Voda, 3 launch new capped plans

From Thursday, Vodafone Hutchinson Australia will launch new post-paid cap contracts on both its Vodafone and 3 Mobile brands, unifying pricing across each network and offering some deals first to customers at the lower-end of the pricing spectrum.

The new caps will range across standard price points (AU$29, AU$49, AU$69, etc), but all the new caps from AU$19 and higher will now include free unlimited calls to customers on the same network. The same caps will also offer the choice to use the entire calling allowance on international calls, unlike previously where only an allotted amount of the calling allocation could be spent on overseas calls before customers were charged beyond their contract amount.

Internet data is also considered in the new pricing structure, with customers choosing an AU$49 per month contract receiving data included alongside calling and messaging quotas. Customers who choose an AU$69, AU$79 or AU$99 contract will either receive more data to use each month or have the option to access unlimited BlackBerry web browsing and email if they use a compatible BlackBerry handset.

All the new caps on both Vodafone and 3 will also share a single call rate; 90¢ per minute charged in 1-minute blocks and with a 35¢ flagfall.

*The AU$19 cap is only available on the 3 network.

VHA is also targeting BYO customers in its pricing shuffle, with 3 and Vodafone both offering new SIM-only deals at the same time. SIM-only contracts can be 24 months, 12 months or on a month-to-month basis.