The Optus Prepaid Mobile team have been busy this year. They have just launched a new prepaid mobile text plan called Optus Turbo Text which allows you to text for free to 5 numbers on any network if you recharge atleast $30 (credit lasts for 30 days).
This new release is hot off the tracks of the new International Calls 4 Less that was released late last year.
How good is it? If you mainly do texting then its great, but if you are also looking to make calls with it, then 78c per minute isn’t that great at all. Its the charging per minute that I don’t like. This plan sounds very similar to a service they were offering on their low value contract plans some time ago (I actually considered it for my wife). It offered the ability to make unlimited calls (not sure about the TXT) to a selection of numbers that you pre-nominated on your plan. I think it was called family and friends or something like that.
What this plan does do however, is highlight the growing push by Providers to get you to build a network of friends using the same Provider. Vodafone do it with Free Talk time, Crazy John’s and Girl Talk do it with free talk and text to anyone on the same network 24/7. Even Telstra do it with their 1c text plan to other Telstra mobiles.
What the Optus plan is trying to do is a little smarter. Its actually trying to do the recruiting very subtly. If you start this plan and nominate your 5 friends. Eventually they will know about it and get their 5 friends and so on.
You can compare the best in prepaid Txting plans here.
