TeleChoice Plan Review
And Comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
How long have TeleChoice been selling phone plans plans?
It depends on how you look at it. TeleChoice were an Optus plan reseller for a long time until Optus extracted itself from the relationship in 2012.
In 2013, TeleChoice began reselling mobile plans on the Telstra’s Wholesale Network and have continued to date. The telco first began reselling 4G SIM Only plans in 2016.
Today, TeleChoice now resells part of Telstra’s 5G, 4G, and 3G networks.
TeleChoice’s range has broadened over the years. They now offer NBN plans and prepaid data plans, as well as postpaid plans.
Do TeleChoice own their own network?
Nope. No, TeleChoice do not own their own network. Instead of spending the years and billions of dollars required to establish their own networks, they rent and then resell ( part of ) the Telstra 3G + 4G network to their customers. This allows them to focus on the non-network aspects of their service, including customer service and, importantly, price.
The Telstra 3G network they use covers 98.8%of the population and around 1.6 million square Kilometers. That’s more than the whole of Optus’ 4G network.
TeleChoice use a component of (not all of) the Telstra 4G Mobile network. If you choose TeleChoice, you’ll get 98.8% population coverage with your SIM.
What is an MVNO? Is TeleChoice an MVNO?
An MVNO is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator and yes, TeleChoice are an MVNO.
MVNOs rent access to a phone company network and resell it to you, just as an electricity or gas provider might. TeleChoice resell parts of the Telstra Mobile Network.
That’s not the full Telstra network. Roughly, the network TeleChoice will offer you is about the same size in square Km as the Optus network.
The only phone company which resells the entire Telstra network ( other that Telstra themselves ) is Boost Mobile.
Can I tether my phone using TeleChoices plans?
Tethering is using your phone (or a wireless broadband modem) to access the mobile data network with a phone plan. You can either hard-wire connect your phone to your laptop with a USB cable or use a ‘hotspot’ to offer WiFi access to the cellular internet.
Yes, you can use your phone this way if you’re on the TeleChoice network.
You’ll get 3G / 4G / 5G speeds when you tether your phone to the Telstra network through TeleChoice, depending on the sort of device you use, and the location you’re in.
Will TeleChoice’s plans / SIMs work in an iPhone?
They will but remember, you’ll need the right size of SIM. TeleChoice are a 3G / 4G / 5G network reseller. Whichever iPhone you have, you’ll get the best speeds it’s capable of.
Check our iPhone SIM Only page for more if you’d like details of the right SIM and / or to compare TeleChoice to all other relevant iPhone plans.
Can I keep my phone number if I choose TeleChoice?
Yes, you can. The process is simple. It’s called porting. It’s free, quick, easy and TeleChoice will do it for you. We’ve written about it extensively, many times, including here.
Do TeleChoice have any PAYG plan options?
Weirdly, no they don’t offer PAYG plans. With such a strong range of offerings including fixed broadband and a swathe of contract and month-to-month SIM Only plans. We think this will change before too long, too.
Do they have an app? How can you check your usage?
Yes, TeleChoice now has a self-service mobile app available on your PlayStore and App Store. This is great for users who want to keep close tabs on their plan usage. You can monitor your data and other inclusions with the self-service app, and also activate your SIM, recharge your prepaid account or pay your postpaid bill, check your data bank, gift data, activate roaming, and more.
Who should buy a TeleChoice plan and who shouldn’t?
We’ve compared plans and providers on this page. See if you can find a deal which suits you better.
What's good
What's bad
Everything you need to know about TeleChoice and your alternatives
TeleChoice are a smaller but still credible SIM Only phone plan provider. They originally began reselling the Telstra Wholesale Nework as an MVNO in 2013.
TeleChoice’s plans have a number of worthwhile attributes:
- They resell part of the Telstra 3G / 4G / 5G network:
Note, TeleChoice do not provide access to the full Telstra network – they resell the Telstra Wholesale Network 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. See details on coverage footprint, below. - Now sell both types of plans:
Their range includes both prepaid and postpaid plan options. The set up of their ‘prepaid’ plans is extremely unusual, potentially because they appear to be using their postpaid billing system to provide something that appears to be a prepaid plan. TeleChoice also sell data-only plans. - 5G Plans:
TeleChoice offers two 5G plans, ranging from $40 to $55 and including 48GB to 240GB, respectively. However, both 5G plans are prepaid, so postpaid customers are unable to access 5G for now. TeleChoice prepaid 5G plans have a 30-day recharge expiry. - Included International Calls at higher monthly spend levels:
Higher value prepaid and postpaid plans (postpaid plans costing $28 or more, for example) come with International calls included, to up to 20 international destinations. Also, all postpaid month-to-month plans and 7 / 13-month plans include unlimited International texts to anywhere in the world. - Data banking and gifting:
Telechoice now include data banking on all of is SIM plans. So whether you’re on the smallest postpaid plan or largest prepaid plan, you will be given a 500GB data bank to store your unused plan data. All TeleChoice postpaid and prepaid SIM plans also include a data gifting feature that allows users send 2GB to 45GB of data (depending on which plan tier) to other users per month or recharge. - Phones on a contract:
Additionally, you can purchase a mobile phone from TeleChoice on a payment plan and bundle it with a SIM only plan on a 24-month contract. This is great, because not all MVNOs sell handsets on a payment plan, but keep in mind that both the phone and SIM plan become lock-in contracts whenever you purchase a phone on a plan.
We do not recommend TeleChoice
For us, TeleChoice do not stand out in the market. Their plans have very basic inclusions (none of the bells and whistles you’ll find elsewhere – we cover the details of the sorts of freebies you can pick up in a phone plan, below).
