How To Get A Cheaper Phone Plan Via MVNOs

It’s easy to only think of the big three telcos when you’re looking for a new phone plan, but they’re far from your only option.

There’s plenty of small providers – Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOS) – who resell access to the same phone networks, but often at a cheaper price. Since everyone loves saving money, here’s five of our favourite SIM-only plans from some of Australia’s smaller providers.

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amaysim

amaysim is currently offering three months of unlimited data on its $40 prepaid recharge. That’s truly unlimited, no strings attached data, as opposed to “unlimited” data where your speeds are capped after you exceed a base allowance. After your first recharges, your plan will revert to its standard 60GB data allowance, which is still pretty generous for $40 per 28 days. You’ll need to sign up before the end of January to get this deal. amaysim is powered by the Optus network.

Circles.Life

Sign up to Optus MVNO Circles.Life before January 10 with the promo code ’10FOR12′, and you’ll save $10 per month for your first 12 months. This gets you a 20GB plan for just $18 per month, with a bonus 3GB of “bill shock protection data” each month. The plan is contract-free however, so you can leave at any time.

Belong

Telstra’s budget brand Belong tends to undercut its mainline offers in a pretty big way. For example, $25 per month gets you 10GB on a no-contract Belong plan, whereas you’d pay $49 per month for 15GB on Telstra proper.

Belong plans all come with data rollover, which means you can save any unused data for later. If you manage to stockpile a good chunk of data and want to save some cash, you can always drop down to Belong’s $10 plan until you burn through your data bank.

Woolworths Mobile

If you’re after more data on the Telstra network, Woolies has got you covered. You can currently get 40GB for $40 per month on a 12-month contract, with an additional 10GB of bonus data every three months. Woolworths Mobile also offers data banking, allowing you to store up to 100GB of unused data for a rainy day.

Mate

NBN provider Mate only just got into the mobile world but has already proven itself a solid Telstra-powered option. $25 per month gets you a 15GB plan, along with unlimited international calls to 15 countries. Better yet, if you bundle your Mate mobile plan with a Mate NBN plan, you can save $10 per month from your total bill.

Alex Choros is Managing Editor at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.