Vodafone's iPhone rate plans

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130 posts

Master Geek

#147253 12-Jul-2008 22:02

Aaroona:
SightUnseen:
Aaroona: Right guys, heres a question for you all.

What would you feel about paying what Vodafone is offering is AUS?

Like i'm probably talking more in the terms of their plan structure. Where if you pay say $30 a month, you will get $150 credit to use on Calling, texting, voice mail, etc. (Not an acual plan, but it shows the basic layout)

Do you like the sound of this structure compared to our current one? I personally think its time for Vodafone to make major changes, and make it more like those plans offered by their other Vodafone provider next door.

Anyone agree?

The mobile providers in Aus offer very convoluted plans as a rule, and it is difficult to compare to what we have here (or anywhere else). Ultimately they offer good value, but it almost always causes a brain haemorrhage when trying to work them out.

The 'credit' they offer is nominal, and the charge per 30s, have flagfalls, etc.

Point taken. It took me a little longer to get the gist of it.

I wasn't exactly saying they should take what they have in AUS and copy it to NZ, though. I mean they should have a structure that kind of resembles what they have, because to me, I think most of their plans are of better value to here in NZ. and I know you said it wasn't exactly comparable. But Personally, I think they are at least somewhat comparable.

If your main point is the flexibility to use the cap as texts, calls, or data, then yes - this is definitely a good idea.

richms

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#147255 12-Jul-2008 22:08

Whatever they offer should not penelize people who use a service a lot like the current plans do, the charge for using more then your cap shouldnt be more then the cost of getting that cap, its just stupid to do things like offer 10 megs for $1 and then 1 meg for $1 after that.

What would be good is a sliding scale for your per min rate based on usage in the last 30 days or something, so a seldom use phone may be at $2 a min, someone who does 200 mins a month down to 40c, and 1000 mins a month at 10c or similar.

Richard rich.ms

Aaroona

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#147260 12-Jul-2008 22:25

SightUnseen:
Aaroona:
SightUnseen:
Aaroona: Right guys, heres a question for you all.

What would you feel about paying what Vodafone is offering is AUS?

Like i'm probably talking more in the terms of their plan structure. Where if you pay say $30 a month, you will get $150 credit to use on Calling, texting, voice mail, etc. (Not an acual plan, but it shows the basic layout)

Do you like the sound of this structure compared to our current one? I personally think its time for Vodafone to make major changes, and make it more like those plans offered by their other Vodafone provider next door.

Anyone agree?

The mobile providers in Aus offer very convoluted plans as a rule, and it is difficult to compare to what we have here (or anywhere else). Ultimately they offer good value, but it almost always causes a brain haemorrhage when trying to work them out.

The 'credit' they offer is nominal, and the charge per 30s, have flagfalls, etc.

Point taken. It took me a little longer to get the gist of it.

I wasn't exactly saying they should take what they have in AUS and copy it to NZ, though. I mean they should have a structure that kind of resembles what they have, because to me, I think most of their plans are of better value to here in NZ. and I know you said it wasn't exactly comparable. But Personally, I think they are at least somewhat comparable.

If your main point is the flexibility to use the cap as texts, calls, or data, then yes - this is definitely a good idea.

Yeah, the flexibility was my main point. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
But hey, this is VFNZ, they won't introduce the idea unless it is deemed absolutely, and i mean absolutely necessary . We all know how they work.

richms: Whatever they offer should not penelize people who use a service a lot like the current plans do, the charge for using more then your cap shouldnt be more then the cost of getting that cap, its just stupid to do things like offer 10 megs for $1 and then 1 meg for $1 after that.

What would be good is a sliding scale for your per min rate based on usage in the last 30 days or something, so a seldom use phone may be at $2 a min, someone who does 200 mins a month down to 40c, and 1000 mins a month at 10c or similar.

I definitely agree with you there, but as I said just up above, Vodafone most likely won't do it unless they really have to.

But I do like your idea.

Geektastic

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#147281 12-Jul-2008 23:16

"I definitely agree with you there, but as I said just up above, Vodafone most likely won't do it unless they really have to.

But I do like your idea."

Is this not indicative of a need for more effective regulation as well?

I like the idea but I don't quite get the "you pay us $30 and we'll give you $150" part of it!

Aaroona

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#147285 12-Jul-2008 23:30

Geektastic: "I definitely agree with you there, but as I said just up above, Vodafone most likely won't do it unless they really have to.

