Traveling to AU for Christmas-Best Prepaid carrier?

[Crooks]

Hello all,

I will be traveling to AU over the christmas for 2 weeks and I'm looking to use my iPhone 5 (Will unlock it) in Austrailia. I'm looking for the best Pre-paid carrier. I won't be using call/txt, but mainly data. (Around 1GB or more).

What's my best carrier option? Right now I'm looking at the $50 Vodafone plan..Also, does anyone know what flexible credit means? That $1,000 number scares me a little. Sorry, Noob here, first time. Thanks for any help! Much appreciated.

[toille4]

Hey there,
I would recommend going with either Optus or Telstra. The Optus $40 plan gets you 1GB. I would say stay clear from Vodafone as they have less coverage.

https://www.optus.com.au/shop/prepai.../prepaidoffers

Hope this helps

[brettO5]

Vodafone is a disaster and their data coverage is pitiful at best. Go with Telstra's 4G/LTE and you wont be sorry. Excellent coverage and lightning fast.

Cheers, Brett

[ZacT94]

Originally Posted by brettO5

Vodafone is a disaster and their data coverage is pitiful at best. Go with Telstra's 4G/LTE and you wont be sorry. Excellent coverage and lightning fast.

Cheers, Brett

Exactly. Telstra's 4G LTE coverage is the most expansive and the speeds are amazing. I constantly see over 45Mbps. Vodafone has terrible coverage and data speeds here.

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Originally Posted by Crooks

Hello all,

I will be traveling to AU over the christmas for 2 weeks and I'm looking to use my iPhone 5 (Will unlock it) in Austrailia. I'm looking for the best Pre-paid carrier. I won't be using call/txt, but mainly data. (Around 1GB or more).

What's my best carrier option? Right now I'm looking at the $50 Vodafone plan..Also, does anyone know what flexible credit means? That $1,000 number scares me a little. Sorry, Noob here, first time. Thanks for any help! Much appreciated.

Where are you coming from and what model iPhone 5 do you have?

[aziatiklover]

What about virgin mobile? I will be in Australia sometimes nextyear and will only need data!

[ZacT94]

Originally Posted by aziatiklover

What about virgin mobile? I will be in Australia sometimes nextyear and will only need data!

It depends on where in Australia you'll be. Virgin will only be good when you're in 4G LTE areas. Their 3G network isn't very good as it uses Optus 3G, which doesn't support DC-HSPA+.

[aziatiklover]

Originally Posted by ZacT94

It depends on where in Australia you'll be. Virgin will only be good when you're in 4G LTE areas. Their 3G network isn't very good as it uses Optus 3G, which doesn't support DC-HSPA+.

I will most likely be in Sydney. I'm just looking for the most GB I can get for cheap! Btw I'm gonna stay for couple weeks.

[ZacT94]

Originally Posted by aziatiklover

I will most likely be in Sydney. I'm just looking for the most GB I can get for cheap! Btw I'm gonna stay for couple weeks.

Where abouts in Sydney? The CBD?

[aziatiklover]

Originally Posted by ZacT94

Where abouts in Sydney? The CBD?

I have no idea, but pretty much whole sydney area?!

[Crooks]

Originally Posted by ZacT94

Exactly. Telstra's 4G LTE coverage is the most expansive and the speeds are amazing. I constantly see over 45Mbps. Vodafone has terrible coverage and data speeds here.

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Where are you coming from and what model iPhone 5 do you have?

I have the Verizon model. I will call them to confirm my device is unlocked or not.

Coming from Bay Area

[ZacT94]

Originally Posted by Crooks

I have the Verizon model. I will call them to confirm my device is unlocked or not.

Coming from Bay Area

Good. The Verizon model will work on our LTE networks. I was asking as the AT&T model won't work on Australian LTE.

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Originally Posted by aziatiklover

I have no idea, but pretty much whole sydney area?!

Well if you're going to do Virgin Mobile then the only area in 4G LTE coverage is the CBD and the main city areas. The rest of Sydney isn't 4G LTE covered. If you want the most extensive 4G LTE coverage then go with Telstra. It covers the whole city area, a 10km radius around the city and a few other smaller CBD's in Sydney that are outside the 10km radius. Even better though is that most of the parts of Sydney that aren't in 4G LTE coverage are in DC-HSPA+ or HSPA+.