Our Telecommunication Providers

[TheSneakiness]

I'm going to upgrade my mobile phone sometime real soon, and are stuck with choosing which provider to go with. I know what I'm after, just this minor detail which is annoying me.

I've got 4 I'm going to choose from...

- Telstra (current provider)
- Optus
- Vodafone
- Three

Who are you guys with, and how are they looking after/charging/treating you as a customer?

Telstra are a company now for corperate customers.

Optus have great caps as well as Vodafone

Vodafone are starting to go similar to the way 3 are going, custom software on their 3G phones, and more interactivity and special content features (ie news on the main standby screen) Caps are pretty good.

3 have crap phones and apparently their customer service isn't too good. (wouldn't recommend 3 to my worst enemy.

I'm on Optus Prepaid, on the freetime call charge option. There are other options like Turbocharged ($120 worth of calls for $30), Free messages option etc.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Have been with Telstra since day 1 and i must say i've never had a problem with them. Phones have always worked flawlessly, same with the network - i couldnt fault it.

I dunno, maybe they're not competetive on price these days? I dont tend to shop around. I pay for the phone, i get my monthly bill value in "free" calls/sms/wap etc. Keep things fairly simple.

Always been pretty happy with the customer service. I didnt like the tone of one guys voice so i had a b*tch about it... and got $30 credited to my account for taking the time to do so.

[TheSneakiness]

The reason I'm shying away from Telstra at the moment is that when I paid my last bill, I asked the person how much longer I had on my contract, because I couldn't remember when I signed it, which was answered nicely, then I asked if I was to end the contract early, how much would I need to pay, to which I got a sour face and a snarl and was told how much it was. I looked at this person in disgust and left.

Their service with my phone hasn't been the best this past month either, I've had it drop out a few times and the phone is working properly either. Keys needing to be pressed a few times to register numbers/letters and the "joystick" (lack of better word) not moving to spots where I want it to go.

[S3SR]

if pre paid definently either optus or vodafone
though vodafone have a few extra cool things they dont have alot of reception in many places, cant beat telstra but they over charge and got nothing to offer

stay clear from 3 and many others inc dodo pfft dodo

if plan dont ask me never gotten one ever

[Smoked]

Been with Optus since day one, never had an issue, and their cap is brilliant.

[Dave_au]

Been on optus for the last 6 years, support is good, service coverage is good, but the plan I was on has just not suited my needs.

Optus cap plans when comparing the $79 to vodaphone are also slightly more expensive than vodafone, hence Ill move to vodafone shortly.

3's cap plans are very similiar to voda, but also includes a number of free minutes per month 3 phone to 3 phone, and reduced voicemail costs. However, like other people have said, their phones are crap (unless you get one of the new 3g nokias like the 6280 or n70) and their service is crap.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

Keys needing to be pressed a few times to register numbers/letters and the "joystick" (lack of better word) not moving to spots where I want it to go.

Let me guess - Sony Ericsson?

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Let me guess - Sony Ericsson?

Yeah. K500i I think it is.

[Miss_XR6]

if u want the indian call centers go get 3 cause there customer service is the worst and u have to repeat yourself a million times.. optus customer service is really good telstra is fast but find them a bit rude sometimes... vodafone has good 3g phones

[Full Spectrum]

Been with vodafone for?? That long.
I just get prepaid and i can call other Vodafone people 24/7 for 20c, But the best thing i got is after 8pm i can call anyone in Australia on any mobile network and lan line anywhere for free. You can't beat that, I just build up my free time, Last year when my brother and his family was in QLD we called them all the time got the whole family around the phone and took turns.

[Dazza XLT]

Telstra is fine with me. Any drama's have been resolved quickly.
Bigpond still stuffs my bill up, one day they will get it right.

Cheers

[Mechan1k]

Don't use Optus .... I work for them.... LOL
Just kidding ... Optus isn't too bad. Kinda has gone a little downhill since Singtel took over though.
Vodafone is giving them a run for their money though ... and my current mobile/sim is through Voda (hee hee ... go figure) as i find their Cap suited well to what i need it for.

[lush]

Tlestra CDMA is great for out here coverage wise, Optus digital also I found has better coverage than telstrea digital.

At work I can only pick up CDMA, and at the house digi is patchy. But the caps if you can get them in your area are great.

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by lush

Tlestra CDMA is great for out here coverage wise, Optus digital also I found has better coverage than telstrea digital.

At work I can only pick up CDMA, and at the house digi is patchy. But the caps if you can get them in your area are great.

I did have a CDMA phone prior to the one I have now, when I lived out of the city, and found that the GSM network was better than the CDMA network with getting reception.

I also was told that CDMA is getting phased out.

[pauljh74]

Now I've actually read the OP, rather than just the thread title, and realising it is about mobile phone providers rather than fixed line (which is iinet/AAPT in my case), I'd change my vote to Optus - I've had little trouble with them on a prepaid account. 2 friends have had problems with "3", one switched to Vodaphone - which I find people rate 2nd to Optus.

[fiery]

Kenny as you know.. my phone is with me constantly & I do love my phone (hehe and I still have that really annoying message alert on : )..

I am on an Optus cap and have had no real dramas (only gone over the cap twice I think and that was only by about $10.. so all was good)..

And yes you are right, the CDMAs are being fazed out (which really peeved my dad off heaps )

[TheSneakiness]

I'm heading toward Optus at the moment.

I told my mate about this, he's trying to get me to come to Vodafone (who he is with), but lashing the phones with their paraphernalia is a major turn-off for me.

