How to Pick the Best Mobile Broadband Deal in Australia

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Mobile broadband is becoming increasingly popular. It used to be something that only very specific and limited numbers of people chose, especially people constantly on the move and needing their internet connection wherever they went without having to resort to looking for a wifi connection, say while having a cup of coffee or in their hotel.

Why use mobile broadband?

For some people, having a dedicated data SIM and a dongle or mobile hotspot is more convenient than having home broadband. If you are likely to move frequently or are renting on a short term basis and tend to be on the move a lot, then mobile broadband packages are what you are after. The fact that the cost of data has gone down considerably although it’s still not exactly cheap or even reasonable, as well as the increase in ownership of tablets and the availability of data sharing, makes mobile broadband more attractive.

There are also those who have a home broadband connection, but still prefer to have a mobile broadband plan as well, for the times they are on the move, on the bus or train going to and from work or on holiday.

What’s the best mobile broadband plan available?

But what is the best mobile broadband plan amongst the many so far available in Australia? Note that there are some good mobile broadband plans available which aren’t entirely mobile mainly because they need a power outlet for the dongle. That’s fine if you have booked into a hotel, but then you will probably find that it provides free wifi anyway.

Plans that provide 70GB a month include:

  • Jeenee mobile 4G mobile broadband, with a data SIM plan from $74 /month
  • Amaysim, 4G mobile broadband, for $80 / month
  • Yomojo, 4G mobile broadband, for $85.90 / month

In addition, OVO mobile has a 50GB data SIM plan for $59.95 / month.

If you already have your own home mobile broadband plan, you may not need as much as 50 GB or more. These plans are lower data plans. The best are those that offer around the 10GB mark, but if you don’t even need that much, there are plans that offer less down to a GB / month.

Prepaid monthly mobile broadband lower volume data plans

OVO mobile has the best offer available at the lower data end of the market. It offers 13GB of data using a data only SIM for $29.95.

Then there is a whole bunch of plans that are more or less comparable.

  • Jeenee mobile has a 10GB plan for $25 / month;
  • Yomojo has a 10GB plan for $25.90 / month;
  • Virgin Mobile has a 9GB plan for $30 / month.

There are longer term plans available too, but they aren’t necessarily any cheaper per GB or per month.

Vodafone has a 10GB plan for $30 /month but you have to pay a minimum of $360. Vividwireless has a similar 10GB deal at $29 / month, but the minimum is less than Vodafone’s at $238.

Data sharing might be just what you want

Most of the big telcos offer data sharing. That’s when you can share the data between all your phones and devices together. It’s a smart way to use all of the data on devices that you are less likely to use for data, like phones. Optus, for instance, has a great 100GB phone plan, but it’s not something that you would likely to ever use up just n your phone. With data sharing, you can use the surplus data on your laptop or tablet.

Summary

Home broadband is fine for many, but doesn’t work when you are away from either home or a nearby free wifi source. That’s when a mobile broadband plan makes sense. These are coming down in price and deliver respectable 4G speeds. Take your pick from larger data to lower data packages.

 

Neil Aitken

Having worked in 3 countries for 4 telcos on both voice and data products, Neil is in a position to give you the inside track. Get beyond the marketing messages to the best plan for you.

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