Nearly three months after reducing its NBN plan range to just "One Plan" Exetel has now done the same to its mobile range. The new plan is only available as eSIM, making Exetel the first mobile provider in Australia to stop offering physical SIM cards. This means you'll need an eSIM-capable device if you want to sign up to Exetel's mobile plan.
eSIM (or embedded SIM) is built into newer phones, usually alongside a physical SIM card tray. Most flagship devices from the last few years support new eSIM technology and support physical SIMs. This includes most iPhone models, Google Pixel, and Samsung devices.
Notably, the new iPhone Air launched in Australia as eSIM only. While iPhones in the United States have been eSIM only since the iPhone 14, iPhone 17 models sold in Australia still have physical SIMs.
You can quickly check if your phone is eSIM-enabled by entering "*#06#" on your device's phone keypad. If your phone supports eSIM, it will display a 32-digit EID number.
One of the key differences with eSIM is you can't just pop the SIM card out to put it in a new phone. The procedure may vary from provider to provider. To transfer your Exetel eSIM to another device, you'll first need to install the Exetel app on your new device, log in and follow the instructions while connected over WiFi.
So what does the new plan look like? After a refresh in July, Exetel was offering just one 4G mobile plan for $20 per 30-day recharge and one 5G option at $40 per 30-day recharge. The 4G plan has been effectively subsumed into the 5G plan, which has seen an increase in data.
The new Plus One plan comes with 5G connectivity on the Telstra wholesale network, 100GB of data with speeds capped to 150Mbps and a 1,000GB data bank, all for $40 with a 30-day prepaid recharge cycle. This does mean you're looking at recharging a total of 13 times across a year, however.
Exetel confirmed to WhistleOut that existing customers can remain on their legacy plans if they so choose. However, if they wish to migrate to the new plan, they'll need to order it separately via the website. Exetel does plan to include a migration pathway in the future.
Telstra's wholesale network covers 98.8% of the Australian population, second only to the 99.7% coverage you'll get on a
Telstra or Boost Mobile plan. As such, Telstra MVNO plans tend to be more expensive than those on the Optus or
Vodafone networks.
Here's a look at its new plan:
And here's how it compares to other prepaid plans in WhistleOut's database with at least 40GB of data on the Telstra network:
At a glance, it might be hard to pick a winner plan, but if we look at the value per GB of data then Exetel's new plan is a strong contender. With 100GB for $40 per recharge, you're looking at a low $0.40 per GB. Anything less than a dollar per GB is generally good value, but the lower the better. If you don't need that much data, then ALDI's plan tracks as a close second. It also has data rollover (with no cap) and has a $0.52 per GB value.
As we've mentioned, Optus and Vodafone network plans tend to be cheaper. Here's a look at prepaid plans on these networks with at least 40GB of data:
Out of these plans, it's TPG or iiNet's 100GB plans that have the best value per GB at just $0.22 per GB, while the plan is priced at $22.50 for the first six months and then $0.45 per GB once you're paying the full ongoing price of $45 per month.
While these plans come with download speeds up to 250Mbps, they don't come with data rollover, making Exetel the better option.
Editor's note 30 September: We updated this story after confirming that existing Exetel customers can remain on their current plans.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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