When buying phones or broadband service, it always pays to double check the details, as a couple of stories from Nick at Lifehacker’s sibling publication Gizmodo AU today make clear. Firstly, it seems that Optus is phasing out its prepaid iPhone plans; the only store now selling them is the main branch in Sydney. Optus is claiming stock issues, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the company’s relatively cheap opt-out plan means lots of people have purchased an iPhone from Optus and then jumped to another carrier. (Check out Lifehacker’s guide to choosing the right iPhone plan for more on what each carrier charges.)
In the wireless broadband space, Unwired is now offering a 10GB a month plan for $40, which sounds great until you realise that half of this is limited to off-peak browsing (the peak is strangely defined as 2pm to 2am) and that if you exceed the limit, speed drops to an abysmal 32Kbps. My own experience of Unwired has always been patchy even in fixed locations, and the coverage doesn’t extend across enough of the country to make it a good deal for travellers.
Prepaid iPhones all but gone, tricky deals from Unwired
Good point. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is happening. With prepaid the subsidies have to be such that carriers don’t lose money when customers churn or take the phone to another carrier. I don’t doubt that they dont’ want to be in the business of distributing iPhones; the money is in the replenishment!
2pm to 2am…wow, that’s strangely unuseful. I think prepaid carriers that offer clear and customer friendly terms will be successful. Their product is interesting, but their implementation appears to be a risk to their success. We’ll see.
Cheers,
PrepaidWirelessGuy
http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/wireless-refill.html