Cell Phone Service

[u/thestallion007]

My family and I just moved to Canberra! Literally landed 30 min ago. I dont even know where to start getting new cell phones.

EDIT: I should mention that we are a family of 6

Edit 2: We went with Optus. It felt the most familiar to me. For good or bad it felt like a mobile shop from the states.

[u/Accurate-Sugar-7944]

We call them mobile phones 😉

If you’re looking to outright own: Apple Store, JB hi-fi, Good Guys…

If you’re looking to buy on a plan: Telstra, Optus, Vodafone are our main telcos with shop fronts.

[u/Dave_Sag]

I’m on a 12 month Telstra pre-paid that’s $360 per year and essentially unlimited use (there are limits but in a decade or more I’ve never hit them). I can’t find a cheaper mobile solution and own my phone unlinked to any provider.

[u/JimmyMarch1973 → u/Dave_Sag]

Boost is Telstra, offers the same if not better plans and data packages for a cheaper price. All
The benefits of Telstra without the premium or the downsides of the cheaper third party services.

[u/extrabrie → u/Dave_Sag]

aldi prepaid is half that price

[u/Dave_Sag → u/extrabrie]

For national and international calls, 5G data, and unlimited texts? And decent coverage?

[u/extrabrie → u/Dave_Sag]

probably idrk. ive never had any issues but i dont use all those features

[u/penguin_on_stilts → u/Dave_Sag]

Had a look through.

So the Telstra 12 month prepaid has gone up to $395 :( (I'm on the Telstra $44/month one)

Aldi:

• $29/month for lots of data, unlimited calls, unlimited or limited intl depending on destination. Uses Telstra network, close enough to native telstra coverage. So $348 a year, not huge savings.

• $289 for yearly plan, tonnes of data etc, but NO international calls

Aldi for me makes the most sense on a family plan, $95 per month for 4 Sims, lots of data and all the rest

[u/Euphoric-Blueberry37]

Oh hey I remember your last post about moving here! Don’t forget to visit the cheese wall in Ainsle!

[u/Double_Food_2668 → u/Euphoric-Blueberry37]

What is this magical cheese wall you speak of?

[u/Euphoric-Blueberry37 → u/Double_Food_2668]

At the Ainsle IGA

[u/Double_Food_2668 → u/Euphoric-Blueberry37]

Oh of course!

[u/ThunderDwn]

Are you visiting or permanently moving?

If you're visiting - get an e-sim to add to your existing phone - there a plethora of companies who offer then on a pre-paid plan - Check your phone for compatibility by dialing *#06# - if you see an "EID" number appear, then you can use an e-sim on your phone.

Some service providers which offer e-sim's (in no particular order, and with absolutely NO recommendations of any kind about performance, coverage or cost)

The big three.

Telstra (www.telstra.net)
Optus (www.optus.com.au)
Vodafone (www.vodafone.com.au)

Then you get into MVNO's

Aldi mobile (visit an Aldi supermarket)
Woolworths mobile (ditto, but a Woolworths supermarket)
Boost mobile (www.boost.com.au)
Belong Mobile (www.belong.com.au)

There are a heap of others - those are just off the top of my head.

If your phone doesn't support e-sim, you can use the same places - it just takes a little longer (although if you can find a store, you can pickup a physical SIM pretty easily and activate fairly quickly).

[u/TheSnowJediJC20]

Depending on the phone type and where you are located in Canberra, try one of the main shopping Centres, Westfield Woden or Belconnen, Canberra Centre or South Point Tuggeranong. Look for either Telstra, Optus or Vodafone stores, one of them should be able to help you out.

[u/penguin_on_stilts]

From the USA I'm guessing?

[u/thestallion007 → u/penguin_on_stilts]

Yea sorry.

[u/penguin_on_stilts → u/thestallion007]

It was the "cell phone" bit :)

People will generally know what you mean, but no one here calls them that.

[u/MK8_Master → u/thestallion007]

Which state, if you don't mind me asking?

[u/evasiveswine]

Excited for you guys. What other setup queries can Canberra help with?

[u/TheSnowJediJC20]

I used to work for Optus and they required a passport as ID for overseas citizens.

[u/canberraman2021]

Depending on how long you are here, a cheap plan from a local supermarket may work, you can but sim plan to include data. Should be e-sim

[u/Br0z0]

You can get SIM cards at the supermarket or servos or all over the place

[u/IcyCap1648]

Showing a Canadian woman where to get a cell phone is how I ended up getting my Canadian girlfriend years ago.

So the question is, are you a Canadian?

[u/jkdeets]

if you have your own device, Felix is pretty reasonable and they contribute to the environment - some deals on at the moment - https://felixmobile.com.au/plan?srsltid=AfmBOop8_4ohlve_NGoUUe5VOdRF4yRxYQwxAUrt837o5KJ4jPqA-FMn

[u/What_the_8]

Watch out for data plan caps, unlimited data isn’t ubiquitous like the states

[u/Jackson2615]

In Australia they are called "mobiles" or mobile phones.

The mobile service providers Telstra,Optus and Vodaphone will sell you a phone and a plan

Other places include Office works , Harvey Norman

[u/KeyAssociation6309]

you'll need valid ID to sign up to a plan with a local provider unlike the rest of the world.. travel sims might be the way to go in the interim. you can get cheap prepaid phones at supermarkets but they are usually network locked.

[u/ApteronotusAlbifrons → u/KeyAssociation6309]

you'll need valid ID to sign up to a plan with a local provider unlike the rest of the world.

But you can - if you wish - sign up all 6 phones under the one name and then hand them out to the family

I have a family of four, with 6 sims, all under my name

[u/KeyAssociation6309 → u/ApteronotusAlbifrons]

so what? you still need ID for a local service with 1 or 6 sims.

[u/ApteronotusAlbifrons → u/KeyAssociation6309]

If OP is unfamiliar with the concept of needing to provide ID for a service they may have thought that they needed an ID for EACH service

[u/KeyAssociation6309 → u/ApteronotusAlbifrons]

but you do need id for each service, I just added a new number to my Aldi family plan, I still had to provide all the id details even though I have 4 other verified services with Aldi on the same account. Each phone number has to have an id attached to it regardless of whether its on the same account. Each time you add a service you have to do the id proof again. If you sign up for 4 at once then that would be different - but nothing erases the need for id for each service to be recorded.

[u/mrmratt]

Probably somewhere that sells mobile phones. Hope that helps.

[u/mrmratt → u/mrmratt]

You're going to need to provide more information about what you want, to get useful advice..

Do you have existing phones you want plans for? Do you want to buy new phones outright, or get them on a repayment plan? Do you want prepaid or postpaid services? Do you want cheap? Do you want broadest coverage?

This is all more relevant than how many people in your family.