Since April 1st, Vodafone prices have risen for the first time in ten years. Let’s look at what this might mean for your average Vodafone customer.
Why has Vodafone raised its prices
Before we get onto why Vodafone has raised its prices, here is a quick disclaimer. Not all Vodafone customers can expect to see their phone bills increase. However, those who signed up for a postpaid plan before January 2023 will see the price they pair each month going up. But why?
To give you a one-word answer, inflation. Everything costs have risen, from the materials in the 4G and 5G towers to staffing and transportation costs. For a surprisingly long time, Vodafone has defied common trends and kept their prices low. But now, not even the kings of cheap telecoms can withstand inflation.
This price rise has been a long time coming, and I’m not surprised at all that it’s happened. If anything, I’m amazed it’s taken them this long. In fact, this is the first time in ten years that Vodafone has raised its prices.
The telco sent letters informing some customers of expected price increases several months ago.
Can they increase prices like that?
Whether a telco or MVNO can increase prices on fixed contracts (such as Vodafone’s postpaid options) depends on the wording within the contract itself. However, generally speaking, yes, they can.
Although, as with most contracts, Vodafone has promised customers it will write in advance if they ever increase their prices, so customers who might be unable to afford the inflated prices can come to an arrangement.
Vodafone’s prices will increase by $5 a month from April 1st.
Other telcos, such as Telstra, have been more upfront, stating publicly that their prices would increase several months ago.
How Vodafone is trying to make up for it.
As with all telecom companies increasing their prices, Vodafone is trying to undo some damage by increasing data allowances. So, although people may have to pay more, they will also receive more.
But that’s not quite as good as it sounds.
According to the ACCC, the average Aussie uses 10.2GB of monthly data. That’s less than most of them already pay for and significantly less than Vodafone is increasing their data allowances. Here’s an analogy to help you understand…
Let’s say a local café has a meal where you can get steak, fries, and three tomatoes for $10. You’re happy to pay this price, even though you only eat 2 of the three tomatoes.
One day, the price of this meal increases to $13, but you get four tomatoes.
This is not a good deal for you because even though you get more tomatoes, you still eat the same amount but pay more. Now, replace tomatoes with GB, and that’s what will happen to many Vodafone customers.
Alternatives to Vodafone
If you’re looking for a cheap mobile phone plan, it might be worth looking at some MVNOs. And if you’re with Vodafone because you get good coverage in your area, it could be wise to turn to one of their MVNOs. We recommend Felix Mobile, mainly if you use lots of data.
With Felix, for $35 a month, you can get unlimited data. That might sound too good to be true, and that’s because Felix’s data speed is capped at 20 mbps- slower than Vodafone’s usual data but faster than the “Peace of Mind Data” speed of 2mbps.
Whether you would rather have unlimited slow data or limited fast data depends on your personal needs.
Conclusion
Inflation has affected every part of our lives, from phone bills to food costs. Since April 1st, Vodafone has had to increase their prices for the first time in ten years, and for many of their customers, this may have come as a shock since they were the last Tier 1 Telco to do so. However, for many others, this was likely seen as inevitable.
As with all the other telcos increasing their prices, Vodafone has tried to compensate by increasing data allowances. But, as we’ve shown in our steak analogy, this is not necessarily a good deal. The bottom line is that price increases are here whether we like it or not, and if you don’t want to pay that much, you can always look to the MNVOs, such as Felix.