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E.Tel $30/28 Days (1st Mth $25) - 2.5GB Data (1st Mth 12GB) w/ Unltd Rollover, Unltd Talk & Text, $30 Intl, Optus 4G ($10 Setup)

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I spotted this deal a few days ago on a poster and forgot to look into it. The ad that I saw, which was a poster, said 12GB data for $25. Remembered last night and it actually looks really good.

Only thing is, this telco seems really really unknown. I personally have heard of them before, but not in a long time and I recall they were nothing flash when I last looked at them many years ago. It seems like there's only ever been one post about them on Ozbargain, and the Whirlpool topic is not very active (last post was July 2014). Maybe I've missed a more recent post..?

There are actually 3 plans that go under their Unlimited Data Rollover plans, but I think the $30 one is the sweet spot. Key details of this plan:

  • $30/28 days ($25 for the first 28 days)
  • $10 setup fee
  • Direct debit required
  • 12GB data first month (billed per KB, drops to 2.5GB afterwards?)
  • Unlimited standard local calls (i.e. Australian landlines and mobiles)
  • Unlimited calls to 13/18 numbers
  • Unlimited SMS
  • $30 worth of credit for calls/texts to international numbers (calls to selected countries are charged at $0.15/min, texts at $0.15 per 160 chars) - no flagfall - different rates for other countries
  • Selected countries are: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, HK, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, NZ, Philippines, S.Korea, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, UK, USA and Vietnam.
  • (Dug this up from T&Cs) No excess charges. Once you reach the limit of any of your inclusions, your inclusions gets auto-renewed
  • You can change between the plans
  • Unlimited data rollover - according to the Critical Information Summary this can be rolled over for an unlimited number of billing periods as long as you are on this plan
  • Optus 4G

Down the bottom, the fine print also says this:

NOTE: New promotion effective from 01/06/2016 to 31/08/2016. Existing customers will receive the extra data bonus for billing periods within the promotion period. Unlimited Data Rollover $40 standard data allowance upgraded from 4GB to 5GB from 01/06/2016.

Due to this, I'm assuming the data inclusion drops to 2.5 or 8.5GB after 31/08/2016 (unsure as the bonus data included actually says 2.5GB + 1GB).

Other notable, potential negatives that I can find:

  • No branches, only dealers
  • Phone support only available Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
  • $25 SIM replacement fee (plus you might need to wait a while for delivery, given there are no branches)
  • Seems like there's no international data roaming (point 4 of T&Cs)
  • To cancel, you must provide written notice (I assume this isn't necessary if you are porting your number away, as opposed to cancelling your service)

The other interesting plan that I noticed, should the plan above not suit you, is their $19.90/mth plan which seems to be a potential alternative for those who are in the $18-20/mth range and are probably using Vaya or Jeenee at the moment. The main advantage that I can see with E.tel is for those who use a little less data, don't make many calls but have a strong desire for some international credit:

  • $19.90/mth
  • $20 setup
  • 3GB data first month (billed per KB, includes 1.5GB bonus)
  • If you exceed the allowance, you are automatically charged an extra $5 for 500MB
  • $30 of "credit" for local & international calls, local & international SMS (billed at $0.10/min + $0.29 flagfall for local calls and selected countries, $0.10/txt local, $0.25/txt international)
  • Selected countries are: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, HK, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, NZ, Philippines, S.Korea, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, U K, USA and Vietnam.
  • Direct debit required

Notable potential negatives:

  • $25 SIM replacement fee
  • As above, phone support only available Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
  • To cancel, you must provide written notice before the 15th of each month
  • No MMS included as part of credit allowance
  • $25 fee for porting out?!?!?!

Now that I've come to the end of my explanation, I'm feeling like both these plans were nowhere near as good as when I first looked into it. The potential setup fees, porting out fees, limited hours for phone support drag this down. I thought the 12GB data would drop to 8.5GB, but I'm seeing the 2.5GB data figure appear more often… I think the 2.5GB + 1GB data is just a typo.

