We are 4 persons living in one flat so what's the best plan for us?

Hi Naser,

Well, this is going to depend upon what the broadband needs of you and your flatmates are! It might be that none of you use very much internet, or that one of you uses a lot and the rest of you only use a little. However, I'd recommend that you go for an unlimited plan. You can get unlimited plans at fairly inexpensive prices these days, especially when you're splitting the bill four ways, and it's better to be safe and be covered for all eventualities so that you don't end up having your internet slowed down for the rest of the month.

You didn't mention whether or not you have a home phone. It's always cheaper to get your phone and internet from the same provider, so we'll proceed on the assumption that you want to go about getting your internet that way. I'm going to presume there are three possible options here for how you feel about getting a home phone connected.

SCENARIO NUMBER ONE

You absolutely need a home phone, and you need to be able to make calls on it, too! It would be good if some calls were provided for free.

Solution: Call Optus on 1300 137 897. They don't do unlimited internet, but they can give you a high data quota per month, and they'll usually give you unlimited calls to a range of numbers, e.g. local, national, mobile calls.

SCENARIO NUMBER TWO

You don't need a home phone! None of your housemates make any calls on it ever and you don't want to pay phone line rental! You've heard about something called Naked Broadband, where you don't get the phone, and you think that sounds cool.

Solution: Actually, no, you, don't want Naked Broadband. Naked Broadband has a range of good things going for it – see below – but a cheaper price isn't one of them. If the main reason you want to get a Naked Broadband connection is to save money on your line rental, just know that this isn't going to happen. You're still using the copper line to get internet, and so the provider you're getting internet from is still leasing that line from Telstra, and so even if you're not paying a separate price for line rental, it's still going to be a fee that is budgeted into your overall plan.

A better idea is to get a bundle plan from TPG or Dodo. Both of these providers will give you a home phone and internet connection at a very low price – usually around $60 a month for unlimited broadband. You won't get the cost of any calls included, but that doesn't matter if you're not going to use the phone; just don't bother plugging one in, and enjoy the cheap unlimited ADSL2+ connection. Call TPG on 1300 106 571 or Dodo on 1300 136 793.

SCENARIO NUMBER THREE

You don't need a home phone, because you're worried that if you get one, one of your housemates will start making extremely expensive calls. If you're footing the bill, you don't want anyone to be able to make calls and bring the price up every month without you being able to stop them.

Solution: This is the situation in which you need Naked Broadband, which will make it impossible for anyone to make any calls. If you're going to be the bill payer, and you're worried about having complete control over this bill, Naked Broadband is the way to go. We recommend MyNetFone, who are currently offering a free modem and free set-up on a 12 month plan, for the best Naked Broadband plans. Call them on 1300 106 571.

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to call us on 1300 106 571.

Mikaella.