Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2013/06/04/optus_releases_prepaid_4g_handset_new_wireless_plans/
Optus releases pre-paid 4G handset, new wireless plans
4G for the masses as Singtel outpost drops prices for voice and data
Posted in Networks, 4th June 2013 02:36 GMT
Optus' capacity to dish out voice and data services over its fourth-generation network have reached the point at which it will offer a bargain-price 4G handset and newly-generous wireless broadband plans.
The handset in question is the LG Optimus F5, an Android 4.1.2 handset that will set punters back $299.
The advent of pre-paid handsets on a network is generally seen as an attempt to crack the mass market after higher-margin early adopters have done their thing. Optus' release of this handset is therefore also a sign it feels its network – and back office systems - can handle more 4G customers.
Further evidence of that confidence is on offer in the announcement of new wireless broadband plans, some 4G but all offering a new feature whereby “Customers who use more than their included data for the month are automatically given an additional 1GB of data, charged at a flat fee of $10.”
Optus' new 4G wireless broadband plans
Optus is spinning that feature as a way to avoid bill shock, along with automated alerts that prompt punters when they reach 50, 85 and 100 per cent of their download allowances. ®
Bootnote
Optus has updated the table above, as the press release from which we lifted it contained a typo in the $20 plan that said it charges 0.0020 per MB of data. The real figure is $0.020 per megabyte. And there we were saying Optus looks likes it's in a good place ...