increase across all Optus new SIM plans
Customers will now pay an additional $4 per month across all new Optus Choice Plus postpaid plans. Customers interested in the Optus Family Plan will have to pay even more – an additional $16 per month. These increases mean that most Optus customers will pay an additional $48 per year ($192 per year for family plan customers). The price increase took effect on 18 July. - Extra charges for Optus Sport and OS Fitness
Sports fans face even more bad news as Optus has removed Optus Sport and OS Fitness from its plan inclusions. Before Optus’ announcement, eligible postpaid customers streamed live sports on Optus Sport free of charge as a plan inclusion. But from 1 August, Optus Sport, which includes OS Fitness, will now cost eligible customers an additional $6.99 per month when activated through Optus SubHub. Other customers will have to pay $24.99 per month to access Optus Sport. - More data across all new Optus plans
Thankfully, it’s not all bad news for Optus customers. Each price increase comes with more data across all new Optus Choice Plus and Family plans. The data increases range from 10GB to 60GB for Optus Choice Plus plans.
Why Optus increased prices
Price increases are usually an inconvenience for consumers. It’s even worse in this case because even current Optus customers have been affected, whereas price increases usually only affect new customers. If you were an existing Optus customer before the price hike, the telco has likely contacted you directly to inform you of your plan’s latest price.
So why has Optus increased prices? According to an Optus spokesperson, “…ongoing investment in expanding and upgrading services, the growing data demands on our network, and increasing costs of goods and services, means we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the price on selected mobile plans.”
This announcement marks the second time Optus has increased prices in the past two years. Last year, the telco hiked all Optus Choice Plus plans by an additional $6 per month but increased data by 10GB to 120GB. The latest $4 increase across the same plans means Optus customers on Choice Plus plans now pay $10 more each month than they did less than two years ago.
Optus is not alone, however. Before its announcement, Telstra had already increased prices on its SIM plans, blaming its decision on inflation. As inconvenient as these price hikes seem, they might reflect the current realities of the mobile plan market.
What are the cheaper alternatives to Optus?
If you’re a heavy data user, then telcos like Optus are probably your best choice because their plans include large chunks of data. And if you’re a sports fan, Optus Sport might be for you – even though the service now costs eligible Optus customers an additional $6.99 per month, that’s a lot less than $24.99 per month for non-customers.
However, if you’re looking for a cheap phone plan without the bells and whistles, you’ll find many other options. We recommend sticking with Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), which are small phone companies that resell the networks of larget phone companies like Optus, Telstra, and TPG Telecom (Vodafone).
MVNOs like Amaysim and Moose Mobile offer cheaper plans for essential mobile services using the same Optus network so be sure to read our list of the best affordable phone plans in Australia to get the best deal and value for your money.
Final words
Phone plans are sometimes confusing, so customers might not easily understand a particular price change. This might be one of those confusing changes, given that Optus has raised prices a couple of times in 2 years while removing a value component like Optus Sport and OS Fitness.
But there is an explanation for the confusing announcement – Optus has tried to offset the bad with some good. In this example, Optus has raised prices and stopped including Optus Sport, but they have added more data to their plans.
However, while the plans look like good value because they include so much data, you almost certainly don’t need that much.
Our advice here is what it always is: Go to your phone’s Settings menu and check the amount of data you’ve used recently. You can also login to your My Optus App or website to find out how much data you used over the last few months. When you discover your data needs, you might realise that providers like Amaysim or Moose – who also use the Optus network – will provide your data needs at a much cheaper rate than Optus’ new plans.