Are NZ Mobile Plans Overpriced Compared to Global Unlimited Roaming Deals?

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Are NZ Mobile Plans Overpriced Compared to Global Unlimited Roaming Deals?

maxzzz

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#324371 1-Apr-2026 15:29

Free (the French telecom operator, known as a disruptor, similar to what 2degrees once was in New Zealand) has just launched a new open plan called Free Max for €30/month (roughly $60 NZD).

What’s interesting is that this plan includes unlimited data not only in France but across 135 countries, including New Zealand. Even more surprising: it appears to rely on agreements with all three NZ operators (Spark, One NZ, and 2degrees), giving access to 4G/5G networks across all of them.

In other words, a single SIM (or eSIM) can effectively leverage the combined coverage of all NZ networks, arguably the best possible coverage you can get, while offering unlimited data here and overseas.

This raises an interesting question:
Is it time for another “2degrees moment” in New Zealand to push prices down again?

Right now, a visitor from overseas can pay less and get:

Unlimited data
Potentially better overall coverage with access to all NZ networks

Meanwhile, locals often pay more for less.

Do you think NZ telecom providers will respond to this kind of international pricing pressure and update their plans? Or are we likely to keep seeing relatively higher prices for comparatively limited offerings?

Screenshots and link:
https://mobile.free.fr/forfait-free-max?modal=roaming-destinations

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#3476617 1-Apr-2026 15:38

"giving access to 4G/5G networks across all of them."

Well given that 3G is gone, 4G/5G is pretty much the only option...

But the nitty gritty will be the speed offered ..

You can buy a unlimited plan from skinny for $40/month, but you get throttled after 10GB... There is no info provided on whether the "Unlimited data" is "Full speed" -

Nate001

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#3476620 1-Apr-2026 15:47

I don't have any issues with domestic NZ pricing, but the high roaming charges from all NZ carriers is ridiculous. Why can online retailers offer data eSIMs at much more reasonable costs?

richms

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#3476667 1-Apr-2026 15:54

Nate001:

I don't have any issues with domestic NZ pricing, but the high roaming charges from all NZ carriers is ridiculous. Why can online retailers offer data eSIMs at much more reasonable costs?

Because local telcos know that the only people that will bother using it are businesses who are married to their mobile numbers, and they will pay whatever is charged in order to get that sale from some other business who has yet to master the idea of email or whatsapp.

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maxzzz

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#3476668 1-Apr-2026 15:55

wellygary:

"giving access to 4G/5G networks across all of them."

Well given that 3G is gone, 4G/5G is pretty much the only option...

But the nitty gritty will be the speed offered ..

You can buy a unlimited plan from skinny for $40/month, but you get throttled after 10GB... There is no info provided on whether the "Unlimited data" is "Full speed" -

That’s a fair point, in NZ "unlimited" often comes with heavy throttling after a relatively small amount of data, so it ends up being more of a marketing term than true unlimited!

What’s interesting with Free is that historically, when they use the word "unlimited" it actually means full-speed data with no hard throttle after X GB, just subject to "reasonable personal use." They don’t typically implement the kind of sharp speed caps you see on plans like Skinny after 10–20GB.

This is because in France, the use of the word "unlimited" is quite tightly regulated. It’s overseen by ARCEP (the telecom regulator) and ARPP (advertising authority), and courts have ruled against operators in the past for misleading use of the term. If a plan were heavily throttled after just a few GB, it would likely be challenged as misleading.

That said, even in France, most "unlimited" plans still have very high soft limits (often in the 300–500GB range), but those are generally high enough that they don’t affect normal usage.

shk292

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#3476674 1-Apr-2026 16:10

richms:
Because local telcos know that the only people that will bother using it are businesses who are married to their mobile numbers, and they will pay whatever is charged in order to get that sale from some other business who has yet to master the idea of email or whatsapp.

I mostly agree with this, but even here on GZ we recently had a thread started by a fellow geek who was planning to use NZ telco roaming for an extended stay in Oz, rather than using an overseas or travel SIM. So if a geek thinks it’s too difficult or can’t be bothered, there must be loads of non-geeks who just stump up the cash like good cash cows when they travel. And as long as people do this, the telcos will continue to price gouge.

I’m lucky enough to have a UK SIM with free global roaming, not quite unlimited but 12GB for 10UKP and one month. As well as being great when overseas, I also use it when travelling in NZ when I know I’ll be out of Spark coverage or using lots of data.