But I do like your idea."

Is this not indicative of a need for more effective regulation as well?

I like the idea but I don't quite get the "you pay us $30 and we'll give you $150" part of it!

Im not quite sure how to explain it. But there may be someone who might be able to explain it better.

But what happens, going on their plan they currently have is:

$29 Jumbo Cap Contract

$130 credit

Turns out I was only $20 off :P

But what happens, is you pay $29, and they give you $130 credit to use on THEIR network.

Its an interesting way of implementing plans.

Its like with VFNZ, they give you for $40 a month (Mega plan), 200VF2VF minutes, 2000 texts, (im not counting the 20 offnet minutes and the best mate)

So if you add up the basics.

2000 texts / 0.20c = $400 credit

200 minutes / 0.69c = $138 credit.

So going by my rule, you'd end up with around 500 and something dollars credit for $40.

But with the AUS plans, because they've done it like this, they have good flexability so if you want to spend all your money one month texting and maybe make one phone call. then you can, but then if the next month you want to make mostly phone calls, and a couple of texts, then you can do that too. But only paying like $29 a month.

The only upside to vodafone NZ's plans is that they are easy to uderstand. However, you're probably getting better value for your money in some regard if you were on Vodafone AUS

Sorry if this confuses you a little more. Im a little bit tired, but if anyone else is able to explain it better, please do.

Geektastic

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#147329 13-Jul-2008 10:50

The flexibility makes sense and is a very good idea. I for one would want more or less unlimited data on an iPhone and perhaps 90 minutes of NZ calls any time. I may send a handful of texts - but once I have proper email, I doubt I would send many.

I certainly do not need 600 txt's as allowed by VF in the current offerings (and no one over 25 would, I suspect!).

They really need an iPhone You Choose plan that bigs up the data possibilities and I think missed a serious trick in failing to do that. One wonders why they appear not to have undertaken even a simple survey of pootential users to find out what might be wanted. The assumption that you can base the decision solely on use patterns of early adopter users of existing smartphones suggests that they completely failed to grasp the principle essence of the iPhone!

sbiddle

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#147337 13-Jul-2008 11:19

Aaroona: Right guys, heres a question for you all.

What would you feel about paying what Vodafone is offering is AUS?

Like i'm probably talking more in the terms of their plan structure. Where if you pay say $30 a month, you will get $150 credit to use on Calling, texting, voice mail, etc. (Not an acual plan, but it shows the basic layout)

Do you like the sound of this structure compared to our current one? I personally think its time for Vodafone to make major changes, and make it more like those plans offered by their other Vodafone provider next door.

Anyone agree?

The capped plans that exist in the Australian market (which were pioneered by Vodafone) are fantastic. You aren't tied to specific usage and receive brilliant value for money. It's hard to factor exact comparisions because of issues such as call flagfalls that don't exist in NZ but reastically you'll receive a minimum of 3-5 x the value you will in NZ for the same monthly spend.

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ahmad

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#147347 13-Jul-2008 11:45

sbiddle:
Aaroona: Right guys, heres a question for you all.

What would you feel about paying what Vodafone is offering is AUS?

Like i'm probably talking more in the terms of their plan structure. Where if you pay say $30 a month, you will get $150 credit to use on Calling, texting, voice mail, etc. (Not an acual plan, but it shows the basic layout)

Do you like the sound of this structure compared to our current one? I personally think its time for Vodafone to make major changes, and make it more like those plans offered by their other Vodafone provider next door.

Anyone agree?

The capped plans that exist in the Australian market (which were pioneered by Vodafone) are fantastic. You aren't tied to specific usage and receive brilliant value for money. It's hard to factor exact comparisions because of issues such as call flagfalls that don't exist in NZ but reastically you'll receive a minimum of 3-5 x the value you will in NZ for the same monthly spend.

Yes, they DO sound good. Does it mean though that "overage" is charged higher than you'd expect given that you continue to be charged at "retail value" for your services?

richms

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#147365 13-Jul-2008 12:10

Flagfall is fine if the per min rate is good, Even with it most of their plans work out cheper then a comparable one here for a 2 min call even

Richard rich.ms

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#147372 13-Jul-2008 12:21

Aaroona: But looking at the AUS plans, I cant say im not at least a little jealous. I mean, I would actually be alright paying their iPhone plan of $69. While it is yes, about $7-$8 difference to our lowest plan here, it is also includes other options as well. Where you can choose to have an extra 100 VF2VF minutes (free), or 1 free best mate, or 100 free texts, among other options.