[RPO83]

I'm with 3 using a Nokia N90 (a dog of a phone) and the total experience has been a nightmare. I had only been with Telstra before and as far as i'm concerned they are worth paying extra for.

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by RPO83

I'm with 3 using a Nokia N90 (a dog of a phone) and the total experience has been a nightmare. I had only been with Telstra before and as far as i'm concerned they are worth paying extra for.

That phone was my first choice, until I played with one. Bulky phones they are.

[Dauphin]

I'm with Optus via SIMplus and the last few months it's gotten crappy with many drop outs during conversations, dropped calls, connection problems, network busy. I'm in Melbourne's west side and I'm not the only one who has noticed it.

[deesun]

I used to be on Vodaphone but found their reception cr4p. Whenever I went inside a building I got little or no service. This happened even when I changed phones too. Very frustrating when everyone else around is talking away and I have to walk outside. I also won't go with Optus, I have a problem getting over them basically being given access to a network they didn't pay for and dont have to. So many people used to say how much better Optus was but the bigger they've got the more complaints they get.

[orsomxc]

I'm with optus now but my plan runs out in 2 months.
Going to change to 3 and go to a cap. 6280 as the phone. A couple of mates have had them play up, rang 3 the first time, told em what to do and the phone was fixed. Happened a 2nd time so 3 sent out brand new phones... no problems since. That was with 2 mates.
I told optus I am thinking about leaving after 7 years on contracts the whole time. They put me through to retention area and I told them there is no put in offering me anything unless you can get me live cricket. Obvious answer was no.
So off I go to 3 so I can sit at work and watch the cricket over the summer.

[Professor Farnsworth]

I've used Telstra, Optus & Vodaphone which are the only really worth while choices in my opinion.

Been with telstra since 1996, they've been great for me service wise, always have access when i need it even interstate. They have a live billing system which is generally up to date when you want to check your usage too.

Optus do not have the live billing system. I've been with them on 3 different occasions, 1 time just to get the phone i wanted then swapped the Telstra simm back into the phone, once for a work phone, and once for a pre-paid (which i have now). The coverage was/is relatively good for Optus.

I had a Vodaphone prepaid and found the coverage to be very patchy where i was using it, which was in south melbourne ironically. I wasn't very happy with the coverage in general, and cancelled it not long after opening the prepaid account.

Long story short i've recently been paying out a lot of my expenses, and thusly have paid out my mobile contacts and gone to pre-paid. Mainly because the only advantage i ever got from a contract (had about 6) was a good phone. I now have about 4 phones lying around so don't need a contract to get one.

I found that optus had better pre paid offers than telstra, and the coverage is reasonable so that's who i'm with now. Just last week ended my association with telstra post paid, but was very happy with their service.

Phones i have owned:

NEC Sports 2 analogue phone, had problems with battery contacts but otherwise great

Panasonic G540 - first digital phone i owned, 1997, was a really nice machine and introduced me to SMS (which was only seemingly 'discovered' by the mainstream media years later)

Ericsson T10 ? (came in horrible colours, flip broke off several times)

Nokia 3210 Great phone, no problem at all

Nokia 8210 not bad but had screen problems

Nokia 8310 the best phone i've ever owned, was fantastic

Nokia 6610 (replaced twice and third had scratchy audio)

NEC Flip (forget the model but it was HOPELESS, repaired three times)

Siemens c60 - did the job, but was boring as hell and screen had horrible colours

Sony Ericsson K700 - pile of junk - software problems, didn't recognise incoming calls that you had saved with pictures and custom tones in your phone book, kept locking up, screen problems, audio problems

Sony Ericsson W800i - bought as was told it was a complete revision of the K750 and was very reliable but proved even worse. It even makes calls to people in my phone book when it's in my pocket with the keyguard on. Keeps calling my sister for some reason. Software lockups etc. If i don't turn it off and on once every 24 hours it hangs, turns background off etc.


Now i just have some LG flip that i scored a free ipod with when i signed it up. Now that i've cancelled the contract i just use the prepaid optus chip in it. Simple phone but does the trick.

Not sure if this has helped you, but here it is anyway.

If you're going contract i'd go Telstra, but if you're going to go prepaid - i'd go optus.

[GRNKPR]

Telstra the only one if you are in business

[kyro_02]

telstra for coverage

optus for the 120 or something minutes free time everytime you get a $30 card :P

[Lukeyson]

Telstra & Optus

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by fantz

Sony Ericsson K700 - pile of junk - software problems, didn't recognise incoming calls that you had saved with pictures and custom tones in your phone book, kept locking up, screen problems, audio problems

Sony Ericsson W800i - bought as was told it was a complete revision of the K750 and was very reliable but proved even worse. It even makes calls to people in my phone book when it's in my pocket with the keyguard on. Keeps calling my sister for some reason. Software lockups etc. If i don't turn it off and on once every 24 hours it hangs, turns background off etc.

People with Sony Ericsson phones, read this, because this has also happened to my phone (K500i) and my mate's phone is starting to show the same symptoms (S700i).

[XR6Gal]

I'm with optus, I'm on the $79 cap, so I get $500 of calls & text etc. I find the cap is awesome, I've never once gone over it, not even close really. I have a nokia 6111 & its really good, takes great pictures, its small but not too small.

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by XR6Gal

I'm with optus, I'm on the $79 cap, so I get $500 of calls & text etc. I find the cap is awesome, I've never once gone over it, not even close really. I have a nokia 6111 & its really good, takes great pictures, its small but not too small.

I'm heading to Optus World tonight after work to find out about their cap plans.

Just one small thing though, with the $500 of calls, does that include picture messages, WAP usage, etc...???