Optus has released new mobile broadband plans ranging from $20 for 2GB to $100 for 20GB -- but as always, there is a confusing catch.
SingTel subsidiary Optus today released a range of revamped mobile broadband plans, promising better value during peak times and the option to use data off-peak at half price. (Or, put another way, if you use data during off peak, you get twice as much. However, unlike ADSL ISP plans, you do not get a peak and off-peak allowance -- you get one allowance which you can either choose to use in peak time, or in off-peak time to eke more out of it.)
The plans range from $20 per month (including 1GB of on-peak quota, or 2GB of off-peak quota) through $30, $50 and $80 options, with the top plan costing $100 per month and including 10GB of on-peak data quota, which could provide as much as 20GB of off-peak quota if you only ever used it in off peak times. They are all on 24 month contracts.
Once your quota has been used, you cannot further access the internet — other than certain free Optus sites and Facebook — until you buy a new data pack to tide you over until the next month.
“We’ve taken a new approach to our mobile broadband plan structure,” said Austin R. Bryan, the telco’s marketing director of its Consumer division in a statement. “For the first time, Optus mobile broadband customers will have access to cap plans that offer peak and off-peak data amounts, with double the data available for use in off-peak times.”
The telco offers two USB modems — the E610e device, which offers theoretical network speeds up to 3.6Mbps ($79 upfront of $3.30 per month for 24 months on a $20 plan or nothing on higher plans) or the E1762, which offers speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and will cost $129 upfront or $5.38 per month over 24 months on the $20 plan, or $99 upfront or $4.13 per month on the $30 or $50 plans — or nothing on the higher plans.
Optus has suffered complaints from customers in the past with respects to performance issues on its network. But Bryan said the network was continually being upgraded.
“We have continued to invest significantly in our network to support mobile broadband growth and improve customer experience,” he said. “The Optus 3G dual band mobile network now reaches more than 96 percent of the Australian population, with over 600 mobile sites constructed in the last financial year alone.”
Additional reporting by Dan Warne