How do I sort out which is the best plan for me?
I have a home phone, a home desk top computer and three lap tops operating off our modem as well as an iPad. I have two teenagers who are both studying their senior years as well as downloading music and the odd movie. I have a mobile and my husband has a mobile, mine is with the home bundle (currently) and my husband's and two teenagers are prepaid (Vodaphone) I currently have an Ultimate plan and have 25 gig download (which is ALWAYS being slowed at least for a week before the next cycle).....Help! Thanks, Mandy.
12/07/2012
Hi Mandy,
Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to find a plan when you have that many features and possibilities to consider. Let's break it down into the component parts, so that you can see just how simple it can be.
- You need a broadband connection, preferably over 25GB – something like 50GB would probably be more than enough. You want this broadband connection to be WiFi, so that multiple devices can operate on it in different rooms at the same time.
- You want a home phone connection. You haven't said anything about free calls on this home phone, so I'm going to presume that you do most of your calls on your mobiles, and mostly have the landline phone so that people can reach you and for a back-up.
- You need four mobiles. Everyone in your household seems to have different needs for the phones; you'd probably want some light plans and some heavy plans.
First of all, let's look at the easiest part of this conundrum. You can get a home phone and internet bundle for around that data allowance for very little. I'd recommend TPG or Dodo.
Or click here for the best home WiFi plans.
TPG offers a 100GB ADSL2+ and Home Phone Bundle Plan for $49.99 per month. The plan includes 100GB (split into 50GB peak and 50GB off-peak) and the home phone, but not the cost of any calls. For a family like yours, it would be an ideal plan – more than enough data to keep you from being annoyingly slowed down at the end of the month, and the landline available there too. Call us for more information on TPG or to sign up today on 1300 106 571.
Dodo offers a 100GB ADSL2+ and Home Phone Bundle Plan too, for $49.80 per month. The plan is identical to TPG's, but if you get Dodo on a 24 month contract, they're willing to give you a free modem and free connection. Call Dodo for more information or to sign up today on 1300 136 793.
You also want the connection to be WiFi. This is the easy part of setting up: making sure you have a WiFi network in your house is just a matter of getting the right hardware. As long as you have a WiFi modem, you'll be able to make those plans accessible on all your internet devices in every room of the house. Talk to the providers about what kind of modem they supply and whether or not it's WiFi, and how much it will cost you. WiFi networks are simple to set up – just make sure that you password protect them so your neighbours can't access them!
When it comes to the mobiles, you have a couple of options. Both TPG and Dodo will bundle in mobiles for very little added extra cost to their plans (TPG in particular are good with this – you can add a mobile that has $550 worth of credit and 1.5GB of data for just an additional $14.99 per month to your bundle plan). But you could also look at another provider to get your mobiles through them, instead.
I'd recommend Amaysim. They have three layers of plans, from the Pay As You Go Plan (where you pay for every single call you make, with very low call rates) to the Unlimited Plan for just $39.90 per month (totally unlimited calls and texts within Australia, and 4GB of data). There's sure to be a plan there to suit everyone in your family, and they don't do contracts, making it even more appealing; you can call them for more information or to sign up today on 1300 791 895.
I hope this helps, Mandy! If you have any further questions feel free to call us on 1300 106 571 and we'll be happy to help you out.
Mikaella.
