Cheapest plans
Telstra
The carrier’s cheapest plan remains pricey compared to its competition. The S6 will cost $80 per month, while the S6 Edge will cost $86 per month. The plan comes with:
• $550 of national calls and MMS
• Unlimited texting
• 500MB of data
• And the choice of $500 extra credit to be used on national calls and MMS messages, or an additional 500MB of data per month
What happens if I go over my data allowance? Every megabyte in excess of your data allowance is charged at 3 cents, which works out to cost $30.75 for every additional gigabyte.
Telstra is in the middle of revising these charges and, as of 12 May, its customer base can choose to be charged $10 for every additional gigabyte.
Bonuses: Bundled is a six month subscription to the video on demand service Presto. Note that using Presto will come out of your data allowance and, if you go over the allowance, you will incur additional charges.
Vodafone
Vodafone is offering the Samsung flagships on its $30 plan, with handsets instalments of $32 for the Galaxy S6 and $37 for the S6 Edge.
This plan caters to the bare essentials. It includes:
• $300 of included credit for national calls, SMS and MMS messages
• 300MB of data.
How much does extra data cost? Vodafone charges $10 extra for every gigabyte of data over your allowance. This works out to cost one cent ($0.01) for every megabyte you go over.
Bonuses: Students who take one of these phones on this plan get an extra 500MB of data every month for the first year if they order online.
Optus
Optus is offering the Galaxy S6 duo on its $35 My Plan Plus. Handset instalments are $25 for the Galaxy S6 and $31 for the S6 Edge.
Plan inclusions are:
• 300 minutes worth of national calls
• 500MB of data
• Unlimited national and international SMS and MMS messaging
How much does extra data cost? Optus charges $10 extra for every gigabyte of data over your allowance. This works out to cost one cent ($0.01) for every megabyte you go over.
Bonuses: Optus is hoping the low cost of this plan is enough to entice prospective customers.
Virgin
Virgin is offering the Galaxy S6 range on its $30 Plan. The monthly instalment for the Galaxy S6 is $29, while the S6 Edge is a tad more expensive at $34 per month. Ultimately the total monthly repayment will be $59 and $64 respectively.
These plans aren’t for intensive smartphone users — or for regular smartphone users. Virgin is targeting light users here, or those who will go over and yield to paying extra in charges. And those who do go over will be slugged in data costs.
Plan inclusions:
• $300 credit, to be used on standard national calls and texts
• 300MB of included data
How much does extra data cost? Virgin’s excess data charges are outrage compared to its rivals. The telco charges five cents ($0.052) per megabyte, which works out to be $53.25 per gigabyte.
Bonuses: Separating Virgin from the big three Australian telcos is its data rollover policy. Any data you don’t use will be added to your data allowance in the coming month. This is a first in the Australian telco market and it ensures the data you’re paying for gets used.
