You probably know how much mobile data you pay for every month, but do you know how much you actually use? I suppose, in this day and age, that’s like asking if you know how many liters of water you drink every month (“No, but I know it’s a lot”).

Mobile data usage has skyrocketed in recent years due to a variety of factors (not least the advent of autoplay features in social media apps such as TikTok). Analysis from Ericsson suggests the amount of data transferred over cellular data networks has increased more than sevenfold since 2020, with the monthly average now standing at 25GB per device in both the US and Western Europe.

But while it’s true that most of us are using more mobile data than ever, these numbers don’t quite paint the full picture — they embolden mobile operators to sell oversized data plans, and, in all likelihood, you’re paying for more data than you actually need.

That 25GB figure is skewed by smartphone users who rarely, if ever, touch Wi-Fi. We all stream HD video over 5G and occasionally set up mobile hotspots for our laptops, but some people do these things near-constantly (yes, really), using upwards of 100GB per month and disproportionately affecting the monthly average.

By contrast, Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2025 suggests the average person in the UK uses 10.6GB of data per month, while Statista puts the equivalent US figure at between 5 and 15GB, which aligns with Ofcom’s findings. All three numbers are significantly lower than the 25GB figure quoted by Ericsson, suggesting they account for those disproportionately high usage cases (there are, of course, disproportionately low usage cases to consider too).

Unlimited mobile data plans are a popular choice among users who don’t want to be charged per gigabyte or exceed a monthly limit, but as above, these plans are rarely better options — financially speaking — than the cheaper, fixed-capacity data plans they sit above.

“Mobile operators and MVNOs [Mobile Virtual Network Operators] face higher network costs as data usage increases, which is why plans with larger allowances typically cost more,” Christian Banhans, UK Managing Director at mobile operator spusu, exclusively tells TechRadar. “However, many customers only use a fraction of their monthly data, meaning they may be paying for more than they actually need.”

“The main reason customers use less data than their allowance is psychological, as they want to avoid running out, so they often choose plans with more data than they need,” Banhans continues. “Providers also face fixed costs for each plan, alongside the costs of (often unlimited) minutes and texts. In our experience, the difference in underlying costs is relatively small compared with the pricing difference between plans.”

“Larger plans often have a lower cost per gigabyte, making them appear better value even when much of the data goes unused. This is where the gap between what customers pay for and what they use tends to be greatest.”

How to check your data usage

Banhans notes that there are several ways consumers can avoid paying for more data than they need. “The first is to sync your phone’s internal data counter to the billing cycle and track how much data you need per month, or download a standalone application to do that.”

To check your data usage on your iPhone, go to Settings, Cellular (or Mobile Service), then scroll down to the Mobile Data menu. The Current Period displayed here reflects your data usage since the last time your Mobile Data Usage Statistics were reset, which will probably be some time ago. To align that figure with your specific monthly billing cycle, you’ll want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap Reset Statistics on the same day each month that your billing cycle resets. You can set up a recurring Reminder to help you remember to do this.

A more straightforward solution, though, is to track your data usage through your network provider's official app — which will already be aligned with your monthly billing cycle — or use a third-party data tracking app like My Data Manager and Data Remaining.

On Samsung phones, the process is simpler. If you go to Settings, Connections, then Data Usage, you’ll see your data usage displayed in a monthly format by default. To manually align the dates to your monthly billing cycle, tap Billing cycle and data warning, then Start billing cycle on.

To see your monthly data usage on Pixel phones, go to Settings, Network & internet, then SIMs. You can choose which date you’d like your data usage stats to be reset under App data usage cycle. The process is similar for most other Android phones.

How to choose the right data plan

If, using the above methods, you find that you’re paying for more data than you actually use, you’ll want to choose a data plan that better fits your needs.

I suggest choosing a data allowance that sits a gigabyte or two above your monthly average, unless the provider in question makes it easy (and affordable) to add more data to the plan as and when needed. “It’s also important to account for occasional high-usage months, as well as factors such as Wi-Fi access and travel habits, when choosing the right allowance,” Banhans adds.

