Travelling to Australia with iPad

[MattDell]

Any Australians in here?

What is the best data provider for a 3G iPad in Australia? I'm travelling there this week and want to figure out who to get data with. I will be there for 10 days in both Sydney and Melbourne (Australian Grand Prix! )

Cheers,
-Matt

 

[sammich]

Optus or Telstra are your best bets for coverage and speed (don't even consider 3/Virgin).

http://www.telstra.com.au/shop/Cons...category_rn=29101&top_category=&SMIDENTITY=NO

http://personal.optus.com.au/web/oc...oRHS&FP=/personal/internet/iPad&site=personal

 

[KandyKane]

Telstra, hands down.

Bring your passport with you, the Pre paid microsim is $30AUD and will have 3GB to use in 30 days.

Edit: if you're here for the GP, definitely go with Telstra. The cell towers in those areas will be over congested and Optus will seriously struggle.

 

[MattDell]

Edit: if you're here for the GP, definitely go with Telstra. The cell towers in those areas will be over congested and Optus will seriously struggle.

That's definitely good to know regarding the GP. Is it the Albert Park area in general or just the fact there will be so many people in one spot?


Also, out of curiousity, what makes Telstra so good and Optus and the others so bad?

 

[sammich]

Also, out of curiousity, what makes Telstra so good and Optus and the others so bad?

Generally speaking, Telstra is overpriced and their networks are less congested. Technically, they use a lower frequency which means they have better penetration through structures and generally a greater range too.

EDIT: Optus isn't 'bad', it's actually quite good considering that they have a heavily used network (they wholesale their towers as well).

 

[KandyKane]

That's definitely good to know regarding the GP. Is it the Albert Park area in general or just the fact there will be so many people in one spot?


Also, out of curiousity, what makes Telstra so good and Optus and the others so bad?

Optus is poo in areas where there is high congestion, a lot of people complain about it in the Sydney CBD, as they oversell their network. When you have thousands of people in the one area who will likely be on their phones, you tend to get 'network busy' tones, (common on NYE, outdoor festivals etc, in Adelaide their network get congested with a street food & wine festival!)

Telstra also run on both utms 800 & 2100 frequency for the 3G and they've spent a lot of money upgrading their network.
Optus and the other networks only run 2100.

You can find the Australian whirlpool forums and there are a lot of discussions about network etc if you have hours to waste reading people bashing each others networks

 

[MattDell]

You can find the Australian whirlpool forums and there are a lot of discussions about network etc if you have hours to waste reading people bashing each others networks

Sounds like a good time.

I guess I'll go with Telstra, then! Are mobile phone shops in Oz like the US where it's a Telstra store or like the UK where it's like a Carphone Warehouse (e.g. - A Telstra shop or a shop that sells all of them)?

-Matt

EDIT: Nevermind! Looks like there's a Telstra store at the airport and one right next to my hotel!

 

[Sipheren]

Telstra is the worst for price but the best for coverage.

I use Optus and have never had an issue, my work uses Vodafone and its absolutely useless.