Tangerine Telecom offers SIM-only mobile plans with no lock-in contracts powered by parts of Telstra's 4G network.
Tangerine Telecom – also called plain old Tangerine – seems focused on NBN plans at the moment, but the company still provides no-contract SIM-only mobile phone services running on parts of the Telstra 4G network.
Tangerine Telecom no-lock-in phone plans
Tangerine Telecom keeps it very simple and offers only four price points for SIM-only, no-contract mobile plans.
On the bottom end, there's the $19.90 per month plan that includes 1GB of data (plus 2GB bonus if you sign up before 30 June 2018) along with unlimited local calls and local SMS and MMS. At the top end, $49.90 a month will score you 9GB (plus 6GB bonus if you sign up before 30 June 2018). No matter what plan you're on, you'll pay an excess of $10/GB if you go over your data limit.
- $49.90 recharge includes 9GB of data and unlimited national calls, SMS and MMS
- $39.90 recharge includes 6GB of data and unlimited national calls, SMS and MMS
- $29.90 recharge includes 3GB of data and unlimited national calls, SMS and MMS
- $19.90 recharge includes 1GB of data and unlimited national calls, SMS and MMS
How does Tangerine Telecom compare?
Tangerine Telecom works on parts of the Telstra 4G network and the site provides a coverage map so you can double-check before signing up.
While the company describes its data offerings as "chunky" that claim doesn't quite stack up when you look at what Exetel Mobile has in its no-contract basket.
Tangerine Telecom's top two pricing tiers and pricing-to-data ratios are similar to those that KISS mobile offers for higher data levels, but still not as well-priced as Optus MVNO Exetel. You do benefit from the additional speed and coverage of Telstra's 4G network, however.
Why should you consider Tangerine Telecom?
Tangerine Telecom compares well to other MVNOs thanks to it being one of the few providers operating on Telstra's 4G network. As the network with the highest speeds and largest coverage in Australia, the benefit of Telstra 4G can make up for the slight premium Tangerine charges compared to providers on Optus' 4G network.
Tangerine Telecom recharge options
As a pre-paid service Tangerine Telecom sends a bill each month for your selected pricing tier. If you go over your data there's a set fee of $10 which gets you an extra 1GB. There's a service portal where you can check usage.
Payment options for each month include:
- Automatic direct debit payment
- Credit card
- PayPal
- In person at your Post Office