Some network providers allow you to ‘rollover’ unused data so it can be used in another month, but this shouldn’t be seen as a reason to choose a data allowance that far exceeds your real-world monthly average: “While rollover data is often presented as a solution to unused data allowances, the extra data frequently goes unused and eventually expires unless a customer’s usage varies significantly from month to month.”

In some cases, unused rollover data can be converted into money off new plans or device contracts, but these savings are often laughably small compared to the money you’ll have overspent on accruing that rollover data in the first place.

So, in summary, while unlimited and large-capacity data plans are attractive options for many people, network providers rely on consumer ignorance to sell these often excessive packages. If you put in the small amount of work required to determine your actual monthly data usage — using the methods outlined in this article — you could save hundreds over the course of a year.

• AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are working together to offer standardized satellite connectivity
• It would benefit customers not covered by cell towers, like in national parks
• Operators globally are looking to use satellite for more than emergencies, now

In a rare turn of events, three of the biggest mobile carriers in the US have announced they will be working together to tackle 'dead zones' across the country using satellites.

The joint venture, formed by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, should help to improve connectivity in areas where traditional towers can fail, such as national parks and highways.

Satellites could also provide continuity in disaster-struck regions, where land-based infrastructure damages can cause widespread outages.

Satellite technology to eliminate dead zones

Because the joint venture's plan revolves around direct-to-device satellite tech, it would mean that regular smartphone could access signal in rural areas without consumers needing to buy specific satellite phones. While many phones now offer limited services via satellite, it's hoped that the scheme would make roaming between cellular and satellite networks more seamless.

"Having launched the first nationwide, satellite-powered direct-to-device network for text and data, we’ve seen firsthand how critical reliable connectivity can be when America needs it most," T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan commented.

T-Mobile already partners with SpaceX, which has been expanding its footprint across voice and data services on top of earlier emergency texting functionalities. AT&T and Verizon also have partnerships with AST SpaceMobile for their satellite services.

The announcement comes amid a broader global shift, whereby satellite networks are becoming more tightly integrated with regular 5G and 6G cell connections, instead of being a separate emergency-only tool.

As well as improving coverage and performance for customers, the joint venture also anticipates industry benefits, such as industry-wide device compatibility and an easier way for mobile network operators (MNOs) to integrate satellite connectivity for their customers.

The agreement in principle is yet to be confirmed, pending regulatory approval and confirmation of the finer details.

• BT reveals host of new offerings for businesses and consumer users across the UK
• Business users will now get free security tools as part of BT contract
• BT also selected as official telecoms partner of Euro 2028

BT has announced a host of new updates and upgrades for its customers across the UK, as well as revealing it has been chosen as the official telecommunications partner for the upcoming Euro 2028 football tournament.

Launching a new "Behind Brilliant Things" at London's Wembley Stadium, the company unveiled a host of new announcements as it looks to continue its role as a mainstay of UK connectivity.

Along with its Euro 2028 news, the company also revealed the comeback of its BT Mobile brand, new eSIM offerings, and extra security tools for business and customer accounts.

Euro 2028 and more

"As the connector of the country, BT really matters, especially when it comes to events that connect the country, unite the country and showcase the country to the rest of the world," noted Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, BT Group.

Since the start of the decade, BT has been the single biggest investor of all FTSE companies into UK infrastructure, she added, with the group spending £25 billion to become "digital backbone" of the country in what Kirkby called "a once in a generation investment."

This puts BT on track to reach more than 90% of UK homes and businesses by the end of the decade - a major rise from the current two-thirds.

The company already connects over a million businesses across the UK, along with public sector partners, making it a crucial ally for firms around the country.

"BT really is the only UK operator with the ability, the security expertise, and the operational resilience that can deliver connectivity of this magnitude across the UK," added Jon James, CEO Business.

"BT is trusted every day to deliver the services that help the UK succeed."

In order to help maintain this success, James revealed "a significant upgrade" to the security tools BT offers business customers across the UK, who will now receive Cyber Threat Protect, a new security solution powered by CrowdStrike, free of charge.

"BT is delivering big security for small and medium businesses, at a time when cybercrime has never been more worrying," James added.

