By Patrick Avenell
The three major telcos, and BYO provider Amaysim, have all released their pricing for the new iPad, which is available tomorrow. Consumers can purchase an iPad on a plan through Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, or a micro SIM card from Amaysim to use with an outright iPad purchase.
All the following plans refer to the iPad Wi-Fi + 4G. Take note, however, that this is just a name and that this iPad cannot access any 4G networks in Australia.
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Vodafone
Vodafone offers 12- and 24-month contracts for the new iPad across all three storage sizes (16GB, 32GB and 64GB). There is no upfront cost on any of these plans. For both tables, the figure down the far left column is data per month; multiple dollar figure by 24 or 12 to determine minimum total spend of contract.
24-month plans
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2GB | $47 | $51 | $56 |
| 6GB | $57 | $61 | $66 |
| 12GB | $67 | $71 | $76 |
| 14GB | $77 | $81 | $86 |
| 18GB | $87 | $91 | $96 |
12-month plans
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2GB | $76 | $84 | $93 |
| 6GB | $86 | $94 | $103 |
| 12GB | $96 | $104 | $113 |
| 14GB | $106 | $114 | $123 |
| 18GB | $116 | $124 | $133 |
Telstra
Telstra only has 24 month plans. As with Voda, none of this plans have upfront costs. Multiply the monthly cost by 24 to determine the total minimum spend.
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB | $48 | $52 | $57 |
| 4GB | $58 | $62 | $67 |
| 8GB | $68 | $72 | $77 |
| 15GB | $98 | $102 | $107 |
Optus
Optus has by far the most complicated plans for the new iPad, with "monthly device cost and credit applied" and "plan access fees" combining for the total monthly spend. In order to fit it into an easy-to-read table, we've combined these costs into one round figure. All of these plans are for 24 months, so multiple the month minimum by 24 to get the total minimum spend.
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500MB | $38 | $41 | $45 |
| 1GB | $41 | $45 | $49 |
| 2GB | $45 | $49 | $52 |
| 4GB | $49 | $52 | $56 |
| 8GB | $59 | $59 | $62 |
| 16GB | $79 | $79 | $79 |
Amaysim
Amaysim is only selling microSIMs, so there's no device fee or minimum monthly spends. Because of this, there is no price difference relating to the three iPad storage options.
| Data | Price | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| 1GB | $9.90 | 30 days |
| 2.5GB | $19.90 | 30 days |
| 4GB | $29.90 | 30 days |
| 10GB | $99.90 | 365 days |
| 1MB PAYG | $0.05 | no expiry |
The 1MB PAYG plan costs $50 per 1GB, making it half the cost of the yearly plan at only one-fifth the data. Otherwise, these plans are okay, with the flexibility of no contracts, meaning if you find out you don't really use the 3G, you're not stuck on a contract for two years. Pro-tip: start with the 1GB plan and go nuts for the first month. Find out how quickly you spend the data so you then know whether you want to upgrade to 2.5 or 4GB per month. 10GB is a lot of data to use on an iPad – that plan really is for users who want stream music non-stop, access live video and never miss a single Facebook update.