Optus Wireless Broadband: Now cheaper, sort of

By Joseph Hanlon on 22 October 2009

(Credit: Optus)

Get out your calculators, Optus has announced new Wireless Broadband pricing and something tells us it's just as convoluted as previous "deals".

Customers signing up to a new Optus Wireless Broadband contract now have a choice of five 12-month contracts; the Wireless 15, 25, 35 and 55 packages (which include 1, 2, 4 and 7GB of data each month respectively), and the Wireless 199 package which includes an E160 USB modem plus 1GB for 12 months in return for an upfront payment of AU$199.

So far things are relatively straightforward, and the prices are cheaper than before. But once you reach the end of the 12-month contract you suddenly lose half of your broadband allowance while continuing to pay the same monthly rate, ping-ponging your cost to data ratio from a decent 3 Mobile-like deal to a gouging Telstra-like arrangement. So, customers who choose the Wireless 15 plan will get 1GB for the first 12 months then only 500MB of data each month thereafter. The only upside we can see is if customers would be free to change to a different broadband provider — hardly an excellent customer retention strategy.

There is good news though, Optus now charges less for its broadband modems, the E160 is AU$99 and the E172 is AU$149, and its excess usage charge is down to 6 cents per MB, down from 15 cents. If you're still worried about excess usage charges you should check out the Optus-owned alternative, Virgin Mobile, who throttle the speed of customers who reach their limit rather than charging extra.

Topics: dongle, mobile phone, optus, usb, wireless broadband, optu, customer, charge, contract, broadband

Related Articles

Comments (6)

  • PeterH2 commented on 12/11/2009 02:01 Report abuse

    Virgin is MUCH worse under load than other Optus resellers. I suspect that they are cutting corners on the bandwidth purchased. Actually, Virgin gives Optus' network a terrible reputation, and Optus should cut them loose or make them upgrade!

    I'll stick to the much cheaper, no-contract offers from Exetel, with the $15 cashback offer using SeeknBuy.com.au to connect.

  • wolfgang muller commented on 03/11/2009 01:29 Report abuse

    Today, a Wi-Fi device is installed in many personal computers, video game consoles, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals, and virtually all laptop or palm-sized computers.

  • Dispair commented on 24/10/2009 10:23 Report abuse

    Half the limit after 12 months, yeah but if you have enjoyed the service whats stopping you from going in and recontracting on it.

  • Dave from South Perth commented on 23/10/2009 19:11 Report abuse

    If the internet reception I get on my iPhone via Optus is anything to go by, I would not bother !

  • ex commented on 23/10/2009 13:16 Report abuse

    @DSL, virgin uses the optus network...

  • DSL Dawg commented on 22/10/2009 23:53 Report abuse

    Virgin sadly, can be rubbish under load.

Post your own comment

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 and A..F

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 & A..F

Submit

Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.

Connect

The Explain Series

Must read