Set to be held across 9 cities and broadcast to over 2 billion fans worldwide, Kirkby noted how Euro 2028 offers BT a huge opportunity to show off the state of its network, as well as providing a lasting technology legacy to continue after the tournament.

"Only BT could be behind moments," she said, adding , "you can't always see it, but we're there...trusted to connect homes, businesses and communities, trusted to protect families, organizations and critical public services, and trusted to supercharge the UK - powering progress, so everyone can thrive in this digital age."

• Vodafone has just passed a major landmark for satellite video calls
• It's demoed a "space video call" using a standard smartphone
• The service will roll out later this year, though there's no pricing yet

Vodafone has announced that it's hit a new milestone in the race to end frustrating cellular 'dead zones' – with what it's calling the "world's first space video call" using a standard mobile phone from "an area of no coverage."

Those qualifiers are important because Starlink and T-Mobile demoed a video call made through X (formerly Twitter) using unmodified phones last year. So Vodafone's claim is specific to making video calls from areas like the remote part of Wales where its demo took place.

Still, it's certainly a significant moment and a big step on Vodafone's path towards adding satellite connectivity to its network by the end of this year in the UK and across Europe "from later in 2025 and 2026."

Rather than replacing existing networks, direct-to-mobile satellite connectivity aims to be a helpful extension that could eliminate "not spots" (or dead zones) in rural areas and also, according to Vodafone, "vast stretches of surrounding sea."

Vodafone claims that its satellite experience "mirrors the experience of existing 4G and 5G mobile networks", although the demo phone call (which you can watch in the video below) certainly showed evidence of lag and low-res footage. We may have to wait for the full roll-out to get a better idea of quality.

The service is provided by BlueBird satellites from Vodafone's partner (and SpaceX rival) AST SpaceMobile. The system is based on five satellites and Vodafone calls it "the first and only mobile broadband network in space" that works directly with standard smartphones.

Rivals systems, like T-Mobile and Starlink's, are currently limited to text messages, although video calls and mobile data are on the roadmap. With AT&T and Verizon also working with AST SpaceMobile to provide a similar service in the US, satellite calling looks ready to take off globally in 2025.

How much will it cost?

The big unknown of Vodafone's satellite connectivity and rival systems is how much they'll cost. Vodafone hasn't yet commented on pricing, only stating that it'll start rolling out the service "following further tests this Spring" (so between March and June).

The need for satellite coverage, particularly video calls, depends greatly on where you live. In the UK, Ofcom has estimated that 9% of the country "lacks good quality 4G coverage from any operator". But those who live in urban areas will also be familiar with phone network "dead zones" caused by interruptions between cell towers.

Apple's iPhones and now Android phones like the Google Pixel 9 series have received free Emergency SOS Satellite features, which can be potential lifesavers. iOS 18 also introduced the ability to text anyone via a satellite connection, plus the option of getting roadside assistance.

It's possible that those services will eventually need a subscription, but Apple hasn't started charging yet. So, the question for mobile networks like Vodafone is how many people will need full mobile broadband via satellite compared to the emergency features that are currently available for free from Apple.

Still, we're not complaining about getting more connectivity options, and competition will hopefully drive the prices of satellite-based services down in the long term.

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• The end of ‘dead zones’? Starlink’s direct-to-cell satellite service passes big milestone
• How to send satellite messages on iPhone

It’s travel season! Your flight is booked, you’ve packed your luggage—you even remembered the sunscreen. You’re ready to go, but there’s one essential thing you do not want to forget before you jet off into the sunset. A data package from Nomad eSIM is the travel must-have that ensures you stay connected to your favorite apps and people no matter where the wanderlust takes you. Nomad eSIM makes buying regional data connections easy and affordable, freeing you from costly roaming fees. 

Nomad eSIM offers local data connectivity that is ready when you are 

The fear of being disconnected in a strange place or risk racking up an extremely high mobile bill can damper the excitement of traveling. There’s always the option of tracking down and purchasing a local SIM card, but if you often travel or experience jet lag, the last thing you want to do is go on an unguided trek through airport shops. Not to mention the waste of having unusable SIM cards floating around in your luggage after you return home. Even if you do find a local SIM card, you’ve got the hassle of hoping you have a key for your phone to access the SIM card port. It's dreadfully inconvenient, but it doesn’t have to be. 

