‘3’ brings 7GB plans to the mobile broadband table: is it enough?

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Tuesday, 29 July 2008

Page 2 of 3 Both the 6GB/$39 plan and the 7GB/$49 plan will be sold on a 24 month basis, come with a free USB wireless broadband modem, and add to 3 Mobile’s existing plans which include a 1GB/$15 plan and a 3GB/$29 plan. X-Series users on the 500MB/$20 plan, the 1GB/$30 plan and the 2GB/$40 plans, called the ‘X-Series Ultimate plans’, now see those plans upgraded to 1GB, 2GB and 3GB respectively, at no extra charge. In addition, all the X-Series Ultimate plans see Skype minutes increased to 4000 minutes, although those on the $40 plan already had 4000 minutes allocated. 3 Mobile have also simplified their cheaper X-Series “Essentials” packs. Excess use charges for both the standard wireless broadband plans and the X-Series plans is charged at 10c per megabyte when that data is used in 3’s Mobile Broadband Zones, and area that covers most Australian capital cities and the Gold Coast, although data usage when roaming is charged at a much more expensive $1.65 per megabyte. Thus, the catch of using 3 Mobile remains the same as always – it’s perfect for city and metropolitan usage, and indeed will only be sold to you if you live in one of 3 Mobile’s broadband zones. In city areas, 3 Mobile hands-down offers the best pricing out there amongst its 3.5G competitors. But if you use it out of those areas, or find that your service often switches to roaming, be aware that you could experience bill shock. City users should make sure their 3.5G connection software is set to only connect to 3G networks so no accidental roaming is possible. All 3.5G mobile broadband users on any network should also be aware that any and all “uploads” are counted towards your download limit. No doubt 3 Mobile’s new plans will be of great interest to anyone wanting to jump on board the mobile broadband bandwagon, but hasn’t already signed up to anyone else’s two year contract and will do the vast majority of their wireless working in metro areas. But such a competitive new plan demands a response from Vodafone and Optus, both of whom have made moves with Vodafone launching 5GB/$39 first, and Optus launching 6GB/$49 not too long after. 7GB is great, but who’ll be first to break the 10GB barrier? Please read on to page 3. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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