Just completed a review of 365 day prepaid mobile broadband plans and it seems that this recharge voucher is certainly getting a bit of attention by each of the ISPs. This post is not so much about why prepaid is great. There are certainly some advantages to going prepaid with your broadband, and costs management is probably the biggest of these, plus the lack of credit check.
If you do the maths though on a 365 day voucher with what it would cost to sign up to a monthly mobile broadband plan, this is what the comparison looks like. I have compared Virgin, 3 Mobile and Vodafone who all offer a 365 day prepaid broadband voucher.
| ISP | Starter + 12 month Prepaid Voucher | 24 month Prepaid Cost | Equivalent Post Paid Plan | Monthly Postpaid Cost/Data | Best Option |
| Virgin Mobile | $89 (modem) + $149/11GB | $387 ( inc modem) /21GB | 1GB – $24 p/m (3 months free) |
$504 (inc modem)/24GB | Prepaid by $117 (less 3GB data) |
| 3 Mobile | $99 (modem) + $149/12GB | $397 (inc modem) /24GB | 1GB – $19 p/m | $456 (inc modem)/24GB | Prepaid by $59 |
| Vodafone | $99 (modem) + $150/13GB | $399 (inc modem) /25GB | 1GB – $24.95 p/m | $598.80 (inc modem)/24GB | Prepaid by $199.80 |
| Dodo | $129 (modem) + $139/20GB | $407 (inc modem) /40GB | 1GB – $17.99 p/m + $129 starter pack | $560.76 (inc modem)/29GB | Prepaid by $153.76 |
This comparison assumes that pricing for prepaid will remain the same in 12 months (so you can recharge for the same value) and that you won’t lose your modem and have to replace it. It also incorporates a few specials on offer from both monthly and prepaid plans. It is interesting though because I didn’t expect to see this result. I seriously expected prepaid to be lower in GBs and higher in price.
So even if you paid upfront for a year, you would be better off going prepaid. You then also have the theoretical option of switching ISPs. Although in this case it might not be possible between these three providers.
With added advantages of being able to control if and when you recharge, going for a 12 month prepaid recharge voucher could save you considerably.