Nomad eSIM is an app you can download on your smartphone that allows you to access roaming-free local data in 170 countries, with prices starting at just $0.98/GB—lower than local SIM rates. Conveniently compatible with an array of tablets, laptops, and smartphones—including the latest from iPhone, Samsung, and Google Pixel—Nomad eSIM gives you the ability to purchase only the data you need, when and where you need it. 

A data plan from Nomad eSIM can even be used as a tether or hot spot between multiple devices. It's as easy as purchasing a data plan via the Nomad eSIM app, installing the eSIM via QR Code, and activating the plan when you are ready to start using it. Nomad believes in the power of redundancy. By providing more than 1 local network provider in every country, users always have options to connect in case coverage is bad in different locations.

Nomad eSIM provides data usage tracking tools on both the Nomad app and the Nomad website. Both platforms allow you to manage your eSIMs and check for things like data usage, how much data you have left, and how long until your plan expires. There are no hidden fees with Nomad, either. Your data plan is stopped when your devices reach the limit of available data for that plan.

Nomad eSIM is as affordable as it is convenient 

Roaming fees for data can rack up some serious charges on your phone bill. While some other data companies offer convenient roaming data packages starting at $10 a day, it can still be expensive, with spotty connectivity that just isn’t worth the cost. Nomad offers a more convenient and affordable means of staying connected that doesn’t require you to switch out your phone’s SIM card or pay an exorbitant fee for a lesser connection. Nomad data plans are 20-40% cheaper than the competition and benefit from a partnership with numerous connectivity providers globally. Nomad strives to have more than one local provider in each of the 170 countries to ensure that your connection is always as strong as possible.

Are you really travel-ready without Nomad eSIM? 

We all want to share our adventures and travel photos with friends and family via social media. Data connectivity can also be vital for finding restaurants, shopping, and things to do while in a new location. Nomad eSIM offers day packages, weekly options, and even month-long connectivity packages for data, and you can add on to your plan as you see fit. With Nomad, you can share photos and videos of your trips, make video calls with FaceTime or Facebook Messenger, or even work remotely on your own terms without incurring roaming fees or unforeseen charges. An eSIM from Nomad just may be the most important thing in your travel bag this season.

If you’re thinking about switching mobile networks, it might be time to give Verizon a second look. As the largest carrier in the US, Verizon not only has a lot of coverage to ensure you get the service you pay for, but it also has a lot of ways it can offer extra value to its subscribers. Here’s a quick look at just a few ways you can get more out of a Verizon subscription, including a special new plan available to switchers for a limited time.

You don’t need to pay for a new phone

A big part of people’s monthly payments to their carrier is the price of a phone split up over many months. But you don’t have to get a new phone to switch to Verizon. Verizon supports a wide variety of phones, and it will let you bring yours to save on your bill every month. 

Of course, if you do want a new phone, Verizon has incentives for new subscribers to various plans that can see the upfront and total price of the devices reduced. 

You can group up for huge value

If you’ve got friends or family who could use a new carrier as well, the value you can get from Verizon goes through the roof. For example, Verizon’s 5G Start plan costs $70/month for one person. For two people, that drops to $60 per line each month. Bump up to four lines, and each person on the plan is only paying $35 a month, or even just $30 if you have a fifth line. 

You can save money while saving time and the planet

Thought those group plan prices were good? Well they can get even better. If you enable Auto Pay and paperless billing on your account, you’ll save even more. You’ll save your time not having to log in every month to sort out paying the bill. You’ll save the planet a little bit by not wasting paper and the emissions of delivery on the paper bill. And you’ll save $10 per line every month.  

A new plan to kick it off

If you’re a new customer trying to max out all the value offerings, Verizon’s new Welcome Unlimited plan can keep the value rolling. This plan puts you on Verizon’s 5G Nationwide network, which covers over 2,700 cities in the US. It gives you unlimited talk, text, and data as well. 

