Last week, Optus announced that over the next two years, they would slowly be phasing out their Virgin Mobile brand and be shutting 36 stores across Australia. We know have a more accurate picture of when the stores will be closing and what Virgin's million-plus customer base will have access to, come closing time. Here's what you need to know if you're a Virgin Mobile customer and some potential alternative providers for you to take a look at.

Over the last couple of years Telstra has added several wholesale and retail partners that all offer Telstra 4G coverage, minus the Telstra price tag. You probably know a few of these, like Boost Mobile, but there are now 10 to choose from.

I read an article this week talking about the death of the landline in Australian homes. Seriously, didn't landlines use die out years ago? The hot new take on this topic is whether you need to be paying for phone calls at all.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't already, it is time to join the revolution. Recent findings from research group Telsyte revealed that over half of Australian phone owners have ditched phone plan contracts and now use BYO phone plans.

Not that we need to tell a tech savvy bunch like you. You're probably all using grey import, dual-SIM Xiaomi smartphones and have long known the virtues of SIM Only phone plans.

"Phone season" is well and truly in swing, with many of this year's big devices now available. There are a few more yet to be come, but a plethora of new phones is the perfect time for telcos to fight over customers looking to upgrade. This has led to some shakeups in the plan space, with plenty of new big data options.

Kogan Mobile's prepaid plans provide some excellent value, big data deals and reliable coverage with Vodafone's 4G network. If you're looking for a new prepaid plan this month you're not going to have to look for long - Kogan are offering up their prepaid plans for just $4.90.

Nowadays, almost every smartphone on the market is proudly 4G capable. The majority of mobile phone plans have followed suit - with everyone from Telstra to Vaya offering 4G network connectivity as standard. Consequently, the idea of a "3G-only" plan sounds positively archaic.

However, there are significant benefits to a 3G plan, ranging from cheap prices to generous data allowances of up to 90GB a month. If speed isn't hugely important to you - or you live in an area with flaky 4G coverage - the plans in this roundup could be worth considering.