Exetel Plan
Review and Comparison
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Frequently Asked Questions About Exetel
I’m not really familiar with Exetel. Can you tell me the basics?
Exetel have actually been around since the early 1990s as a technology consulting firm, but they didn’t enter the telco business until 2003. They now offer broadband and mobile phone plans as an MVNO reselling the Optus 4G Plus Network.
Exetel’s mobile phone plans are on the cheap side — all under $30. They offer the basics that you’d expect — unlimited voice and SMS in all plans except their $9.99 offer. Their data allowances are not bad either, for a postpaid plan. However, that’s where their plans end — basic without any extras.
Is Exetel’s coverage any good?
Yes. Exetel resell the Optus 4G Network, which means that their customers get access to Optus’ great coverage. Optus cover 98.5% of the Australian population, and they have the second best coverage behind Telstra.
To find out exactly how good the coverage is in your specific area, you can use the Optus coverage checker on their site. You can also learn more about Optus coverage here.
Are Exetel plans prepaid, postpaid, or both?
Exetel only sell postpaid month-to-month plans. They don’t have any prepaid plans, which can be a bit of a disappointment for some, given that the majority of Australian mobile connections are made through prepaid plans.
Exetel’s postpaid plans have some good data allowances when compared to other postpaid plans, but MVNOs that offer prepaid plans offer a lot more data for less. For better data deals, you might want to check out other plans from other MVNOs reselling the same Optus Network, such as Amaysim, OVO Mobile and Moose Mobile.
Can I take my existing number with me if I switch over to Exetel?
Yes, you can. Like most telcos, you can keep your existing number when switching to Exetel.
Can I cancel my Exetel plan without penalty?
Yes, you can. Exetel’s offer no lock-in plans that allow you cancel without penalty if you notify them at least 28 days prior.
Do Exetel have a self-service app?
No, Exetel do not have a self-service app. This is definitely a negative for the telco, as self-service apps have become more common — if not the norm — with today’s telcos. With a self-service app, customers can monitor and adjust their plan inclusions (especially data usage) without having to contact the telco’s call center. This eliminates the need for long waits on the phone. Exetel, however, allow customers make adjustments online, and that’s also a good thing but a self-service app means a lot more.
Do they charge for SIM and delivery?
No, Exetel do not charge for their SIM and they also offer free delivery.
What is pro-rata billing, and how does it apply to Exetel?
Pro-rata refers to calculating the actual amount based on a fraction of the proposed amount. For example, a proposed $10 per month bill becomes $5 if the bill was only for half of that month ($10 divided by 2).
With Exetel, though, pro-rata can be a disadvantage because all Exetel customers must begin their billing cycles on the 1st of every month. Thus, for the customers who sign up for an Exetel plan sometime in the middle of the month (which would probably be most customers), Exetel will bill them based on the fraction to get the actual amount due for that initial month, in addition to the next month’s billing cycle, which would begin on the 1st of the following month. For example, a customer who activates an Exetel $10 plan on the 15th day of a 30-day month (half the month) will be billed for the remaining 15 days of that month ($5), along with the entire billing cycle of the next month (full month at $10), for a total of $15 in advance.
Not only can this be confusing, but it increases your first month bill to something more than what you thought you were signing up for.
Do they have any fair data features like data banking?
No, Exetel do not offer any data features other than your plan data. They do not offer data vaults or banking, or any rollover data feature of any kind. If you don’t finish your data allowance for the month, it simply disappears. They also don’t have any data-free streaming features.
Do they have any entertainment content?
What's good
- Cheap plans, everything is under $30
- They use the full Optus 3G & 4G Plus Network
- Generous data allowances
What's bad
- No self-service app
- No free included entertainment content
- No 'fair' data features, such as data banking
Exetel Plan Review and Comparison
60-Second Summary
- Every one of Exetel’s plans are under $30
- Reselling the Optus 4G Plus Network
- Free SIM and Delivery
- No entertainment content
- No data vault or other fair data features
- We think you can do better than Exetel for coverage and value on the same network
- Check our our better value alternatives above.
Exetel aren’t one of the more popular telcos in Australia, but the company have been around for a while. They launched in the early 1990s as a technology consulting firm, offering management and technical services. In 2003, they branched into the telco business, providing broadband and telephone services.
