Three will pay you to buy an iPhone from Optus

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Dan Warne31 July 2008, 4:06 PM

The telco spurned by Apple so far -- Three -- has announced tasty plans for iPhone users who bring their own 3G handset.


Three doesn't have the announcement it probably wanted to make: that it is to become the fourth official telco to be selling the iPhone. But it has a tasty offer all the same: fantastic value plans for people who bring their own iPhone to the telco.

Currently, the only way to get an iPhone in Australia that's not locked to a particular network is to buy an iPhone through Optus on a prepaid basis, then pay an $80 unlocking fee. Prepaid iPhones from Optus cost $729 for an 8GB model, or $849 for a 16GB. Combined with the $80 unlocking fee, that equates to $809 for an 8GB and $929 for a 16GB.

When you bring your own phone to Three, the telco will pay you $300 to offset the cost of buying the phone from Optus (in the form of a $300 account credit on your Three bill). Suck on that, Apple!

So the real starting price for putting your iPhone on Three is either $549 for an 8GB, or $649 for 16GB. But after that, the pricing becomes a lot sweeter than any of the 'official' telcos. The catch, however, is that you have to sign up for 24 months with Three -- fair enough considering they're giving you a $300 credit.

The deals (which will be available from 4th August):



Naturally, there are the normal caveats that apply to any service with Three...
  • Your massive cap only includes up to $100 of international calls, video calls, SMS, voicemail, 13/1300/1800 numbers and directory assistance.
  • If you are in a blackspot of Three coverage, and roam on to Telstra you'll pay $1.65 per MB -- which could add up quickly with the iPhone's data-guzzling propensity
  • If you disconnect within 24 months, Three will make you pay $49 or $50 per month depending on your plan for the remaining months of the contract.

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gankul (Cornerstone member):

This is awsome,

Although threes coverage can be a bit wavey, this is offset by great plans (compared to the other iphone telcos) and three just giving the finger to apple.

31 July 2008, 4:49 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Discosis (User):

But 10c/MB "Additional Use" is *still* raping customers.

31 July 2008, 7:09 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Alex Kidman (User):

They're not exactly *paying* you $300, though, are they? They're just giving you $300 "worth" of calls.. which has a much lower real value. And in fact, it's not even that good -- the T&C says that the $300 credit is applied to the first or second bill only...

31 July 2008, 7:44 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne (Administrator):

Well, not exactly.. they're giving you a real $300 credit. That's not $300 worth of capped call value -- that's an actual $300. So, say you're on a $50 plan with them, that will pay for six months of service.

31 July 2008, 8:54 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Alex Kidman (User):

Well, reading the terms of the release they sent out today, "Credit applied to first or second bill", which would imply that it's not rolling and not applicable to six month's worth of bills. I could always be wrong there (there's always a 56,312th time), but why limit it to the first two bills if it's not?

And in any case, it's not like you wander in there and they hand over three hundred smackers for you to carry away in your wallet -- it's still $300 worth of "service". So the line that Three will pay you $300 is a touch inaccurate.

31 July 2008, 9:48 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Jarrod Spiga (User):

I believe that you're misinterpreting the fine print. A $300 credit will be applied to your service, but it may not appear on your account immediately (which probably indicates that some sort of manual process is involved).

The line you've quoted does NOT indicate that the credit has to be completely used on your first or second bill - it indicates when the $300 credit will apply.

Ultimately this means that (if you're on the $49 cap plan) your first bill may be for $49, which you'll have to pay. Your second bill may show the $300 credit, and your account balance after your second bill will be CR$251.00. Payment for your third and subsequent bills will then come out of the credit that is on your account. In this case, you wouldn't have to pay any more until you receive your eighth bill (unless you acquire other charges that fall outside your cap).

01 August 2008, 11:22 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Alex Kidman (User):

Yep, that could all be 100% accurate. There's still a gulf, however, between a line that says that three will "Pay you" (which more or less implies that you'll walk out with money in your pocket) and that Three will give you a $300 credit.

Which also begs the question: Is Three taking a financial bath on the hopes of attracting high-margin iPhone customers, or are the margins on phone/data products stupendously high, so that they're taking no real risk at all?

01 August 2008, 11:30 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne (Administrator):

I don't think they're taking a bath -- they're just giving you the subsidy they'd normally use to provide you with an $0 phone. (In fact, I'd say this is a less generous offer than a normal phone, because the handset is worth a lot more than $300 ... and if Three were to be genuinely retailing the phone, they'd be paying more than $300 in subsidy.)

01 August 2008, 2:19 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

njak (New user):

849 + 80 is 929 not 949

01 August 2008, 7:56 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Herdmasa (New user):

the only thing that makes me not want to go to three for an iphone is their terrible 3g coverage. it's great in the city, but not much else. and i do not want to get raped by them for 'roaming charges'

05 August 2008, 11:52 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Herdmasa (New user):

the only thing that makes me not want to go to three for an iphone is their terrible 3g coverage. it's great in the city, but not much else. and i do not want to get raped by them for 'roaming charges'

05 August 2008, 11:55 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

juzza7 (New user):

who would go wit three when virgin is offering iphone 8bg free on $70 cap. total cost over 24months is $1680. but if you were to go with three pre-paid but still locked for 24months on a $49 cap it would cost $1176 and then to buy a 8gb iphone outright from optus for $929 the total cost for it would be $2105! that is crazy! three aint going to win any customers over.. thats if there smart and add up tha total cost

16 August 2008, 5:15 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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