Optus hits the low cost market with a new $35 plan avoiding bill-shock

Perhaps it’s the hype or perhaps it’s just the case that mobile phone users are the winners right now as the battle for their business picks up. Vodafone and Optus are on the attack with new plans and new pricing mechanisms with Optus today announcing a new $35 plan to be part of its no bill-shock lineup of offers.

Offering 200 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 200MB of data each month, the $35 plan might not be for everyone, but it will certainly appeal to those looking to commit to a lower minimum spend without the concern of the high excess fees.

On the $35 MyPlan if you exceed your limit of calls or data, you will be automatically bumped up to the next plan in the series – that being the $50 plan which offers 500MB of data and 450 minutes of calls.

These “bump up” plans were launched at the same time Optus moved away from the “included value” charging we’ve come to know from the telcos, with Optus taking the minute approach – telling you how many minutes of calls you can make each month.

It’s certainly a great way to go if you need more now-and-then, with every customer dropping back to their original plan at the end of the month if they needed to bump up to get access to more calls or data during the month.

This is a sign of things to come for Aussie consumers – the big three are keen to keep their customers, and also get back a few who may have strayed to the lower cost carriers.

The Optus “My Plan” deals are:

Plan cost	$35	$50	$60	$80	$100
Minutes Talk	200	450	600	800	unlimited
MB Data	200	500	1000	2000	3000
TXT/SMS	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited

These domestic deals come at the same time also that Optus – like Vodafone – announced new international roaming options in a bid to also reduce or remove the chance of bill-shock for travellers heading overseas.