3 Wireless Internet:
3 Wireless Internet won Money Magazines’ Best Mobile Broadband Plan Award in 2009 and is currently one of the oldest and most popular Australian internet providers. They have a wide range of services and packages available.
Since some people need large caps for massive downloads, others only want to update their Facebook status once a day. We all have vastly different needs and 3 definitely caters for them. 3 Wireless Internet offers prepaid, month-by-month, 12-month and 24-month plans.
Prepaid:
For their ‘starter kit’ prepaid offering you pay $49 and you get an included internet key modem with a 30-day expiry window. For $9.95 you get 200MB with a 30-day window, but no modem. For $119 you can have a 1GB cap with a 30-day expiry window. The difference with this plan is that it comes with a ‘Pocket Wifi’ stick included. The others do not.
Month-By-Month:
3’s month-by-month plans are smart and flexible. They allow you to have a predictable monthly cost and data allowance each month but they also allow you to top up with prepaid if you run out.
$15 a month buys you 1.5GB of data each month but has an upfront cost of $49 for an internet key if you are a new customer. If you are an existing customer you obviously have nothing to pay. This is the same for all of their month-to month plans.
$29 a month gets you 4GB and half off the price of a Pocket Wifi. 10GB can be had for $39 a month and also gets you the half-price Pocket Wifi deal. Finally their high-end option is 12GB a month for $49 and includes the same half-off offer.
12 Month:
If you can commit to a 12-month plan, this will give you a big data allowance for a decent price. For $15 you get a 1.5GB allowance and an internet key at only $4 a month. $29 a month buys you 6GB with a free Internet Key and a Pocket Wifi for only $5 a month. $39 gets you 12GB and $49 provides 14GB. These both include a free Internet Key and Pocket Wifi for only $5 per month.
24 Month:
The cost structure here is $29, $39 and $49 for 6GB, 12GB and 14GB respectively. All of these have no additional monthly costs for the modems at all.
Recharge:
When you find you’ve spent way too much time on Facebook and need more data, it’s as simple as recharging with 1 of 4 different options. The cheapest recharge is $15 and provides you with 500MB more data, plus a 30-day window extension. If that’s not enough, the 2GB recharge costs $29 and the 4GB, $49. If you’re particularly hardcore about data then you will need the big boy 12GB recharge. It costs $149 but it also extends your window by 365 days so it might help to buy it once in a while.
Hardware:
The Internet Key and E122 is perfect for people on the go and has a micro SD slot. The Pocket Wi-Fi is capable of handling up to 5 computers and it has a really nice, functional LED display.
Overall, going with 3 Wireless Internet would be a decent choice.