Looking for a bundle home phone and internet.

Hi Lisa,

You've found one of the most interesting (and attractive) offers on the market at the moment. We've already written extensively about Optus's free broadband offer, and the Home Phone Advantage Plan in particular. You raise an interesting point – price wise, is it the cheapest?

Well, for $59.99 per month you're getting your home phone and 50GBs of internet. The pros of that plan are:

1. The phone includes a lot of free calls – unlimited calls to local, national, and 13/1300 numbers. If you use your home phone a lot, this is a good plan in that it includes those free calls and will help you keep your phone bill at the end of the month down.
2. The broadband isn't on a contract. That means that if you spy a better deal, you can always snatch it up.
3. If it's available in your area, Optus will give you cable broadband. This is a pretty impressive offer – cable is the fastest and best broadband service currently available in Australia, and you're sure to find it an improvement... if you can get it!
4. Free connection and free modem.

However, there are also some key disadvantages that you'll need to consider before signing up with Optus. The two big ones are:

1. The broadband may not be on a contract – but the phone is: a twenty-four month contract. That's a long time to sign up with one provider, and it means you won't be able to get any of the other attractive home phone + internet bundles that so regularly come up on the market.
2. You only get 50GBs. If this is enough for you – great! If not, you're stuck with it. There's no ability to upgrade, no chance of buying data packs at the end of the month, and no way to do anything but sigh and put up with the slow internet until the beginning of the next month.

In conclusion: yes, it's a great plan! But you do have other options open to you, which I'd recommend particularly if you think you might need more than that 50GB. For example:

TPG offers an Unlimited ADSL2+ and Home Phone plan for $59.99 per month – exactly the same amount you'd be paying for that 50GB from Optus – and it's available on a six month contract. TPG doesn't give you any free calls, but if you're more concerned about the broadband, they're definitely a good alternative. To find out more or sign up, call us now on 1300 106 571.

Alternatively, you could try a provider like MyNetFone. MyNetFone offer Naked Broadband, which is broadband without the home phone, but you can also easily add in a VoIP plan, which is a phone that runs over the internet. VoIP calling charges are typically cheaper, and MyNetFone has some very cheap bundles that you can add on. MyNetFone also offer free connection and a free modem on certain plans. Call them for more information on 1300 106 571.

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions feel free to call us on 1300 106 571.

Mikaella.