I need some help to choose between Telstra and Optus..
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PeraPHon Posts: 12
Phone Model: 3210 (soon to change)
Service Provider: Telstra
Wed Apr 23, 2003 5:06 am
I personally am with Telstra, have been since about the beginning of 2000. I suppose the decision should be based on where you are in our wide and wonderful land, and how much you use the fone.
I am with Telstra because they appear to have better GSM coverage in regional NSW, if those wonderful coverage maps are anything to judge by. If you're in a capital city, makes no difference with coverage. As far as CDMA goes - it's anyone's guess.
As far as plans go, I am on an old Telstra Flexi-Plan (no longer available to new customers). On this plan, I have per-second billing, off-peak, and cheaper rates from Mobilenet to Mobilenet. For $33 per month I get $27.50 of included calls. On the new More4U plans, you have the _choice_ of per-second billing OR Off Peak, and if you are a member (sign up for 12 months), you can also choose another option such as free chat, free 24/7 and another one that I can't remember, as well as a monthly "member bonus".
I am still working out if I would be better off on the old plan or a newer one.
With Optus, you get that wonderful Yes Time, but only from one Optus to another. There is also the Yes Anyphone, get first 10 mins for 30c or something like that. Coverage, probably very much of a muchness to Telstra.
Chances are the flagfall charge is about the same for both.
Optus allows you to roll over unused call credits into the next month, Telstra doesn't.
Hope that helps!
SMSphreakz Posts: 2
Phone Model: Siemens S45
Service Provider: Optus
Wed Apr 23, 2003 10:09 pm
I'm in Victoria, optus coverage is not really gd, but it's okay. I'm currenly using Optus Prepaid, SMS alot! I've spent abt $90 a mth on SMS! I'm international student btw. Basically, i seldom make phone calls, but SMS alot as u can see. So which should i use??
PeraPHon Posts: 12
Phone Model: 3210 (soon to change)
Service Provider: Telstra
Thu Apr 24, 2003 4:30 am
Ok so if texting is your thing, you might want to look at ALL the other options, including Vodafone, Virgin and Orange (Virgin and Orange are using Optus' equipment I think).
Telstra is 25c/msg
Optus is 25c/msg
Vodafone is hard to say (website is difficult) - prolly around 22.5c/msg for you
Virgin is 20c/msg (10c Virgin to Virgin)
Orange is 22c/msg
My guess is if you go with Virgin, you may end up with a better deal and with the same coverage since Virgin is using Optus' gear.
jarrad Posts: 1
Phone Model: 6610
Service Provider: telstra
Tue May 13, 2003 6:20 am
In reference to Telstra over Optus, I am with Tesltra. I started with them in 1998 and went to Optus in 2000 and went back to telstra mid 2001. This was due to rates were cheaper with telstra and coverage was better. There is a plan (was a plan about 3-6mnths ago) that was for 80-95% smsing. There was cheaper sms but dearer phone calls of course, however when your hardly not using them who cares. I think that telstra is better but then others say optus, so if i was you, find out what you want to know from the companys and go with whatever one you want at that time and then if it isnt what you think, you learnt your lesson.
PeraPHon Posts: 12
Phone Model: 3210 (soon to change)
Service Provider: Telstra
Tue May 13, 2003 7:03 am
Yea but a lot can change in 2 or 3 years. Competition is always a powerful incentive and makes things very interesting (and sometimes confusing) for the consumer, and if Optus continues the way they are, they may end up taking a fairly significant chunk of the market away from Telstra.
As I wrote above, I am sticking on my older Telstra plan for the time being, because I want both per-second billing and off peak... plus, admittedly, Telstra does have superior coverage. On the other hand, I have also been looking at Virgin Mobile, and they appear to be fairly competitive. They are using Optus' gear to provide service.
The one thing that Virgin doesn't offer is WAP. I sent an e-mail to the Virgin Mobile people asking about WAP access, and they more or less said that they are workin on it and they should have a WAP service available in the near future.
When I finally get my new handset, then I will make the decision based on what is available at the time. Like I said, competition makes for an interesting world, and it will be interesting to see if, and by how much, things change in the near future.
soy Posts: 2
Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:54 pm
sorry if this is a bit Off-Topic, but for those that have Telstra do you know if your provider assigns your cell phone with an email address?
I have Virgin Mobile and can't internationally text to Australia, but they said I could if I knew the phone's assigned email address (for example mine is MYNUMBER@vmobl.com ) If anyone has information about Telstra and if they do or do not have assigned addresses I would greatly appreciate it.
