Contract phone plans are a bad deal: not only are you stuck with the same phone and network for two years, you often end up with smaller data and call allowances than with a no-contract prepaid or month-by-month deal. We've eliminated the also-rans and come up with one firm recommendation for the best value no-contract prepaid deal on each of Australia's mobile networks.

Last month, ALDI Mobile surprised us by introducing a new plan with a vaguely decent data allowance. Now it is increasing the data allowances on most of its cheaper plans as well.

ALDI Mobile is notorious for reducing data allowances on its prepaid plans. In a reversal of its usual form, it has just introduced a new XXL prepaid plan which includes 4GB of data.

The history of ALDI Mobile has been one in which data allowances for customers have been steadily reduced. So we're somewhat surprised to learn that some plans are actually going to become a tiny bit more generous from November.

ALDI Mobile is continuing its long history of reducing its data allowances while charging the same amount of money for its prepaid plans. From 1 April (no joke), its $35 prepaid plan will include just 1GB of data each month -- less than half the current 2.5GB allowance and just one-fifth of the 5GB it originally launched with.

When ALDI Mobile changed the name of its "Unlimited" plan to "$35 Plan" last November, we suggested this was a good move to avoid incurring the wrath of the regulator, given the many limitations the plan included. It turned out the regulator was annoyed anyway, and now ALDI Mobile has signed a court-enforceable undertaking to make sure it doesn't repeat that kind of behaviour.

ALDI Mobile's plans keep offering less and less value. Last month it halved the data allowance on its 'Unlimited' Plan; now it has cut out the 'unlimited' part as well.

ALDI Mobile upset a lot of people earlier this week by halving the data allowance on its unlimited mobile plan. Even if you're not an ALDI Mobile customer, and even if the provider itself is dead within three months, there are some key lessons all data-hungry smartphone users can learn from the incident.

OK, so ALDI Mobile now looks like rather poorer value than before: it has just halved its monthly data allowance on its unlimited prepaid plan from 5GB to 2.5GB.

OK, this is ominous. ALDI Mobile has imposed daily download limits on its users, which is exactly the same thing that happened with Kogan Mobile not long before that service had to shut up shop last month after its wholesaler ispONE went broke.

Want a prepaid mobile phone plan with unlimited calls and texts within Australian? Even with the collapse of Kogan Mobile this week, you have plenty of choices. Planhacker has rounded up every available unlimited prepaid plan.

Maybe you're a Kogan Mobile customer annoyed that the service has gone under after its supplying wholesaler went into administration. Maybe you're an ALDI Mobile customer wondering what the future holds. Maybe you're looking for a new plan. Whatever your current situation, there are some things everyone can learn from the current prepaid dramas.

Kogan Mobile has upped the prices on its plans, and those price rises are likely to see many customers looking to switch to alternative options. How does Kogan now compare with the other prepaid offerings on the Telstra network which offer "unlimited" calls: ALDI Mobile, Boost Mobile and Telstra itself? We've crunched the numbers.

Just how 'unlimited' are Australia's unlimited pre-paid mobile phone services? We compare the small print of each telco to see how much phone usage is actually permitted -- along with your chances of getting disconnected from the service if you overstep the mark.

Or, if you're Boost Mobile, UNLTD calls, text and MMS, because vowels are just a hindrance. But how does it stack up to the other Telstra MVNOs?