Provided the T&Cs aren’t too onerous, anyone travelling to France would do well to grab one of the subject SIMs

maxzzz

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#3476731 1-Apr-2026 16:20

shk292:

I mostly agree with this, but even here on GZ we recently had a thread started by a fellow geek who was planning to use NZ telco roaming for an extended stay in Oz, rather than using an overseas or travel SIM. So if a geek thinks it’s too difficult or can’t be bothered, there must be loads of non-geeks who just stump up the cash like good cash cows when they travel. And as long as people do this, the telcos will continue to price gouge.

I’m lucky enough to have a UK SIM with free global roaming, not quite unlimited but 12GB for 10UKP and one month. As well as being great when overseas, I also use it when travelling in NZ when I know I’ll be out of Spark coverage or using lots of data.

Provided the T&Cs aren’t too onerous, anyone travelling to France would do well to grab one of the subject SIMs

I completely agree with you. And I think things are slowly changing, with the rise of eSIM apps and travel-focused plans, it’s becoming much easier for people to realise that traditional roaming from NZ telcos is just not competitive with what’s available globally.

Hopefully more people will start "voting with their wallet" because as long as customers keep paying high roaming fees out of convenience, there’s very little incentive for local providers to lower their pricing.

Your example with the UK SIM is exactly the kind of workaround that highlights the gap.

It actually got me thinking the same, even just as a backup in NZ, some of these offers are surprisingly compelling. For example, Free also has a plan around €10 (~$20 NZD) that includes about 30GB usable abroad. At that price, it’s almost hard to justify not having one as a secondary SIM, especially when travelling overseas or in areas with patchy coverage.

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richms

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#3476741 1-Apr-2026 16:58

Just watch using those app based sim things as a backup, because the app will need data to provision the esim, so if you have it there but not active, you are screwed when you are at a place where your prefered network is down and you want to activate and use the travel sim.

Richard rich.ms

Aucklandjafa

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#3476757 1-Apr-2026 17:55

The only downside would be latency as it’d be tunnelled back to France. Ditto with NZ telcos and their ripoff roaming charges

Linux

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#3476758 1-Apr-2026 17:57

Aucklandjafa:

The only downside would be latency as it’d be tunnelled back to France. Ditto with NZ telcos and their ripoff roaming charges

Not 100% correct data roaming can use local carriers data (forgot official name of it) so not delivered from home network

maxzzz

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#3476807 1-Apr-2026 18:04

This depends if the operator has access to a Local Breakout (LBO) but I am yet to see this type of technicala info clearly displayed.

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#3476811 1-Apr-2026 18:19

Thank you that is it Local Break Out - LBO

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Aucklandjafa

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#3476861 1-Apr-2026 18:43

maxzzz:

This depends if the operator has access to a Local Breakout (LBO) but I am yet to see this type of technicala info clearly displayed.

Surely that access would come at a premium, right?

maxzzz

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#3476877 1-Apr-2026 20:20

Aucklandjafa:

maxzzz:

This depends if the operator has access to a Local Breakout (LBO) but I am yet to see this type of technicala info clearly displayed.

Surely that access would come at a premium, right?

It’s definitely less common.

In practice, most operators stick with Home Routing because it’s simpler to manage (billing, policy control, etc.). Local Breakout (LBO) requires more coordination between the home and visited networks, so it’s typically only implemented in specific cases or regions.

From what I’ve seen, Free appears to use Home Routing for roaming, which is fairly standard. LBO tends to depend on the operator’s agreements and infrastructure, so availability can vary a lot by country and partner network rather than being a general "paid upgrade" feature.

That said, given the prices local operators charge for roaming, you’d expect them to arrange low-latency to most countries, with high-quality access like this to deliver the best possible user experience… but that might be asking a bit much 😄

deadlyllama

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#3477089 2-Apr-2026 09:17

When we were travelling in Europe a few years ago I discovered yohomobile's ultra cheap eSIMs. Looking up their current prices, 10GB of data for 30 days, usable in AU AND NZ, NZD11.20. 50GB for NZD41.27.

We used an eSIM travel router but you can also get "physical eSIMs" from Ali for ~$25.

The only reason to have a local SIM at that point is ease of use, and SMS & calling with an NZ number.

toejam316

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#3477155 2-Apr-2026 11:46

Linux:

Thank you that is it Local Break Out - LBO

Given my unfamiliarity with the concept, unless something has changed recently I'd be very surprised if anyone uses that on Spark. I suspect it's similar on the other carriers.

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