Pros
- Data banking available on most plans
- New phones available to purchase outright or on a plan
Cons
- No data use when roaming
- You'll need to stay on for at least 7 months on most of its plans
TeleChoice plans
Our verdict: TeleChoice may have a wide range of mobile plans, but you’ll be locked into a contract on most of them.
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Compare TeleChoice mobile plans
TeleChoice review: Our verdict
TeleChoice offers a huge array of plans, but whether it's worth signing up to is debatable.
Its prepaid plans are fairly average, with the 28-day expiry leading to an extra recharge throughout the year compared to 30-day prepaid plans.
On the other hand, its postpaid plans offer great prices for the data-hungry, but only if you're willing to sign up to a contract period of 7, 12, 13 or 24 months.
And yes, if you think these contract terms look strange, they are. Most providers opt for 12-month contracts but TeleChoice offers unique 7 and 13-month options too.
TeleChoice is one of the only smaller providers that offers brand new phones on a plan. This could lead to lower monthly repayments for a new phone if you grab 1 of TeleChoice's plans, since its plans are cheaper than Telstra, Optus or Vodafone.
Here are some reasons why you might enjoy TeleChoice:
- Data banking available on most of its plans
- You can grab a phone on a plan or outright, making owning a new phone more affordable
- Uses parts of Telstra's 3G and 4G network
- Easily get your SIM online or purchase it from a participating TeleChoice authorised retailer
That said, TeleChoice has a few things to watch out for:
- You can't use data overseas, even if you've activated international roaming. You're better off picking up a local or travel SIM
- Its postpaid plans require locking you into a contract for at least 7 months
Read a more detailed review on
Value for money
TeleChoice's postpaid plans aren't anything to write home about. The real downside to its range is that you need to sign on for at least 7 months.
Most mobile providers these days offer no lock-in contracts so you could easily find a comparable deal elsewhere without having to stay for a contracted period of time.
- Good to know: Besides its 5GB plan, the rest of TeleChoice's plans average out to a dollar-per-data value of $1.06 per 1GB. This is nearly on par with the benchmark of $1 per 1GB.
TeleChoice offers 2 types of prepaid plans: 'Normal' prepaid plans that last for 28 days, and long expiry plans that last for 180 days.
Neither are very good and are quite expensive for the data and features they come with.
- Good to know: TeleChoice's prepaid plans represent an average value of $2.02 per 1GB, which is awful compared to a benchmark of $1 per 1GB.
TeleChoice has a wide range of Samsung, Oppo, iPhone, and more available for purchase outright, or paired with one of its postpaid plans on a 24-month contract.
Your monthly fee will be the price of your plan plus the monthly handset repayment cost.
This is a good way to grab a new phone without paying the premium plan prices of Telstra, Optus or Vodafone.
Things to watch out for:
- TeleChoice has a limit of 60 video MMS per month on postpaid plans, and doesn't allow video MMS on prepaid plans
- If you sign up to TeleChoice in-store, you'll be charged a $15 set-up fee
- Your data bank is preserved if you upgrade your mobile plan, but will be lost if you downgrade to a cheaper plan
- Early termination charges on phone contract plans can be steep – it's the full remaining cost of the phone plus $25 for each month remaining on the contract. Other providers only require you to pay the remaining cost of the phone.
Coverage
If you're in need of wide coverage, TeleChoice is a great option:
- It uses the wholesale Telstra 3G and 4G mobile network, which covers 98.8% of the Australian population
- This is slightly less than Telstra's full 4G network (which covers 99.5% of Aussie) but is still better than that of Optus or Vodafone
- You should get good coverage in metro areas, but may notice a slight drop in reception in some rural and regional areas
Customer service
Have an issue? TeleChoice has a couple of ways for you to get in touch. You can:
- Ring up the customer service team between 9am–8pm AEST weekdays, or 10am–6pm on weekends
- Drop a query into the live chat on the TeleChoice website and talk to a customer agent
- Send an email to its support team
- Keep in mind that even though there aren't any TeleChoice stores, there are a number of authorised dealers where you can go to get help or buy a plan.
Bonus features
🔄 Data banking
TeleChoice lets you bank between 100–350GB of unused data, depending on which plan you buy.
🌏 International inclusions
Some of TeleChoice's postpaid plans come with international calling minutes you can use to contact people in 20 selected countries.
📳 Add-ons for prepaid plans
If you have a prepaid plan, you can purchase the following add-ons:
- International call packs: Purchase $5 or $15 of international call credit.
- Extra data: Add on 1GB for $10 or 5GB for $20, both with 30 days expiry.
Which rivals are giving Telechoice a run for its money?
If you're still comparing your options, consider these alternative choices for TeleChoice:
For similar but better:
Woolworths Mobile is another small provider that sells new phones on a plan, and also has some low-priced plans to go with them. Plus you get 10% off your monthly Woolworths shop.
For wider coverage:
Boost Mobile gets access to the full Telstra 4G network, making it a great alternative if you feel like the reduced Telstra wholesale network won't get it done.
For better long expiry plans:
If you're looking to sign up for the long-term, Kogan has an excellent collection of long expiry plans that offer cheap data compared to TeleChoice.
Ready to sign up to TeleChoice?
Unfortunately, TeleChoice is not available directly through Finder. You'll need to go to www.telechoice.com.au to purchase your plan of choice.
Or you can compare more mobile plans from 45 other providers on Finder.
What if I want to keep my current phone number?
During the activation process, let TeleChoice know you want to transfer your number and it'll handle the rest. The transfer process can take up to 48 hours.
If your current number is under someone else's name (a parent or a partner), it might take a little longer. Check our guide on how to transfer ownership of your mobile number..
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