Plus the handset subsidised down to AUD$189 (with mobile payment plans available).

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Geektastic

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#147380 13-Jul-2008 12:34

Thinking about it, I see a flaw in the logic.

The only valid conclusion I can arrive at is that, if you pay say $50 per month and get a purported $150 worth of calls etc in return, the published figures that are used to divide up the $150 are inflated and that the actual cost is in fact $50.

Otherwise, VF would appear to be deliberately loosing $100/month per customer - something I suggest is highly unlikely!! Therefore the figures must be inflated to make you THINK you are getting a great deal whilst VF actually get what they wanted (ie $50) in return for what they are giving you!

JoeBloggs

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Ultimate Geek

#147381 13-Jul-2008 12:36

Their mobile coms arena is a great example of properly functioning market competition. I believe it was aided somewhat by a lot of government legislation however, insinuating that perhaps businesses don't compete 'freely' unless made to.

ahmad

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#147382 13-Jul-2008 12:40

Geektastic: Thinking about it, I see a flaw in the logic.

It's just an Australian way of offering a bulk discount, that anyone worldwide would expect.

In other countries like NZ (as I'm sure you know) we just pay for a pre-packaged deal of minutes for $x, but the per minute rate decreases as we buy more in bulk.

So just a different way of repackaging essentially the same thing.

JoeBloggs

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Ultimate Geek

#147385 13-Jul-2008 12:47

Geektastic: Thinking about it, I see a flaw in the logic.

The only valid conclusion I can arrive at is that, if you pay say $50 per month and get a purported $150 worth of calls etc in return, the published figures that are used to divide up the $150 are inflated and that the actual cost is in fact $50.

Otherwise, VF would appear to be deliberately loosing $100/month per customer - something I suggest is highly unlikely!! Therefore the figures must be inflated to make you THINK you are getting a great deal whilst VF actually get what they wanted (ie $50) in return for what they are giving you!

I know where you're going and I did the math myself a year or so ago. It's true that when these plans arrived they created a new structure with higher per minute rates and text charges. So when a customer is told they receive $150 worth of usage, it gets spent much quicker. However, when compared with our plans, you're still receiving enormous amounts of usage with much greater flexibility. VFNZ here has a huge revenue stream from people buying fixed minutes and texts and never end up using them.

I have family there and they tell me the average user can suffice quite happily on the $29 maxi cap. They even have email schemes implemented quite nicely into the regular plan structures. Add to that the incredible handset subsidies users receive, $2 or free simcards, and I think you get the gist of how different our telcos are set up.

Geektastic

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#147597 13-Jul-2008 22:22

JoeBloggs:
Geektastic: Thinking about it, I see a flaw in the logic.

The only valid conclusion I can arrive at is that, if you pay say $50 per month and get a purported $150 worth of calls etc in return, the published figures that are used to divide up the $150 are inflated and that the actual cost is in fact $50.

Otherwise, VF would appear to be deliberately loosing $100/month per customer - something I suggest is highly unlikely!! Therefore the figures must be inflated to make you THINK you are getting a great deal whilst VF actually get what they wanted (ie $50) in return for what they are giving you!

I know where you're going and I did the math myself a year or so ago. It's true that when these plans arrived they created a new structure with higher per minute rates and text charges. So when a customer is told they receive $150 worth of usage, it gets spent much quicker. However, when compared with our plans, you're still receiving enormous amounts of usage with much greater flexibility. VFNZ here has a huge revenue stream from people buying fixed minutes and texts and never end up using them.

I have family there and they tell me the average user can suffice quite happily on the $29 maxi cap. They even have email schemes implemented quite nicely into the regular plan structures. Add to that the incredible handset subsidies users receive, $2 or free simcards, and I think you get the gist of how different our telcos are set up.

There's no doubt that they are very different and I agree with the earlier post that companies like this tend not to function for the benefit of customers unless forced to do so. The UK is a good example of how severe telco regulation can work to benefit users.

My brother in the UK gets so many free minutes (which - unlike NZ - are allowed to roll over to the next month and the next etc) that he has no fixed line phone. He presently has over 4000 (yes, 4000!) minutes in credit and yet pays only about $60 equivalent and got his Nokia N95 for free!

It is a shame that VF NZ are not run as an outer office of VF Australia, with the same plans etc!

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