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Southern Phone is one of the largest providers of communications services to rural Australia, but it also services metro areas too. Its plans are simple and straightforward, and it's one of only a couple of smaller providers that sell phones on a contract.
Southern Phone offers both month-to-month mobile plans.
Southern Phone offers some of the latest phone models, plus a few budget options, which you can pair with its mobile plans on a 24-month contract.
We show the Samsung S20 4G model by default, but you can pick your own handset by clicking "remove all" under "Phones" and then selecting the handsets you want from the pop-up screen.
Southern Phone has a wide range of different plans on offer, including ones that run month-to-month. You can also get a new handset with your plan if you want. These are available on a 24-month plan.
All Southern Phone plans come with an $8 "port out" fee if you cancel your service or transfer your number.
These are regular postpaid plans that come with a monthly data allowance and unlimited standard calls within Australia.
Southern Phone has a range of Android phones available on a contract if you need a new handset to go with your plan. You can get them on a 24-month contract with any of Southern Phone's 12-month mobile plans, or you can buy the phone outright if you wish.
Your monthly bill will be equal to the monthly cost of the plan plus the repayment for the handset. If you want to end your contract early, you'll have to pay the full remaining cost of the phone plus the monthly cost of your plan multiplied by the number of months remaining on your contract.
Southern Phone is a mobile provider that has a focus on rural and regional customers. It was bought out by AGL at the end of 2019. Although its month-to-month plans don't offer incredible value, you can get a much better deal by signing up to one of its 12-month contract plans instead.
There aren't a lot of special features or extras attached to plans from Southern Phone, but here's what it does offer:
Here's a quick breakdown of what Southern Phone offers in general:
Feature | |
---|---|
Excess usage warning | ![]() |
Entertainment extras | ![]() |
Data-free media streaming | ![]() |
Rollover data | ![]() |
Data sharing | ![]() |
International calls/texts | ![]() |
International roaming | ![]() |
Rewards program | ![]() |
Student/pensioner discounts | ![]() |
Southern Phone's month-to-month plans offer some of the lowest value on the market, charging you even more for data than high-cost providers like Telstra or Optus. And unlike those premium providers, Southern Phone doesn't have any exciting extra features or inclusions to draw you in.
The data value sharply increases if you go for a 12-month contract, but it still ends up being fairly average for what you're paying. The best deal is Southern Phone's X Small $9 for 1GB 12-month plan for people who aren't looking for a lot of data. Consider other competitors like Circles.Life or Vaya, which don't require you to sign a contract for good plan value.
Go back to comparing Southern Phone's plans
To give you an idea of how competitive Southern Phone's monthly plans are, we've looked at its X Large plan side-by-side with plans from Optus (Southern Phone's network provider) and Vaya (another provider on the Optus network).
Southern Phone | Optus | Vaya | |
---|---|---|---|
Plan name | X Large (month-to-month) | Medium Optus Choice | 50GB SIM-only |
Plan cost | $50 | $49 | $44 |
Data allowance | 25GB | 60GB | 50GB |
Cost per GB of data | $2/GB | $0.82/GB | $0.88/GB |
Features | $500 international call credit | Data sharing, 5G access, Optus Sport, international inclusions | None |
Based on this comparison, Southern Phone's second-best-value monthly data plan offers far, far less than the competition. Not only does it cost more than the offerings from Vaya and Optus, but you get less than half as much data for that price.
Feature-wise, you get some international call credit, but this doesn't do much to make up for the extremely poor data value on offer.
Although Southern Phone doesn't have any plans specifically aimed at seniors, its $9 for 1GB or 5GB for $20 12-month plans aren't a bad choice for people who are after a basic plan.
You will be locked into a 12-month contract, though, so you'll have to pay a termination fee if you want to leave early.
For more information on other available deals, see our guide on phone plans for seniors.
Southern Phone operates on the Optus 3G/4G network, which covers around 98.5% of the Australian population.
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How to update new credit card details?
Hello Peter,
Thank you for your comment.
To update your payment details, you can either log in to your Southern Phone account in the My Account section found on their website or get in touch with them directly so they can arrange this for you.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
What constitutes “data” in regard to mobile phones?
Hi Dennis!
Thanks for the comment.
Data is the exchange of information from the internet and your device or its applications. Whenever you turn-on your “data”, you are connected to the network and download or upload information. This includes emails, chat, browsing, internet banking, using voice over internet apps and many more.
You may contact your network by calling their hotline for further details on how you can manage your data.
Hope this clarifies.
Cheers,
Jonathan
I’m trying to finalise my plan but my mobile cut out. I have rang three times in an attempt to complete my application (which is on your computer file), but to no avail. Don’t email me.
Hi norm p.
You’ve reached finder, not Southern Phone telco. I would recommend contacting Southern Cross on 1300 019 408.
Cheers,
Brodie