Thread: New cheap mobile phone network provider

Thanks! As a person whose yearly mobile expenditure more closely approximates what most companies want to bill you per month, they look quite interesting!

If you have a gmail account you can make calls from your email to land lines. I use it for long distance calls. It's just like dialing and sitting at your LAN phone.

Positives:
1) It's as clear and reliable as your internet connection.
So if you've got high speed you've got clear reliable sound.

2) Calls within North America are free,
and for me to call Australia the rates are:
Australia - Other $0.02
Australia - Mobile $0.14
Australia - Satellite Services $0.17
I'm not sure what the rates are for Australians to call domestic.

3) Calls from one gmail account irrespective of location are also free. So if you're in
Australia have a gmail account and your friend in Canada has a gmail
account you can talk all day and it's free. Just costs your regular internet
connection.

What you need is:
A) a gmail account - free
B) a computer headset. I use ClearChat. Got it for $18 Canadian.
C) Credit card to add credits if you're call isn't free.

Negatives:
1) Requires a computer, but if you have a laptop and wireless it's basically like having a really big cordless and a LAN line.

2) If your internet is glitchy or your computer is slow your voice can cut out.

3) Uses bandwidth, although in my experience not much.

Also, you can't use it for emergency calls.
Where it's the internet the police/ambulance can't triangulate in on your location.

It's a good option for people would normally use a LAN line or people who go through a fair bit of long distance minutes.

I just ordered a sim card from them, appears to good to be true..

I recently switched to the TPG's pay as you go plan. (Works over Optus network)

No credit expiry but there is a $1 per month access charge. Calls 9.9c/min billed per second with a 10c flag fall. SMS is 9.9c.

Like M.S. my yearly spend is quite low, I go months without actually making a call but I need the phone to receive the security sms when doing internet banking.

Originally Posted by simso

I just ordered a sim card from them, appears to good to be true..

You can walk in and purchase a sim card from the local suppliers. I got mine from Woolworths. Can also recharge at those outlets if you prefer rather than recharging online.

Originally Posted by Skew's_Girl

If you have a gmail account you can make calls from your email to land lines. I use it for long distance calls. It's just like dialing and sitting at your LAN phone.

Positives:
1) It's as clear and reliable as your internet connection.
So if you've got high speed you've got clear reliable sound.

2) Calls within North America are free,
and for me to call Australia the rates are:
Australia - Other $0.02
Australia - Mobile $0.14
Australia - Satellite Services $0.17
I'm not sure what the rates are for Australians to call domestic.

3) Calls from one gmail account irrespective of location are also free. So if you're in
Australia have a gmail account and your friend in Canada has a gmail
account you can talk all day and it's free. Just costs your regular internet
connection.

What you need is:
A) a gmail account - free
B) a computer headset. I use ClearChat. Got it for $18 Canadian.
C) Credit card to add credits if you're call isn't free.

Negatives:
1) Requires a computer, but if you have a laptop and wireless it's basically like having a really big cordless and a LAN line.

2) If your internet is glitchy or your computer is slow your voice can cut out.

3) Uses bandwidth, although in my experience not much.

Also, you can't use it for emergency calls.
Where it's the internet the police/ambulance can't triangulate in on your location.

It's a good option for people would normally use a LAN line or people who go through a fair bit of long distance minutes.

I guess that would be something like Skype or Messenger to make calls computer to computer: also free. I use skype a bit but unfortunately some of the people I would like to chat with, don't have computers. For someone who has relatives locally or overseas, this way of communication is great and as you say, free. Another negative is the person has to be close to their computer to receive your call. Not easy to carry your computer around with you if you are mobile, even a laptop can become a bit of a pain to carry around at all times although they have got smaller and smaller. Nevertheless it is a very useful means of communication. I must admit, this is the first time I have heard about the gmail/email thing. Thanks for bringing it up.

We use Skypr, but as John says it has its drawbacks.

Our "house" phone is done throught Engin. Works off the wireless modem. Cheap as chips and excellent quality. Only falls dow when the son uses up all the download availability, bles his heart.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

I recently switched to the TPG's pay as you go plan. (Works over Optus network)

No credit expiry but there is a $1 per month access charge. Calls 9.9c/min billed per second with a 10c flag fall. SMS is 9.9c.

Like M.S. my yearly spend is quite low, I go months without actually making a call but I need the phone to receive the security sms when doing internet banking.

I told my bank that they needed to ring me on the landline. They do.

I think only Telstra landlines can receive SMS and then only from Telstra mobiles. I don't have a big enough bank account to rate personal service intervention for internet banking .

Maybe your bank has implemented an SMS to speech gateway. I seem to remember NAB did change their system a while ago so you can elect to receive the security code via email rather than SMS, but inertia being what it is, I stuck to my Nokia 3315....

I bank with a credit union.

Because we are in a dodgy signal area for mobile phones I insisted that I get the security codes via landline.

Possibly they have SMS to speech in place.

It may be worthwhile asking if you have to have a mobile phone just for that.

Be interesting to see how you go John. We have friends who are mobile phone tragics. They jump from one provider to another looking for a better deal and never seem to get the savings they expect. Mind you, they seem to have a knack of attracting faults in the phones too.
Cheers,
Jim

I believe that Google voice/sms is not available for Aus.
Les

After viewing Amaysim online before xmas I went into a large retail outlet to change over and was met with blank faces. This business was listed on the Amaysim website for all the world to see yet they claimed to know nothing. Not a good start for a new carrier. Wonder what else doesn't hold water?

well there coverage is working well for me so far, and cheap calls with no flag fee, thats a good start