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Matching a plan to a teenager is tricky because as with any mobile plan, there’s no single plan that’s ideal for everybody. One constant, however, is the need for plenty of data to fuel their online lifestyle. That's only the tip of the iceberg, however, and bill-paying parents will want to ask themselves the following key questions:
While there’s no absolute "best" plan that will suit every teen and parent, we've selected what we believe are excellent choices for a variety of needs and budgets.
Rationale: They’re not quite teenagers, but you can’t quite treat them the way you would a high school kid just yet. As such, prepaid plans with decent calling allowances but a moderate quantity of data would suit well.
Best choices:
You don’t have to spend a fortune for a basic unlimited calls package with a chunk of data thrown in as well. Kogan Mobile’s Vodafone-4G-backed Small deal will regularly set you back $16.90 for a 30-day recharge and even less if you buy the 90- or 365-day variants, or if there’s a special on. OVO's Mobile Mini 2GB plan offers an even cheaper alternative on Optus’ 4G network, though you only get 500 minutes of calls each month.
Rationale: It’s like, your teenager, like, likes to talk. If that sentence sounded suspiciously familiar, then congratulations! You’ve got a heavily talking teen. The good part here is you don’t have to spend a fortune on data services, but you may have to spend a little, given that communication between teenagers isn’t just talking. All those selfies and video calls can chew away at a data allowance too.
Best choices:
Catch Connect is a powerhouse in the budget-priced mobile space and its $25 SIM-only plan is an excellent choice for talkative teens. Along with unlimited standard calls and texts, it comes with a sizeable 11GB of monthly data for surfing the social networks.
OVO's MiniPlus SIM-only plan is equally attractive. It, too, includes unlimited standard talk and text but only 4GB of data. That's offset by its cheaper price: $14.95/month.
Rationale: Older teens, or those with specific online interests, whether it’s watching their favourite shows on Netflix or just perusing the odder corners of the Internet (be careful out there!) can chew through quite a bit of data. For these teens, there’s good sense in investing in a plan with a fair chunk of data already in the plan; while you can usually buy additional data packs, they’re almost always a more expensive proposition than raising your initial funding to score more data. Bear in mind with prepaid you can always slide up or down a prepaid recharge scale to meet predicted needs.
Best choices:
OVO emerges as a top choice for teens wanting the freedom to browse abundantly on the go. Its $29.95 prepaid plan packs in an impressive 20GB of data plus 100 minutes of international calls. If that's not enough, OVO's $34.95 plan increases the cap to 50GB and crams in 600 minutes' worth of international calls.
If coverage is a concern, Boost Mobile's $40 prepaid plan couples plenty of data with the strength of Telstra's mobile network. That $40 recharge gets you 30GB of regular data plus a bonus 15GB of data for your first 3 recharges, which is more than enough to keep you connected while you're out and about.
Image: Shutterstock
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