I've spent the last ~45 mins researching this though so I will post this anyway, but this will get nowhere near as many positive votes as I was expecting LOL. If this even helps one person, I'll be happy!

The only way I can see this 12GB plan being potentially good value is for someone who uses somewhere around 2.5GB data per month, who then ends up with 9.5GB data up their sleeve as rollover which can be used as a buffer for the next however many months, given this plan has unlimited rollover.

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closed Comments

  • +9

    +1 for research

  • +1

    +1 for description

  • +2

    +1 for easy to read dot points

    • -1

      And there's a lot of them

  • Good effort! Only change I'd suggest is to reconsider the 12GB in title as it's 1st month only and then seems to drop to 2.5GB.

    • Can't disagree with you on that. Changed.

  • Cheers, comment edited

  • Any other cheaper plans like $10 for 2GB data + unlimited calls?

    • +1

      Nah probably need to be a starter pack slut like I am for that kind of pricing.

  • +9

    Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've had a horrible experience with e.tel. I'd avoid them.

    I signed my sister up to a similar $20/month plan way back, but the monthly bill came out to $24/month. shrugs

    Apparently extra surcharges weren't included or something (the mistake might have been going to the e.tel dealer in Chatswood, because he's a bit of a crook).

    Anyhow, porting a number out is almost impossible, they insist that you never notified them about porting out even if you have, then continually claim that you need to spend another month with them.

    The idea is to make it as hard as possible for you to port out. $25 port out fee is very real.

    They tried the good ol' Vaya "security deposit" trick once but they seem to have stopped since I presume the TIO stepped in. At least in the PAYG prepaid scene it's just a $10 "low credit warning" where they freeze it if you go under $10.

    I wanted to fight them via the TIO, but at this point my sister just wanted a phone number and 4G internet access so she could instagram and snapchat or whatever it is young people do these days.

    Personally I've spent a good 10 years with e.tel/e.mobile. Before I saw the light of OzBargain, I used to be on their PAYG prepaid services and they'd deduct $1 a month a service fee.

    Phone calls still in this day age have a flagfall on the prepaid plan and a pretty hefty price/minute.

    The clincher is that they tried to make me pay $25 for a micro SIM when I got a Nexus 4 and that if your credit ever drops below $10 they freeze your account to encourage you to recharge with them and them only.

    TL;DR: e.tel/e.mobile is basically a jealous girlfriend who randomly kicks you in the groin with a service fee and never lets you leave.

    On principle, I'd avoid supporting their business practices, as much as possible.

    • +2

      Not taking it the wrong way at all.

      Sounds like another case of Vaya. I'm amazed you spent 10 years on them though!!!! Flagfall on a plan (regardless of postpaid and prepaid) doesn't seem unusual though. I can only think of Telstra Postpaid and MeUMobile that don't charge flagfall. I'm sure there's more, but there aren't many.

      $25 porting out fee is unbelievable though. Saw that right at the end of my research and just thought WTF

    • +1

      I've had a similar experience.

      Firstly their usage data is minimum 48 hours behind, at worst 5 working days. When questioned they claimed it to be Optus' fault. Then they offered to send me SMS when I have hit 90% of the usage. Again, SMS comes 2-5 days late. Anyway, good luck if you want to know your usage.

      Generally speaking, pretty poor customer service, and that's coming from someone who has stuck with TPG for 20 years.

  • +2

    Be aware that $30 for 28 days is 13 payments per 364 days, the equivalent of $32.50 per month if you want to compare it to other deals.

  • Only really good for the first month. $30 for 3.5gb afterwards.

    You can pay $5 more with Jeenee and get 6Gb a month.

    Not worth the hassle.

  • -4

    NO bargains! I paid $2 for WW SIM with 6GB data + $1000 calls.

    • +2

      Agreed, that is/was a fantastic deal, but apples and oranges.

      Btw I think you got ripped off. I paid $1 for it.

    • +4

      What a crap deal I only paid half that.

    • +1

      no deal. I also paid $1

  • It's optus +1

  • Good research though! +1 for saving me the effort and publishing - people can always make their own choices.

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