Today, Exetel offer postpaid month-to-month SIM Only plans as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) reselling the Optus 4G Plus Network. This means that if you buy an Exetel SIM plan, you’ll get the benefit of Optus’ great 4G coverage, which spreads across 98.5% of Australia.
Exetel’s plans are straightforward and on the cheap side, with the basic unlimited services you’d expect most plan to have, such as voice and SMS. Exetel plans also come with some data inclusions. Their plans are no lock-in BYO, meaning you bring your own phone and use their SIM, and that you can cancel your plan as long as you give them a 28-day notice.
Exetel are a decent MVNO but they aren’t really anything special. You won’t get the huge data allowances and special features like data banking and data-free streaming that some telcos now offer in response to consumers’ demands for fairness. All you’re going to get from Exetel are basic services — the good old staples of voice and SMS, along with some data. They also have some weird charges or billing tactics that we’ll address later in this review.
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Are there any issues with Exetel as company?
As far as their mobile services are concerned, Exetel have managed to stay off the significant complaint radar. However, Exetel as a company have pulled some moves in the past that we’d consider to be a bit shady.
Back in 2015, Exetel dropped 400 of its broadband costumers that it considered to be heavy users. The company claimed they canceled these costumers’ contracts because they were on plans that were no longer offered, and had remained on those extinct plans despite Exetel having some newer, competitive plans. The company claimed that it was doing a disservice to their other customers who were essentially subsidising those 400 heavy users, and that although Exetel hated to have to let customers go, that those “handful” of customers were let go for the better good.
This is probably one of the weirdest moves we’ve seen a telco pull. It’s even more questionable because the customers claim that they never once used up the entirety of their plan allowances, and so there’s a question about what Exetel considered heavy usage. Further, as long as a customer stays within the usage limits of the purchased service, why on earth would the service provider be worried about their usage, let alone refer to such usage as excessive?
What we find more concerning is how Exetel handled the cancellations. Apparently, the notice simply informed customers of “a commercial decision to cease supplying services to your address”. They later advised customers to “churn/transfer your ADSL/Phone service to another carrier” within 30 days. That was it. We can think of a lot of better ways this could have been handled, especially considering it involved customers who had been with Exetel for a decade or more.
When considering a telco, information like this comes in handy. Always factor in your service provider’s customer service and public relations performance in order to avoid any future mishaps. For Exetel, this information is especially important — the company had tossed customers even prior to the 2015 fiasco, when it canceled 500 contracts in 2010. Perhaps that’s just the Exetel way.
What we think Exetel are doing right
Exetel plans don’t give you the perks — they’re more about the basics. If all you really want is to make calls and text, while using a little data here and there, Exetel might be worth a look.
- Cheap
Exetel offer 5 plans, ranging from $9.99 to $29.99 per month. Their plans come with unlimited national voice and SMS, except for the $9.99 SuperSaver plan, which comes with 300 national minutes and unlimited SMS. - Good enough data allowances (great, when considering the plans are postpaid), and no data overage charges
Although you won’t get massive data with Exetel, they do offer some good enough data allowances ranging from 1GB to 18GB. These data allowances are actually great, when you consider the fact that they are on postpaid plans, which generally offer less data than their prepaid counterparts. You also won’t get charged for going over your data allowance — instead, an additional 1GB of data will be added for $10 whenever you exceed your data allowance. - Great coverage, thanks to the Optus 4G Network
Because Exetel resell the Optus 4G Plus Network, you can expect some pretty good coverage. Optus covers 98.5% of the Australian population, second only to Telstra. - No lock-in plans
You can cancel your plan without penalty, as long as you notify Exetel 28 days ahead. - Month-to-month SIM Only BYO plans
All Exetel plans are SIM Only plans. You bring your own phone and plug in your Exetel SIM. - 3-in-1 SIM fits any device
Exetel SIMs come 3-in-1 — standard, micro, and nano SIM sizes to fit any mobile device. - Free SIM delivery
Not only do you get a free SIM, but you also get it delivered for free. - MMS inclusion
Some MVNOs don’t offer MMS as part of their plans, but Exetel do.
Why we think Exetel aren’t that great
Cheap, straight forward plans are solid choices, but Exetel could do much better if they had some prepaid data plans. They have some weird charges and billing policies, and there are other MVNOs out there that offer more for the same price range.
