Why I’m Staying With Optus
Today on Twitter it seems like everyone I know is moving to Telstra. I completely understand the sentiment and Telstra’s new iPhone plans are unbelievably good for a company more traditionally known as evil and expensive, but I’m sticking with Optus. Considering Anthony at Mactalk hates Optus so much he’s written a guide to switching from the company, I thought I’d post the reasons why i’m staying.
Contract
The simplest reason. I still have 17 months on my Optus contract. Breaking it would cost me $895 for the contract and $165 for the handset repayments, money I can’t justify for Telstra’s better speeds. However, the reason I have 17 months left is thanks to the…
Excellent Optus Twitter Team
These guys were able to replace my stolen iPhone at no extra handset charge. They unlocked my phone in less than an hour after a dm, helped me sort out my sister’s contract, put her on a new plan better suited to her usage, and even put up with my bullshit complaining to them at times, all with good humour. Customer service that good goes a long way to making me loyal. Thanks Rhys, Julz, Dave, Scott, Meg, Andy, Holly, and whoever else I’ve harassed in the last 12 months. You guys all deserve a raise.
They’re Honestly Not That Bad
When the iPhone 3G was released, the Optus network ground to a halt. For two whole weeks you could hardly make a call or open a webpage as thousands of new iPhone users started playing with their new toys. If nothing else, I’m fascinated to see how the network performs once all these early adopters jump ship to Telstra. The network today is nowhere near perfect but it is a hell of a lot better than it was. Telstra are still miles ahead but Telstra are miles ahead of almost every telco in the world. But looking at my data usage with the excellent iphone app Consume, these days I manage to average about 400-500mb a month in data, and on my last trip to Melbourne i clocked up 700mb in 4 days. So for all of the complaints about Optus on Twitter (and Jesus, some people never shut up) I reckon I get my $59 a month’s worth. The new $59 2gig business plans (with free tethering) are pretty compelling even if my contract were up.
The Optus network still bugs me. Optus’ 3G network falls over at concerts or Sydney Swans games, places where many phones are trying to use the same tower I’d assume. I still can’t maintain a 3G signal in Glebe or in Bondi, two suburbs I spend a lot of time in, and two suburbs that really should get 3G coverage in 2010. Looks like Optus have 17 months to fix these remaining issues.
