Optus per minute plans question

[karLos]

Apologies if this question has already been asked. I have been getting emails from exetel about porting my exetel vodafone service to an exetel optus service.

currently my vodafone service includes a minimum spend, but that also gives me that minimum spend worth of calls, data etc.

the optus plans also use the term 'minimum spend', but is that minimum spend also inclusive of of calls, data etc up to that value or is any usage charged additionally to the minimum spend?

thanks.

[karLos]

It would also be useful to know how the data is charged.

the vodafone plans require a minimum data session of a certain amount of data before it starts being charged, so on my bill there might be multiple short sessions that aren't charged because the session didn't use enough data.

do the optus plans work in the same way?

[karLos]

is anyone able to answer my question? thanks.

[bulletmark]

I have been getting emails from exetel about porting my exetel vodafone service to an exetel optus service.

So have I and after the first one I replied in email that the new per-min plans don't quote any rates for data which makes the email rather pointless.

They replied and said the per-min data rate is 24c/MB. This rate is obscene compared to the voda per-min plans which were 4 to 7c/MB. I suggested in email that it was mis-representative to not quote that rate in the promotion emails. I note another email was sent just recently, and again there is no information about the data rate.

[karLos]

Yeah, doubt i'll be switching if they're not going to provide any fine print. thanks for responding

[karLos]

yet another (that makes 3) email today from exetel about this, and still providing no further information.

noticing too now that the emails contain inaccurate information about the 'Mobile 2' vodafone plan, starting with quoting 22c per sms message. i've paid 15c per sms for a very long time now, and doubt the other costs associated with my service are quite as high as are stated.

since no one from exetel seems interested in answering my questions (but particularly about data use calculations), it's rather difficult to believe the rather bold statement that 'the CAP plan value you will be moving on to will be cheaper than you currently pay with more included value on calls and data.'

[karLos]

received it again (4th time)... still telling me incorrect things about my current plan. starting to get a bit spammy now, really.

[Catchwa]

I don't understand what is going to happen after March 31st. Are going to be able to sit on our existing Vodafone-provided plans forever? (I hope so)

[karLos]

they've said we're welcome to use them as long as we like, but they've said that before i'm sure.

what's supposed to happen on march 31?

[ExetelVoice]

currently my vodafone service includes a minimum spend, but that also gives me that minimum spend worth of calls, data etc.

Yes the minimum spend includes standard calls and SMS up to the value of the monthly minimum. Data is not included.

It would also be useful to know how the data is charged.

Data is additional at $0.24 per Mb on the per minute plans. This is stipulated on the Per minute plan page.
We are in negotiations with Optus to lower this rate as we realise it is prohibitive for the customers not willing to move onto CAP plans, where there are big data allowances.

I don't understand what is going to happen after March 31st. Are going to be able to sit on our existing Vodafone-provided plans forever?

We are not going to do anything on March 31st. You can stay on the Exetel (via Vodafone network) plans for as long as you wish.
Having said that, our preferred mobile supplier is now Optus, so we will be running campaigns to encourage customers to move over.

[karLos]

Thank you very much for answering my questions, and offering an update on the data cost. I'll keep an eye on it.

It does say 0.24 per mb on the per minute plan page, but it does not specify how individual data sessions are charged. not only did the vodafone plans include the data in the minimum spend, but the sessions had to download a certain amount before they were charged (exactly what that was i don't remember).

How this works is important detail, as many plans on offer (perhaps though not from exetel?) commonly incur minimum data sessions of as much as 1mb (so at exetel's pricing, 0.24 every time i connected, downloaded as little as say 15kb, and then disconnected). You can imagine the cost per month if you had push notifications or periodic email checking turned on...

thanks again

[vbap]

Hi KarLos,

I only have a CAP19 plan to go by, so I can't speak directly for the per minutes, but I assume it is the same.

Looking at the usage page for this CAP19 mobile account, it appears as though data sessions need to be aporund 15 - 20kB before they are charged. The largest usage session that reports as $0.00 is 11kb, and the lowest usage session that reports $0.01 is 22kB.

Hope that helps (even though mine is not an official answer).

[karLos]

vbap, that's interesting. sounds like it works in a not-dissimilar way to the vodafone plans.

[Catchwa]

I don't understand what is going to happen after March 31st. Are going to be able to sit on our existing Vodafone-provided plans forever?

We are not going to do anything on March 31st. You can stay on the Exetel (via Vodafone network) plans for as long as you wish.
Having said that, our preferred mobile supplier is now Optus, so we will be running campaigns to encourage customers to move over.

Thanks for the reply. As the Optus CAP 14 plan is more expensive than the Vodafone Mobile 10 Cap plan in pretty much every respect, I won't be moving any time soon.

[mart]

We need to watch our big B and little b

People seem to freely interchange MB and Mb (and kB and kb).
Mb = Megabit
MB= Megabyte

1 MB = 8 Mb.

What I want to know is the charge 24 cent per Megabyte or per Megabit?

The vodafone plans charge 7 cents for what I think is a Megabit.

I'm hoping the Optus charge of 24 cents is for a Megabyte. If its for a Megabit thats a pathetically high charge and I won't be changing any time soon.
Mart.