- There are better offers out there for the same price range, especially prepaid plans
If you’re looking for a cheap plan with more allowances, you can find some offers from other telcos in the same range as Exetel’s, especially prepaid plans. For example, OVO offer a $9.95 plan with unlimited SMS, 500 minutes, and 2GB of data (double Exetel’s $9.99 1GB plan) with the same Optus 4G network. Amaysim offer the same 2GB of data for $10, along with unlimited voice and SMS, on the same Optus 4G Network. You can check out other cheap mobile plans here. - Exetel don’t offer any prepaid plans
All Exetel plans are postpaid month-to-month. There are no prepaid plans, which is a bit of a blow to the many Australians that are finding value in prepaid offers. For an MVNO that offers both postpaid and prepaid plans, check out Amaysim on the same Optus Network.
- No self-service app
Self-service apps come in handy when trying to monitor or make adjustments to your phone plan and inclusions. Exetel doesn’t have any self-service app. Instead, you either have to give them a call or go online to handle basic account adjustments and monitoring. - No bells and whistles
With Exetel, you’re not going to get any extras such as entertainment content. No sports, music streaming, or other similar inclusions. If you’re looking for such offers, check out the major telcos. You can also check out MVNOs like OVO Mobile. - No data banking and other data fairness features
Our surveys show that Australians choose fair treatment over a lot of other factors, when rating a telco. A lot of telcos have responded with fairer data practices, such as data vaults or banking, which allow you to hold on to your unused data, moving it to your next billing cycle and beyond. With Exetel, you can forget about your unused data — they disappear the moment your billing cycle expires. You can also forget about other fair features like data-free streaming if you’re looking at Exetel. For features like data banking, check out Telstra and Belong Mobile. - Weird charges and billing cycle
If you sign on to Exetel with your credit card, you get your SIM delivered faster than if you use direct debit (3 business days vs. 4-5 business days). However, credit card payments always incur a 1% service charge with Exetel, while direct debit doesn’t. Further, all Exetel billing cycles begin on the 1st of the month. This means there are pro-rata charges if you activate your SIM on a date other than the 1st of the month, adjusting your bill so that your second cycle (and beyond) will begin on the 1st. This can be a bit confusing.
Comparing Exetel to others, based on three key factors
You might be looking for something specific, and wondering if Exetel offer that. Perhaps you want a plan with entertainment content, or you’re looking for an MVNO on the Optus Network only, or you want to compare Exetel to MVNOs or telcos on other networks. Here’s some help.
- Looking for content?
For plans with entertainment content such as sports, music streaming, etc., forget about Exetel. We’ve covered the best mobile plans with entertainment content here, so check it out. Entertainment content are typically offered by the major telcos such as Telstra and Optus, but if you’re looking for an MVNO with content, check out OVO. - Other MVNOs reselling the Optus Network
If you want more plans to choose from with another MVNO on the Optus 4G Network, check out Amaysim’s competitive prepaid and postpaid offers for more data. Another MVNO reselling the Optus 4G Network is OVO, and they have some impressive data allowances on prepaid plans, as well as entertainment content. - Want other networks?
Belong Mobile resells the Telstra Network and offer those fairer data features, such as data vaults.
Bringing it all together for Exetel
Exetel is another basic MVNO reselling the Optus Network. There’s nothing flashy about their plans — no data vaults, no data-free streaming, no entertainment content. But they offer the basic services you’ve come to expect from a telco — unlimited voice and SMS, except their cheapest plan which only comes with 300 minutes (but still includes unlimited SMS).
All Exetel offer are postpaid month-to-month plans. They don’t have any prepaid plans, and this might drive some potential customers away, considering the vast majority of mobile connections (45%) in Australia are on prepaid plans. However, for those that are interested, Exetel actually offer some good data allowances when compared to other postpaid plans from other MVNOs, although other prepaid plans dwarf their offerings. They also allow you cancel your plan freely, as long as you give them a 28-day heads up.
But there are many other cheap plans from other MVNOs, even those reselling the same Optus 4G network, and we think you should check them out instead. OVO Mobile and Amaysim come to mind, and OVO even offer the bells and whistles, such as entertainment content. Also, don’t forget about Exetel’s unpleasant habit of dropping customers who they deem to have used too much of the services they actually bought and paid for. Although that has only happened with their broadband customers, take note of the fact that it has happened more than once. Such practices only signal a lack of appreciation for customers, and might just creep over to the mobile department.
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