Business phone plans

What are business mobile plans and why should I consider one?

Business mobile plans are designed for working people who either need to stay in touch throughout the day or get in contact with people even outside of work hours. Using a smartphone for work is quite different to using it for a personal purpose, and business plans are designed to reflect that.

One of the big separators between business and personal use is the need for 24/7 customer support to make sure any issues are sorted out as fast as possible. Further, business plans tend to operate on fixed-term contracts as opposed to month to month. They might feature potential discounts for businesses that bundle many plans together, or offer data sharing between employees.

We've broken down the two sides of the equation below.

How to compare business mobile plans

With many plans to choose from, we thought we'd give you some guidelines on things to look out for when you're choosing which business mobile plan is right for you and your work needs.

• Handsets. If you need a new smartphone to maximise your productivity or you just want to keep your personal and work contacts separate, there are plenty of business mobile plans available that come bundled with the latest smartphones. Plan value can vary a lot depending on handsets available.
• Cost. Obviously, the less you can pay while still getting good service, the better. Cheaper options may involve signing a contract for 2 years or so.
• Data. Most businesses conduct a good deal of their work online these days, so having enough data to operate is very important. If video streaming and uploading or large file transfers are crucial to your business, consider investing in a high data cap. Also consider the costs of excess data when you go over your limit.
• Network coverage. Even though Telstra has the widest coverage in Australia, it's not always the best for one particular place. Making sure you're with the network that provides the best service for your location can help a lot.
• Business support. One of the key selling points for business mobile plans is customer service and support. Technical assistance, financial advisers and business apps are all incentives telcos bundle with their business mobile plans, and these can significantly increase their value beyond their standard inclusions.
• Flexibility. Being able to switch from plan to plan as your business evolves or changes can be vital. Getting stuck into a long contract with no flexibility can be a serious financial burden.

Business mobile plan providers

While many providers don't offer phone plans for businesses, we've taken a look at some of those that do:

Telstra

Telstra's plans are almost identical to its range of personal phone plans, ranging from 30GB for $50 monthly up to 150GB for $100 a month. All the plans have regular talk and text inclusions, plus:

• 5G trial. All plans get a free trial until the 30th of June, after which the cheaper plans will have to pay $15 monthly to stay on it and the more expensive plans can continue with it automatically.
• "Endless" data. With Telstra, you won't get charged for excess data use. Instead, your download speed will be restricted to just 1.5Mbps until the next month comes around, but you'll be able to use as much data as you want.
• Data sharing. You can share data between any number of services on the same account.
• Phones on a plan. Telstra offers a number of new handsets on 24- or 36-month contracts.
• Telstra Plus. Telstra Plus is a loyalty reward program where you earn points from spending money on bills. These points can be used to purchase devices, accessories and other things.

• Check out Telstra's business mobile plans here

Vodafone

Vodafone has the same suite of plans available for its business customers as it does for regular customers, letting you put up to nine people on one account. With a Red Plus plan you can get between 10GB for $40 monthly up to 150GB for $80 monthly. On top of these basic features, Vodafone has:

• International inclusions. All but the cheapest plans have some amount of international call minutes you can use to call 21 countries with Zone 1 minutes, and 70 countries with Zone 2 minutes.
• Phones on a plan. Like the other major telcos, Vodafone has a whole bunch of new handsets available for you to buy on a 12-, 24- or 36-month contract.
• Vodafone mobile landline. With the mobile landline, all calls to your business's landline will be redirected to your mobile phone instead for an extra $5 per month. Your original landline service will be cancelled with this feature active.
• "Endless" data. You will not be charged for data past your limit with Vodafone. Instead you'll get your speed dropped down to 1.5Mbps until the next month rolls around.

• Compare Vodafone's business mobile plans here

Commander

Commander has three basic business mobile plans available. Get between 5GB for $25 monthly and 30GB for $45 monthly, though you'll have to sign a 12-month contract. Extra data costs you $10 for each 1GB.

• Bundling discounts. If you buy your mobile phone plan along with electricity or Internet from Commander at the same address, you'll enjoy a $5 monthly discount on your phone costs.
• Data sharing. Share data between any number of services grouped under the same account.

• Check out Commander's business mobile plans here