To be fair, TeleChoice has made some improvements since our last review. For instance, the telco initially didn’t offer a self-service app to customers. Now, however, TeleChoice offers a robust self-service app on both the Playstore and App Store to help customers manage their accounts. (Evidence suggests that self-service apps improve customer satisfaction).
The alternative phone plans we show on this page
- Offer better value for money than TeleChoice:
In most cases, the alternative offers we show provide more mobile data, for the same or less $, on an equal network and which do not require you to commit to a contract term. Essentially, our view is that these plans are a better value alternative for you. - On comparable networks:
TeleChoice use a proportion of the full Telstra Network, which causes confusion for some people – understandably. The coverage, in square Kilometers, that you’ll get from TeleChoice is about the same as you’ll get from Optus themselves, as well as Optus Network resellers, such as Amaysim, Southern Phone, and others. (See recommended alternative plans, in the table above.) - If you want access to the Telstra mobile network, consider Boost Mobile and Belong Mobile, both of which offer choice and also use the Telstra Mobile Network.
In brief - TeleChoice may be interesting to you if:
- You want wide variety of options:
TeleChoice have a relatively large plan range offering, which is unusual for a network reseller. Network resellers usually try and keep things simple for their customers. TeleChoice have chosen to offer a range of both postpaid month-to-month plans, long expiry plans, data-only plans, and prepaid plans. In our view, TeleChoice’s range is confusing, especially their 7 and 13-month plans. If you agree and you want to keep it simple, we recommend you focus just on the month-to-month plans. - You want international calls in your plan:
TeleChoice is one provider who offer this benefit. In our view, International Calls is either a key decision criteria for customers or it’s not. If you need International Minutes as part of your plan, consider reviewing our International Calls page.
Alternatives to TeleChoice
- You want better value:
Most users will find they get better value per GB of mobile data from the alternative phone plans that we list on this page, than they will from TeleChoice. - Want access to the full Telstra Mobile Network but don’t want to pay Telstra rates?
Boost Mobile also have 4G and 5G speeds included in their pricing on the Telstra Mobile Network. If you’re between those two specific price points, make sure you are comparing TeleChoice equally. Remember, TeleChoice’s plans include International calls – Boost’s don’t. And some of the data that Boost offer can only be used during the weekend; TeleChoice’s can be used at any time. - This is especially true if you live in a city:
Our view is that if you live in a city, you can get better rates with a Vodafone or Optus network reseller. The network Telstra resell through their MVNO partners is a fair amount smaller than their own retail network. The reason Telstra has done this is clear. Their stated goal is to offer a wholesale plan range with comparable coverage and speed to Vodafone and Optus, through partners like TeleChoice. As a result, you may as well just take the cheaper alternative, especially in cities. There has been a lot of news recently about the improved quality of the Vodafone network. You might not believe it, but the Vodafone 4G network is actually just as good as the Telstra 4G these days. - You want sport in your plan:
Telstra, Optus, and some others offer free included sport in their phone plans.
TeleChoice move to the Telstra 4G network
TeleChoice were given 4G network access by Telstra’s wholesale department in May 2015. The key things you need to know about the network TeleChoice use are:
- Their 3G coverage is about the same as Optus’
You’ll get 3G speeds when you are out of range of the Telstra reseller 4G network, or if you have an older, 3G phone which can’t use the 4G network. The Telstra’s 3G network isn’t bad for speeds. If you’re like most people, you’ll judge the quality of the Telstra 3G network by whether or not you can watch a YouTube clip on it – and you can. And it’s great for coverage. It reaches 2.5m square Km of Australia, which is 99% of the population. - 4G coverage
Network resellers like TeleChoice don’t get access to the entire Telstra 4G network. They’re provided a proportion of it. TeleChoice’s SIMs enable access to around 94% of the population with their 4G access. This aspect of the network is limited to 100Mbps, which is so fast it’s not a practical limitation at all. Telechoice cite their typical download speeds as 2-50Mbps, using the Telstra 4G network. - 5G coverage
Telechoice also resells Telstra’s 5G network, which currently reaches at least 75 percent of the population. As of the time os this review, Telstra’s network had the widest 5G coverage in Australia, giving TeleChoice an advantage here. - Who else uses this network?
Telstra resell their 3G, 4G, and 5G networks to a number of other smaller phone companies. Woolworths, ALDImobile, and Boost Mobile.
Ultimately, the provision of 4G through network resellers like TeleChoice leveled the playing field with Optus resellers who had had it for some time previously. Telstra’s reseller base, offering 4G to 97.9% of the population, is comparable to Optus’ 4G network ( which MVNOs like Amaysim provide ). Optus now cover 98.5% of the Australian population of the population with their 4G network.
If you’d like more information on Australian network comparisons, read our article.
Summary – TeleChoice struggle for relevance
TeleChoice are a ‘me too’ phone company with little that would cause us to recommend them to you. Their month-to-month SIM Only plans add variety to the low spend Telstra network reseller segment. There is a small chance that some shoppers who are searching for a 24-month phone handset contract will be drawn to their slightly better rates when bundled with a SIM plan, and you can see why some people take the TeleChoice route. International calls can be a nice incentive, especially for such a diverse nation, although there are now a lot of alternative providers that also include International Calls in their plans.
Instead, we suggest you look to the alternatives on display on this page for better pricing and more data per $.
TeleChoice phone plans come with some detailed does / does not include detail. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible.
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If you need another network, for example you’re after an unlimited plan with Telstra coverage, or you live in a city and you’re happy with Vodafone, you might like to check our SIM Only Comparison page and compare all the plans ( including every one mentioned on this page. )
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