This morning Vodafone Australia launched a suite of data-free streaming passes that will allow customers to add unmetered streaming of video, music, social and chat to plans for between $5 and $15 extra per month. Unmetered streaming on "Vodafone Passes" is capped at speeds of 1.5Mbps.
The Vodafone Passes seem to be an extension to Vodafone's unlimited data plans, now rebranded as "data that never ends". These plans start at $60 per month and offer 55GB of full-speed data, followed by unlimited data capped at speeds of 1.5Mbps.
Choosing a Vodafone Pass paired with a lower data Vodafone plan would seem to be a more affordable option for customers who want to access unlimited streaming for data-intensive activities on their plans.
Vodafone passes – how they work
The Vodafone Passes are divided into four categories:
- Chat – unmetered access to Facebook Messenger, Viber and WhatsApp for $5 extra per month
- Social – unmetered access to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest for $10 extra per month
- Music – unmetered access to Amazon Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer and Sound Cloud for $10 extra per month
- Video – unmetered access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Stan for $15 extra per month
Vodafone Passes come with a number of caveats and exclusions. While speeds of 1.5Mbps should be fast enough for social media, chatting, music streaming and SD video, users will not be able to stream HD video. In addition, real-world speeds may be slower than 1.5Mbps during peak times, and may also be affected by location and device capability.
Meanwhile, voice calls via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are specifically excluded from unmetered streaming on the passes, as are access to ads, GIFs, album artwork and song lyrics that accompany music streaming and more. Vodafone does allocate 500MB of bonus data on the passes to use towards these exclusions. But once that 500MB is up, these activities come out of your plan's data allowance.
Subscriptions to streaming services like Netflix and Spotify are also not included in the passes and unmetered streaming data cannot be used for hotspotting or tethering.
Passes are available on handset as well as SIM-only postpaid plans and are available on a casual basis – add and remove them from your plan on a monthly basis.
What are the alternatives?
Vodafone's announcement comes just one day after Telstra announced the expansion of its own "peace of mind" data plans which offer unlimited data capped at speeds of 1.5Mbps. Telstra now offers more plans with peace of mind data included as well as the opportunity to add peace of mind data to selected plans for an extra $10 per month.
Vodafone's new passes offer competition to Telstra's offer as well as Optus' long standing data-free streaming inclusions for music and video including Spotify and Netflix. Optus offers data-free streaming as an inclusion on some plans while on other plans music and/or video streaming can be added for an extra $5 per month. That's a lot less than Vodafone's $15 for video and $10 for music streaming.
Are Vodafone Passes a good deal?
Honestly, it depends on which pass you choose and how much you think you'll be using it. For example, you can currently get a Vodafone handset plan with 2GB for $35 per month (not including handset repayments). Adding Vodafone's unmetered chat pass will increase your monthly payments to $40 per month. However, for $45 per month you could choose Vodafone's 15GB plan which would offer plenty of data for chatting and other online activities at full speed.
If you're a heavy data user, you may be looking at Vodafone's $45 per month plan with 15GB of data. You can add unmetered access to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Stan to your plan on a pass for an extra $15 per month. That will bring your monthly payments up to $60 per month, the same amount you would pay for a Vodafone endless data plan which would allow unlimited streaming of any video or music app as well as any other online activity for the same price at the same speed.
Compare Vodafone's plans here:
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#1
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Vodafone
$45.00/mth
Min. cost $45
Link not supplied
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#2
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Vodafone
$50.00/mth
Min. cost $50
Link not supplied
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#3
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Vodafone
$55.00/mth
Min. cost $55
Link not supplied
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While it may seem like a better deal to just go for a Vodafone endless data plan, a better move still would be to get a SIM-only plan from another provider. Thanks to increased competition on the market there are now dozens of high quality, low cost providers offering 15GB or more starting from $30 per month. If you're worried about the cost of buying your handset outright, our analyses of the market have consistently found it's cheaper to do so and get a SIM-only plan over 24 months.
All but the most intensive data users should be able to get all the data they need and more from a small provider SIM-only plan. Check out what's available now:
Jacqui Dent
Editorial Strategist
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