Getting super-fast Australian 4G connectivity from Optus just got easier, with the telco officially launching its 4G prepaid plans today.
Previously, you needed to sign up for a 24 month post-paid contract to get access to Optus' 4G network.
The new prepaid plans all share the same pricing as its standard 3G prepaid offers, which is a nice boon for owners of 4G enabled smartphones and tablets.
The plans all include unlimited free calls to Optus mobiles, unlimited SMS to Australian mobiles and unlimited access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, eBay and Foursquare, as well as set amounts of data and talk time to other Australian and international numbers.
Bang for your buck
There are five value levels available for prepaid users, starting at $30 a month (500MB data, up to 250 minutes talk time), then increasing to $40 (1GB data, up to 350 minutes talk time), $50 (2.5GB data, up to 450 minutes talk time), $70 (4GB data, up to 600 minutes talk time) and $100 (5GB data, up to 900 minutes talk time).
Each recharge lasts 28 days, with the included minutes available to be used on standard voice calls to Australian numbers, 13/1800 numbers, voicemail and numbers in 23 other countries.
Optus' 4G network still has a long way to go in its rollout, despite recently launching in the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
But now that the service can be used by prepaid customers who bought a 4G handset like the iPhone 5, expect a lot more people to sign up to 4G in the near future.