By bringing your own phone, grouping up with three other people, and taking advantage of Verizon’s AutoPay and paperless billing incentives, your bill can go as low as $25 per line each month. Add a fifth person, and it’ll be just $20. If you think a deal like that can’t last, Verizon has news for you. The carrier is offering a three-year price guarantee on the plan, so you can lock that value in.

You’ll also get to enjoy other perks that come with Verizon’s unlimited plans, like unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada; international texting to over 200 countries and territories; and automatic spam call blocking. Plus, Verizon Up rewards provide extra treats for subscribers, like early access to ticket sales for major events and special discounts on mobile accessories and items from retail partners.

If you’re ready to see the value Verizon can offer you, you can check out the plans and get started signing up for Welcome Unlimited here.

Verizon is the biggest mobile carrier in the US, and there are some perks that come from linking yourself up to the biggest player. If you’re considering swapping carriers, you should know the benefits Verizon offers and the extra value you can get from its plans, especially with its current incentives for new customers.

A solid welcoming offer

The value is plain to see when you can get a smaller monthly bill, and Verizon’s Welcome Unlimited plan is offering just that. With four new lines, you can pay just $25 per line when you bring your own device and enroll in Auto Pay and paperless billing. 

While this is a limited time offer, you don’t have to worry about it disappearing on you if you sign up now. Verizon is guaranteeing the price for three years.

A broad network

You want to make sure the network you pay for is one you’re actually getting to use. Verizon’s 5G Nationwide network covers over 2,700 cities in the United States, to provide you with coverage whether you’re at home or constantly on the move. The 5G Nationwide network uses low-band spectrum to provide this wide-reaching coverage.

International benefits

Whether you want to travel the world or just have friends and family to keep up with abroad, Verizon has big perks for you to really boost your value. Trips to Mexico and Canada are a lot simpler with Verizon, since you can continue to use your unlimited talk, text, and data in either country, and that includes making calls and texts to numbers in those countries. You’ll even get 2GB of high-speed data a day. 

Need to reach even further? You can text from the US to over 200 countries and territories with no additional charges.

Extra rewards every month

Verizon has special gifts for its customers on a regular basis with Verizon Up rewards. These include things like early-access ticket sales to popular events, so you can beat the rush, as well as discounts on accessories for your phones and exclusive discounts from partners.

Thoughtful upgrades for those who need them

If you decide later on that you want even more capabilities for your lines, Verizon has a handful of upgraded plan options that you can make on a per-line basis. These can come with extra features, like mobile hotspot data, cloud storage, access to the extra-fast 5G Ultra Wideband network, and added media packages like Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass, and the Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ bundle.

If you want to start saving with Verizon’s Welcome Unlimited plan, you can sign up here.

Yup, I'd sign up for T-Mobile and Starlink's new satellite-powered cell services today, if I could. It's that kind of a game-changer. But to understand why I think that we first have to look at the limitations of current satellite phones and what could make this system fundamentally different and more attractive to the average consumer.

I've watched enough war movies to start recognizing when the general or under-attack squad leader pulls out a satellite phone. It's like the communication device of last resort. In the jungle, wilderness, on a lonely desert island, or any number of cellular dead zones around the world, it's the only way to communicate with home base.

And it's completely impractical for most people not in the thick of battle or climbing Mount Everest.

Most satellite phones, like the Iridium line popularized in innumerable action movies, are expensive (often costing well over $1,000). And they can be ungainly because they need a huge external antenna, one that will make your late 1990s-era feature phone antenna look quaint. 

Generally, satellite phones do not work indoors and they may need a cable and external antenna adapter to make sure they can connect with the network of orbiting satellites.

All of this is why we didn't build our smartphone networks on a satellite system (just our GPS system) and instead opted for ground-based cell towers to cover as much area as possible. This, of course, also meant that the cell tower growth would be primarily in major metropolitan areas, leaving huge swaths of the world with dead zones, especially in some rural areas, underdeveloped nations, remote regions, and the ocean.

Knowing all this, there was always a little bit of me that wanted to at least try a satellite phone and test it by doing my own version of Tom Hanks' Cast Away. I'm not saying I'm ready to be stranded on a desert island, but maybe a jaunt into the mountains or, better yet, a cruise where connectivity is always at a premium.

