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Thread: Mobile Broadband Data Only Plans

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    Default Mobile Broadband Data Only Plans

    For years now I have paid for unlimited internet. There are some very good reasonably priced plans on both ADSL and Cable, and I have been reasonably happy with both the price and the service. I have recently had a look at mobile broadband data only plans for Android and Apple devices. A relative has a holiday house in an area which is about to go NBN. He currently has ADSL connected for less than $30 a month for about 20GB, which is usually enough data for their visits, though he can sometimes go back to dial-up speeds when his kids spend holidays there and get on Youtube. A suitable NBN plan is more than double the cost, and he is simply not prepared to pay it.

    I was quite surprised at the high cost of mobile data plans when compared to ADSL and Cable. There seem to be no unlimited plans at all. The cheapest plan for even 50GB seems to be about $80 per month. Obviously the better alternative in a holiday home would be to buy data with a long use time and renew it as necessary. Telstra wants something like $150 for 16GB to be used over 2 years. Suitable for watching a couple of movies I suppose. I haven't yet looked at Wireless ISP's if they are still even around.

    I can speculate that Telco's don't want to compete on data only plans partly becuase they can utilise VOIP services, but his is only speculation. I would appreciate some advice.

    In an NBN connected area what would be the best and cheapest alternative for an internet connection for a holiday home?

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    We just use a mobile broadband modem when away and make sure the kids stay off netflix, youtube and other data hungry sites.

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    'Unlimited' is a dirty word as far as Telstra Mobile Broadband is concerned and when their the 'Only Game in Town', you just smile and PAY.
    Until the introduction of the NBN SkyMuster satellite I was paying $99 a month to Telstra for their Mobile Broadband for 15 GB. The actual cost was a $110 but because I 'bundled' the Home phone into the deal, I got $10 off the price and if I signed up for a Mobile service at $49 a month I had no use for, I could have 'saved' a further $10.
    On top of the $99 was the usual landline rental and calls so very rarely was I ever under a $150 a month.
    Because I still had it from when Telstra had a 'cheapie' deal going for those Elite Broadband modems, I bought it to make up the 'shortfall' as required when the other one ran out of credit as there was no option to recharge during the month if you ran out.

    The SIM card in the elite has a 12 month expiry so I just charged it the other day with 5GB for $50 which added to what was already there for use when I need it.

    I wanted to use Optus one time because they had a good offer but I needed the devise to have an antenna input due to being in a poor signal area but only Telstra has that it seems.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    We attempted to sign up with Optarse about 20 years ago. They were going to ring back with answers to some questions we had before we put pen to paper, we're still waiting........

    Sadly, the Telstra network is still the only kid in town for many communities. Even if there are other suppliers, they all lease Telstra equipment. Getting a problem resolved then becomes a "Not our gear, check with..."

    Just signed up with Netflix and so far my average data usage seems to be about 20Gb data a day (max). Wife is on NF of a good part of the day (she is bedridden) and I only watch it for a couple of hours at night.

    Of course if I ever get the NBN data usage may increase. NBNco say that it is available in my area but all I get when I search on the various provides sites is that ADSL is the best I can get.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Give NBNco a ring yourself to see what is available because even now after 9 months of using SkyMuster, the only ISP I have shown available is Telstra Mobile net.
    Some of my area is due for both Wireless and 'cable' from about midyear according to releases by the Federal Member.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    look at optus contract mobile broad band, my inlaws live 40+km from the nearest optus 4g tower in any direction and they get 3/5 signal strength on a usb modem with an external antenna on the roof (RFI col2195 for a reference, a COL7195 would be a better match for the tower, its 4G 700mhz), they get 10mb/s down and 1.5mb/s up and get quota free netflix pandora spotify etc, you can buy the usb modem in either wifi or non wifi versions or as a wifi hot spot with a battery, im sure optus' fair play policy might have conditions re quota free usage etc,

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    Just be aware with dear Optus as I went to their store in Bathurst one day to enquire about both Mobile phone and wireless Internet use and the salesman told me he would not sell me anything as I was deemed (home address) to be 'outside' an Optus coverage area according to their Data base.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    Just be aware with dear Optus as I went to their store in Bathurst one day to enquire about both Mobile phone and wireless Internet use and the salesman told me he would not sell me anything as I was deemed (home address) to be 'outside' an Optus coverage area according to their Data base.
    thats why i bought a $14.50 prepaid 4g modem from optus to check if there was any coverage where my inlaws live so they could see if its viable to change carriers from telstra for mobile broadband.

    hauwei e3372 is the modem, has 2 x crc9 antenna ports for mimo/recieve diversity,

    there is also a wifi version out there but harder to come by, but a 3g/4g wifi router can overcome this

    since i know you live in the lithgow/bathurst region, the optus shop in penrith plaza had about 7 of these modems on the shelf when i was there last weekend.

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