TPG Mobile have changed carriers from Optus to Vodafone and it's actually a pretty decent low-mid tier user plan.
For $19.99/month (+$10 one off sim fee)
$400 Included "Value" for Calls and SMS
- call rates are the standard (ie pretty high) for these sort of caps - 99c/min + 40c flag fall, SMS 25.3c. MMS 50c.
1.3GB Included Data (per KB Billing)
-option of +$10/GB excess blocks
And for what they are worth…
Unlimited Calls to TPG Mobile, TPG Home Phone, TPG Support 13 14 23
Unlimited Voicemail Deposit & Retrieval
This is all on a month to month no contract basis.
There are also the higher caps, but in my opinion aren't that special in terms of what else is available at this price range:
$29.95/month for Unlimited calls and SMS w/ 2GB data
$39.95/month for Unlimited calls and SMS w/ 5GB data
The $19.99 deal is in my opinion one of the best around and arguably better than what it previously was under Optus, but now with a more useable data inclusion. No discount for TPG ADSL users unfortunately.
Caveats
-$10 one off SIM fee
-Vodafone Network
I haven't used them personally since the horror mass exodus days. Supposedly if Whirlpool is to be believed, they're now much improved especially around metro areas (less so in the bush). Have a look at Oztowers where you can actually find the Vodafone towers near you and the bands they operate on. Having a phone which has LTE 850MHz would be very useful to make the most of improved signal strength, especially indoors. It's the equivalent of 4GX for Telstra/Optus on their 700MHz band.
-Although you pay $19.99/month as technically a post paid plan, once you use up the $400 in call credits, you need to top up your account before able to make more calls/SMS. Good in that it helps avoid nasty bill shock. Inconvenient I guess if you're going over often, though it's probably a signal to change to a higher cap plan.
-No international SMS, voice calls included. As a suggestion, if these things are important to you, VOIP and web SMS services like Pennytel probably offer the best deals in relation to this.
Get out of jail free card…
If you don't like it for whatever reason (eg VF network), switch to this Optus deal before Nov 28
$20/month with Unlimited calls and SMS with 1GB/month. However, $10 discount only lasts for 12 months until which point it goes back to a pretty mediocre $30/month (ie look for someone else time).
=====================================================================================================================================================================
Comparisons for ~$20
1) Spintel - Optus 4G
The guys I used to be with. However, they've destroyed their own selling point with a new $5 fee to reduce down usage tiers starting next month in November.
It used to be that for $18/month you'd have 200 mins of calls, 200 SMS and 500MB of data, with the option of increasing calls/SMS/data by one tier if you breached the cap. Next month you could then reduce them back down to the minimums and see where the month takes you.
Now with a $5 tier reducing fee, you're essentially stuck on your higher usage tiers as it costs more to reduce them back down. Thus destroying the flexibility and whole point of the tier system.
Still a very good deal though if you're mainly after data. You could get for $27 4GB of data, 200 mins calls and 200 SMS.
2) Amaysim - Optus 4G
On their $19.99 Flexi plan you have 500Mb of included data and then you can use the rest of the credit for calls, SMS or data packs.
Pretty good, but if you can cope with the VF network the TPG deal offers a more balanced deal with more inclusions.
3) Boost Mobile Telstra 4G
Main pros are that it runs on the Telstra network. 1GB data inclusion and unlimited SMS is decent too. However, only 100 mins of calls. Also this weird Sunday extra data thing for 24 hours. Again the TPG deal has more inclusions, but it depends on whether you need Telstra for reception.
4) Vaya
Just don't go there. Horror stories by the truckload and dodgy as all hell. Highest number of TIO complaints for any carrier/number of users. They may seem cheap, but with the "out of my dead hands" $20 security deposit, errant billing and general unreliability, I'd stay far far away. Just have a look at some of the comments in the Ozbargain deals as well
Me too. Been with Vaya for over 12months. No problems whatsoever!
In fact TPG have been the Bain of my existence with my wofes SIM. Constant debits to my account and a lack of reception.
Time to look else where!