Vodafone plan 'shake-up' promises more data, calls and control

Vodafone has rolled out a raft of new features across its prepaid and post-paid plans in a bid to win over customers, calling the changes its "biggest ever plan shake-up."

As part of the raft of new inclusions, all new plans will get unlimited national calls and text, selected plans will get additional data and unlimited international calls to 10 countries, and customers on shared plans will be able to easily toggle data allowances on and off for other users on their plans -- a big win for parents of data-hungry teenagers.

According to Vodafone chief marketing officer Loo Fun Chee, it's all in a bid to simplify plan structure and the changes will let customers "use their mobile the way that they want and the way that they should, without worry."

The new plans come into an increasingly competitive market, and while there's plenty of talk about talk and text, the real telco battleground is data. Telcos are now offering deals such as data bonuses on the first month of new plans, data rollover and even unmetered content deals to ensure customers stay entertained without cutting into their cap.

Vodafone is certainly playing in this data space, bumping up data inclusions across many of its plans, including its top AU$100 Red Plan, which now comes with 10GB of data (previously 6GB).

For those on shared plans, the telco is also introducing a new Data Control feature. Customers that share their data inclusions will now be able to enter their MyVodafone self-service account and easily switch data on or off for other users sharing the allowance.

For those who are still into the art of conversation, Vodafone has also added sweeteners on talk and text.

From today, all new prepaid and post-paid plans for both consumers and businesses will include unlimited standard national calls and texts. Mid- to top-tier plans across prepaid, post-paid and SIM only will also receive unlimited standard international calls to 10 destinations worldwide. That means customers will be able to dial China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the UK and the US without worrying about minutes.

For those who aren't on unlimited international calling, Vodafone has introduced "automatic overage." That means if users go over their included international call allowance, they'll only have to pay a AU$6 flat rate for every additional block of 60 minutes that they require.

There's plenty of changes and add-ons to plans, so for full details head to Vodafone's website.