Naturally, I was intrigued by the headlines about what Elon Musk's Starlink and T-Mobile might offer, especially because I knew that many people have successfully used Musk's Starlink orbiting satellite system to connect to the Internet. And I have to admit, that, after listening to the slightly over-the-top presentation, the reality sounds even better.

Beam me up

To start with, the plan, as outlined by T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Musk on Thursday, does away with most of the limitations of traditional satellite phones.

First of all, it's using a slice of T-Mobile's mid-band PSC spectrum (part of the 5G spectrum), which means that you don't need a satellite phone to connect, just your regular smartphone, albiet one on the T-Mobile network.

Secondly, the images of some mud-covered army grunt rolling out from cover to make sure his battle-scarred sat-phone has a clear view of the sky need not be applied to the T-Mobile Starlink plan.

Musk claimed that the connection will work "in your pocket, in your car."

Third, you probably won't even need to sign up for a special service. Sievert gleefully told the crowd (which seemed to cheer on cue), "I would expect the pricing for this service to be the Uncarrier's favorite price. The price that we've made famous, which is that we expect, on our most popular plans, for this service to be included for free."

Sievert later clarified that more affordable plans will probably pay an additional monthly fee for the ability to use the satellite service. But this being a tech alliance announcement and not a product rollout, no pricing information was forthcoming.

Still, I'm excited about the possibility of, say, an upcoming iPhone 14 Pro or even the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 I currently have running on T-Mobile being able to connect from virtually anywhere in the world - well, not exactly anywhere.

While this plan will offer you a connection for calls and texts (and maybe a photo and even the tiniest video) in places where you'd normally have no connectivity, it won't cover more than, as Sievert explained, "the lower 48 [of the United States], ...vast parts of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and territorial waters and even vast parts of the world's oceans." T-Mobile is not a global company and while Starlink's satellites orbit the globe, T-Mobile's plan won't extend to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, etc. without international carrier partnerships, which may or may not be in the offing.

I'm also aware that this is still just a promise.

Starlink has roughly 3,000 satellites in low-earth orbit right now but none of them are equipped to support this plan. Musk explained how they must equip Starlink second-generation satellites with giant, advanced phase-array antennas. Musk highlighted the challenges of sending a signal from your phone to a satellite 500 miles overhead and that's also traveling at 17,000 miles per hour (though he added that they had it working in the lab).

In other words, it's gonna take some time to literally get the plan off the ground and into the sky and the beta rollout won't happen until 2023.

I can't lie and say that the promise of "the end of dead zones," as Musk put it, doesn't excite me. Even in the suburbs I live with them and wonder if an orbiting satellite network as a backup might not ease some of my frustration. However, I also take Sievert and Musk's point that this is not just about consumer convenience. Hikers and people lost at sea or caught in blizzards have died because they couldn't communicate. This might help, providing their phones still have power and, I think, the sky is clear.

Looking beyond the somewhat silly pomp and circumstance of the launch event, I could not help thinking that this was important and that, yes, I wanted my cellphone to also be a satellite phone because why should any of us ever be disconnected?

If you think you might want to upgrade your smartphone before the advent of a phone satellite network, check out our list of the best smartphones of 2022.

The new OnePlus 10 Pro 5G smartphone recently went on sale in the United States and now has official certification to work on Verizon’s 5G network. Up until now, the device was exclusive to T-Mobile in the US.

Under Verizon’s 5G network, you can expect fast speeds for uploading pictures and videos, even in places with low bandwidth. It can also mean, depending on 5G coverage in your area, a more stable connection and fewer random drops in quality

However, it appears that the phone will not be able to take full advantage of Verizon’s two 5G standards. A Verizon representative told TechRadar that the smartphone does not support the mmWave spectrum, only the C-Band.

Lightning-fast speeds

According to Verizon, the C-Band is their mid-tier spectrum with speeds up to a gigabit and it’s available across a wider geographical area. The frequency can even penetrate buildings so you never lose those impressive speeds inside a building or tunnel.

The mmWave (millimeter wave) spectrum is even faster as it has frequencies between 28 and 39GHz with almost no lag. But the signal doesn’t go very far and it can’t enter buildings like lower frequencies.

Think of the C-Band as the Goldilocks standard in that it’s just right. It has fast enough speeds with a much wider range. Plus, this loss won’t really affect a lot of people as a report from 2021 by Opensignal revealed that only 0.5 percent of Verizon customers utilize mmWave.

Why mmWave isn’t supported could be because of hardware limitations. The 10 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and up to 12GB of RAM. You’d expect the 10 Pro to have high-performance benchmarks, but it really doesn’t.

It’s actually slower than its predecessor, the OnePlus 9. In exchange, the 10 Pro is better optimized for AI and battery so the power needed for the mmWave was possibly throttled for other usage.

Supporting programs

Alongside the 5G certification, the OnePlus 10 Pro is also a part of Verizon’s Bring Your Own Device program. If you bought the phone from a different retailer or T-Mobile, you use this program to switch carriers. There, you select which phone plan you’d like.

And if you sign up for the unlimited plan, you’ll get a $500 gift card.

During the Google IO 2021 keynote, the search giant revealed a range of updates to its Search services, including improvements to its translation filter and the addition of professional athletes to its AR search - all in the name of learning.

Many of the new features are driven by Google's new Multitask Unified Model - or 'MUM' for short. It allows for enhancements in AI, and gives Google's artificial intelligence the ability to multitask, whereas most AI models do one task at a time.

Google is currently experimenting with MUM, but has confirmed it's already trained across 75 languages and can learn not only from text, but also other assets including images and information in languages you don't speak.

• Google IO 2021: everything that's been announced
• Android 12: the next major Android update
• iOS 15: Apple’s answer to the next Android upgrade

Talk my language

One of the major updates is to the translate filter on Google's Lens camera app, which allows users to point their smartphone's camera at text written in a foreign language and get it translated on-screen.

A trio of new features here include the ability to search for relevant things in relation to the translated text from within the app itself - making it quicker and easier to understand what you're reading and find what you're looking for.

There's support for over 100 languages and the translate feature can even pull information on whatever topic you're studying from websites all over the world - no matter what language they're in, as it will translate the sites before serving the results.

The translate filter can now also read out the text, providing you with the pronunciation of words, aiding the learning and development of language skills.

Finally, you'll also be able to copy and paste translated text, allowing you to send it to others. Google's scenario example for this feature talked about those studying in a second language, with the ability to translate text into their native language and send it to family and friends who may be able to assist them with their studies.

The Google Lens update will be available globally on Android devices (via the Google app and Len app) from May, while the updates will arrive on iOS devices later in the coming months.

Athletes in your backyard

Google is expanding its AR (augmented reality) search to include well-known athletes, providing visual representation of complex sports movements from top performers from around the world.

With the AR integration you can, for example, superimpose a gymnast performing their routine seemingly in your backyard. The idea behind these AR experiences is to get people engaged with different disciplines and to help teach those with aspirations of going pro in the future.

Google already has a number of big names signed up to the service, with more expected in the future. This feature is available from May 18 in the Google app for Android and iOS devices worldwide.

Learning reliably

Google also wants to highlight reliable sources of information, and is improving its 'About this result' feature in search results. It's set to roll out the feature in English language, globally soon, with more languages and greater source information in the pipeline.

The search giant says it wants to provide users access to timely and reliable information, especially around health, politics and current events in an attempt to battle the vast amount of disinformation now on the web.

'About this result' provides information on websites surfaced by search, including a description of the site (pulled from Wikipedia) along with the date it was first indexed and details on whether the connection to the site is secure.

Websites won't be able to edit the information that appears in the 'About this result' section, but they will be able to provide feedback to Google.

Google hopes this additional layer of transparency will help inform users, although it remains to be seen what effect it will have on breaking news and factual information.

• What is the Google Pixel 6?

If you're one of the many data-hungry Aussies that keep going over their current monthly mobile cap, newly-arrived telco Circles.Life has an offer you simply can't refuse.

Until 1pm on November 14, if you sign up with Circles.Life on its SIM-only plan, you'll get a whopping 100GB of data every month for the first year for only AU$28. What's more, there's no lock-in either, so you can leave whenever you want.

After your first 12 months, the data cap will drop significantly – back down to 20GB – but even that is reasonably good value for such a small monthly fee, and because it's not a contract plan, you can jump ship after the first year if you find something better.

Check out more details on the plan offered by Circles.Life below (and be sure to enter the 100GBFOR28 code at checkout to get the special offer).

Just recently, we wrote about Circles.Life's 20GB for AU$18 introductory offer that we found very impressive, and that's still live until November 30 if you want to save even more on your monthly mobile plan... and aren't so desperately in need of huge slabs of data.

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If you want to see what it would cost you to get at least 100GB of data on SIM-only plans from other networks (and how few options there are even are), check out the comparison table below and weep.

After confirming last year that the Australian Vodafone mobile network and TPG internet service were planning a merger, the consumer watchdog ACCC wasn’t necessarily pleased with the idea.

Now, the ACCC has officially revealed that it will be blocking the $15 billion merger and, in error, has made the news public via a media release that was published while stocks were still trading. 

Naturally, this sent TPG’s share prices plummeting, dropping 13.5 % to $6.07 and lowering the market value of the company by around $1 billion. Talking with the Sydney Morning Herald, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said the Commission was “embarrassed” and “acutely aware of the impact on the market”.

• TPG and Vodafone Australia confirm merger rumours

“Australia already has a very concentrated mobile services market, with the three network operators, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, having over 87 per cent share,” the updated release from ACCC reads. “Similarly, the fixed broadband market is concentrated, with Telstra, TPG and Optus having approximately 85 per cent share.”

The ACCC would much prefer TPG to instead enter the mobile market as a separate entity, which would theoretically give Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone further rivalry and ensure a more competitive market for consumers.

In response to the opposition, both TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchinson Australia will be taking the ACCC to Federal Court, claiming that the merger will not negatively influence competition in the mobile sector, which is one of the primary reasons for the ACCC’s opposition.

• TPG kills its 4G network rollout following Huawei ban
• Vodafone Australia simplifies its pre-paid mobile plans in lead-up to TPG merger

The Samsung Galaxy S10 launches next month, and all signs point to a 5G version of the phone being there, too. But it might not come to all US carriers at first.

It's the bigger Galaxy S10 Plus we're talking about today, and it's set to get faster 5G speeds with 'maxed out' specs – if you're using Verizon, says Max Weinbach of XDA Developers.

We covered his tweets about key Galaxy S10 specs, including the RAM, storage, and camera leaks, but Weinbach also goes into a little more detail about the 5G version.

He notes Verizon won Samsung's bidding war for the 5G Galaxy S10 Plus, though he adds "not sure how long this lasts." Other carriers like AT&T surely want in too.

Exclusives are the pricey path to 5G

Carriers want 5G bragging rights, especially in the US and especially when it comes to a top-tier smartphone maker like Samsung. 

It's much a better business decision for a company like Samsung to sell its 5G phone to single carrier because it'll be expensive to make and mass produce. A phone that's more expensive than the max-out Note 9 isn't going to be the most popular.

That means the 5G Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus may be more about boasting than it is about getting 5G into the hands of everyday consumers. It's going to take some time for mass adoption.

As we learned from the forthcoming Verizon-bound Moto Z3 5G add-on, the 5G revolution is coming in 2019, making for thicker, expensive, and more power-hungry smartphones that are, so far, exclusive to Verizon.

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Update: Google Duplex has finally started rolling out, but so far only to a small number of Pixel users in select cities.

Google announced all kinds of goodies at this year’s Google IO, and one of the most interesting was Google Duplex. 

It’s an artificial intelligence agent that can make phone calls for you – and we don’t mean dialing the number. We mean it has actual conversations with real life people.

If you haven’t already seen the demo, please watch it below by skipping to 1 hour, 55 minutes on the video from Google's Keynote. We recommend you watch it as it's amazing.

Now, we know that keynote videos are the Instagram photos of the tech world: what you see is highly polished, carefully selected and often vastly different to what you can expect in reality... but Duplex could be really useful.

• I tried to fool Google Duplex, