Optus 4G Broadband Priced like ADSL

By Joseph Hanlon

Last updated 03 November 2015

Optus today announce a new mobile broadband plan which could see the start of a broadband revolution, if the competition follows suit.

For $70 per month, Optus is offering a connection to its 4G network and 50GB of data to use. Fittingly known as the Home Wireless Broadband Plan, it come with a new Huawei WiFi modem and you can choose between monthly, 12 month or 24 contract periods. Customers who sign up for two years receive the modem for free.

What’s remarkable about the new plan is that is more closely resembles a fixed-line ADSL broadband plan than it does other 4G mobile broadband plans in market. The base Optus ADSL2+ plan costs the same $70 per month, but comes with 200GB of data.

By comparison, a Vodafone 4G data mobile broadband plan with 50GB costs $140 per month.

According to Optus marketing director Vicki Brady, the new wireless broadband plans are created with a specific kind of customer in mind.

“For a big group of customers, getting a timely and decent internet connection is a real challenge. Aussie renters, who move home frequently, find it particularly frustrating to disconnect and reconnect each time, often waiting several days or weeks before they can access the internet,” she said in a statement.

Of course, the other hassle with renting is that you never know when you might need to move again. The beauty of mobile broadband is that when you shift location, you can grab the modem and move it with you.

The start of something?

The new Home Wireless plan is a shot in the arm for mobile broadband, which rightly has a reputation for being expensive and lacking in data. Most Aussies would consider it handy in a pinch, but would never rely on it as a permanent connection.

This new plan is at the forefront of changing this perception, and if the competition follows, we may start to see mobile broadband as a viable alternative to installing a fixed connection to the internet.

Of course, 50GB won’t suit the needs of power users, the same users who will decry the latency and reliability of a 4G connection, but for students and share-house renters, or even small families, this could be the right mix of value and convenience to make the move away from ADSL.

4G Wireless with Laptop via Shutterstock