Optus is about to shake up its plan offerings by switching to per-minute charging rather than the dollar amount allowances and making bill shock more difficult to accomplish, but we’re going to have to wear yet another reduction in data allowances to get there.
The number-two telco is moving the furniture around starting next month by simplifying its plan offerings and rolling out a weird new logo and corporate identity.
Optus My Plan
The new plans see the $30 and $35 Optus Plans abolished in favour of the entry-level $50 Optus My Plan. Text messages are all free as they were on the previous Optus Plans, and now MMS is also now free on every plan tier, too. On the old plan structure, MMS was free only on the two highest tier plans.
The $50 My Plan gets you 450 standard minutes and 500MB of data (it used to get you 1GB of data); the $60 My Plan gets you 600 minutes and 1GB of data (previously you got 1.5GB of data); the $80 My Plan gets you 800 minutes and 2GB of data (data unchanged) and the $100 My Plan gets you unlimited minutes and 3GB of data (data unchanged). Gone is the $130 Timeless Plan at the top of the roster which used to get you 4GB of included data and unlimited calls, SMS and MMS.
The new My Plans also have safety nets you can implement to stop your bill being gigantic should you exceed your monthly allowance. If you go over your minutes each month you can spend an extra $5 — $10 and add bolt on minutes, and likewise for data.
These plans are illustrated in the table below.
You’ll be able to have at these new plans from 1 July.
SIM-Only
If $50 per month is a bit too rich for your skin, Optus has a range of SIM-only plans to get you by, each of which varies in value compared to the old Optus Plans.
The $25 My SIM plan gets you 100 minutes and 200MB of included data; the $40 My SIM plan gets you 500 minutes and 1GB of data while the $65 My SIM plan gets you unlimited minutes and 2GB of data.
These plans also have their own safety nets you can add on, too.
You’ll be able to have at these new plans from 1 July.
What do you think of the new plans?