Mobile Rates
WHAT are the best deals for mobile users today? Connectme compares the plans on offer from telecom, vodafone, telstraclear, black + White and Compass.The prices may not be as competitive as was hoped, but the launch of Telecom’s XT network and the expansion of Vodafone’s 3G offerings have driven a wider range of mobile plans for New Zealand consumers. Wading through the multitude of options currently available on New Zealand’s mobile phone networks is a daunting task.ConnectMe has compared prepay rates and compiled some of the most basic, bare-bones deals from the mobile providers to give you an indication of what you can get within a typical budget. We’ve then also compared the rates that you’ll pay for various services once you’ve exhausted each plan’s quota.Please note: many of the rates are conditional, and most plans can be customised. This means a deal or a plan that may seem expensive on first impressions could well be tailored to your individual requirements, resulting in a more reasonable rate. Readers are advised to take the following figures as a guide only.
Prepaid billing
CarrierPrefixCalls (per minute)Text (per message)International text (per message)Mobile internet data(per MB)Pxt (per message)Video calling (per minute)Video messaging (per message)
Telecom XT network02789c, charged per second after the first minute20c30c$150c89c$1
Vodafone02149c to landlines and other Vodafone mobiles, $1.39 otherwise (within NZ)20c30c$2(charged per kb)20c to other NZ mobile networks88c per minute (plus 35c connection fee)$1 to Vodafone, $1.25 to another NZ network
Telecom CDMA netwark*02748c off-peak, $1.38 peak20c30cN/A20cN/AN/A
* MyTime prepay plan
For those who don’t want to commit to monthly phone bills, ‘prepaid’ billing allows you to purchase your credit in advance in denominations of your choosing, at your leisure. Typically, however, they tend to work out more expensive than mobile plans in the long run.Postpaid billing (plans)
CarrierPrefixLocal Calls (per minute)Text (per message)International text (per message)Additional mobile internet data(per MB)Pxt (per message)Video calling (per minute)Video messaging (per message)
Telecom XT network02758c20c20c50c20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"58cNot yet supported
Vodafone02189c20c20c10c per KB20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"89c20c per 10KB message plus 10c per additional KB
Telecom CDMA netwark02710c off-peak, 99c peak20c20cN/A20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"N/AN/A
Black + White02860c20c20c$11.25*20c "on-net" and 40c "off-net"75c20c "on-net" and 40c "off-net"
Compass028025c20c20c20c20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"25c20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"
TelstraClear02929c20c20c$3 (billed in 10kb blocks)20c "on-net" and 50c "off-net"Not yet supported$1 "on-net" and to email
* This rate applies only if no additional data plan has been adopted.The available data plans offer significantly cheaper rates.
ConnectMe has chosen to compare the standard 12-month mobile plans for each carrier (where 12-month plans are applicable) without any bells and whistles.Telecom XT’s One Rate 50 plan: At $29.95 per month, Telecom’s One Rate 50 will provide 50 included minutes. On a 12-month contract, it will allow a $40 discount on a compatible handset, or $80 off on a 24-month contract. Text and data ‘extras’ can be purchased additionally. With its flat rates in lieu of included texts and call time, One Rate 50 is a very straightforward mobile plan.Vodafone’s Starter 2000 plan: Opting for Starter 2000 will cost $29.95 and you’ll receive 30 national anytime minutes, Vodafone’s ‘Best Mate’ plan (allowing you to call, text and video call a pre-arranged ‘best mate’ as much as you like), 2000 texts to other Vodafone mobiles per month or 600 texts to phones on any New Zealand network. There’s no data allocation with this plan, but users can opt to add one of many data plans. The Internet can still be accessed on your mobile without these data plans, however, at a rate of $1 per 10 megabytes per day. Once you’ve exceeded this, you will be charged 10c per kilobyte downloaded.Telecom CDMA’s FLEXI Mytime plan: For $30 a month, the FLEXI Mytime plan provides you with $30 worth of ‘mobile credit’. The first 100 minutes of off-peak calls will cost you 20c per minute. Once you’ve exhausted these minutes, you’ll be charged at the rates detailed in the accompanying table. Users of this plan are also eligible for Telecom’s $10 TXT, which provides 500 texts to other New Zealand mobiles, or the $10 BoostTXT plan, which provides 2000 texts to others on the Telecom network (with additional texts to Telecom mobiles charged at 10c per text). Subscribers also receive 10 free PXT messages per month.NB: Telecom intends to support its CDMA network until 2012.Black + White’s The Plan + 600 plan: The Plan + 600 doesn’t provide any included minutes, but it allows subscribers to make voice and video calls straight away at the flat rate of 60c per minute. It does, however, include 600 New Zealand texts. Data plans and other extras (such as ‘favourites’, similar to Vodafone’s Best Mate) can be purchased additionally.Compass’ mobile plan: Compass offers only the one plan for $15 per month (with a $5 discount if you have your home phone and calling with Compass). Calls are charged at the flat rate specified in the table above. You can opt to pay per text (at the rate of 20c per text) or select one of two text packages: the 2000 TXT bundle (which allows 2000 texts per month to mobiles on the Vodafone network) for an additional $8 per month, or the 600 TXT bundle for an additional $10 per month (which allows 600 texts to mobiles on any New Zealand network per month).TelstraClear’s mobile plan: This plan is only available to existing TelstraClear residential phone customers. For $30 per month you get 500 national texts per month to any New Zealand network, and calls are charged at the flat rate specified in the above table. If you have a CDMA handset, you can also use this and pay only $20 per month for access.
