Optus adds 5G coverage to prepaid phone plans

Optus has expanded access to its ever-growing 5G mobile network, and will now offer connectivity to eligible prepaid customers.

Subscribers on Optus’ Flex prepaid plans can now access fast 5G speeds in selected areas, provided they’ve paired their plan with a 5G-capable smartphone. 5G access is now available to customers on Optus’ Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Flex 5G plans, with the exception of users in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

If you’re not currently covered by Optus 5G, or don’t have a 5G-ready phone, you can still stick with 4G-only Optus Flex plans for the time being. However, Optus’ new 5G-specific Flex options do provide the same data-for-dollars value, but with more included gigabytes (and a corresponding higher price per day, week, or month).

Optus Flex 5G plans include:

• Optus Flex Daily: $2 per day for 2GB of data, plus unlimited standard national talk and text in Australia
• Optus Flex Weekly: $14 per week for 14GB of data, plus unlimited standard national talk and text in Australia
• Optus Flex Monthly: $60 per month for 60GB of data, plus unlimited standard national talk and text in Australia

All plans include up to 200GB of data rollover for unused gigabytes when you recharge before expiry, and Weekly and Monthly plans also feature 300 minutes of standard international calls to 50 selected countries per recharge.

What is Optus Flex 5G?

Flex plans are Optus’ subscription prepaid options, that allow you to recharge per day, week or month, depending on your needs. Unlike pay-as-you-go prepaid, Optus Flex plans do come with unlimited talk and text and a set data allowance, and the data rollover feature allows customers to bank away unused gigabytes every time they recharge before expiry.

Customers can recharge and manage their Flex plan via the Optus app, and Flex plans are also eSIM-ready for customers with compatible smartphones. So if you have a 5G-enabled and eSIM-capable smartphone – such as the iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 series, or the Samsung S20 and S21 series – you can easily switch to a 5G Optus prepaid plan without the need for a physical SIM card.

If you’re an intermittent user, you may find the flexibility of recharging your plan for one day or week at a time to be convenient. Heavier phone users may prefer to pair their device with Optus’ more standard Epic Data and Epic Value plans, which do offer more data for your dollars and feature a 28-day or 365-day expiry period; however, these plans currently don’t include 5G network access.

Related article: Say goodbye to slow speed with Optus 5G

5G mobile plans compared

Optus isn’t the only telco opening up 5G speeds to prepaid mobile users. Vodafone now offers 5G coverage on all of its Prepaid Plus SIM plans, while Telstra provides 5G access on one prepaid plan: its online-only, $60 Prepaid Mobile SIM kit and recharge.

If you’re looking at Vodafone, you can connect to 3G, 4G and 5G where available on all five of the company’s prepaid plans and recharges, provided you have a 5G-capable phone. Plans begin at $30 for 15GB of full-speed data with a 28-day expiry, and six and 12-month options are also available.

All plans include Vodafone’s ‘Infinite’ data in addition to a full-speed gigabyte allowance; once you’ve used up your included fast data, you’ll have access to unlimited data capped at speeds of 1.5Mbps until you recharge. Plans also allow you to bank up to 200GB of unused full-speed data, as long as you recharge before expiry.

In comparison, Telstra customers will need to sign on for the telco’s $60 prepaid plan in order to access 5G, and will again need a 5G-ready phone. This plan includes 40GB of data per 28-day recharge, as well as unlimited standard national talk and text, and up to 200GB of data rollover when you recharge before your plan’s expiry date.

Of course, if you want a larger selection of 5G phone plans to pick from, you may prefer to go postpaid. 5G access is included on a range of plans from Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, SpinTel and Aussie Broadband, and all plans can be picked up on a SIM-only basis so you can bring your own 5G phone.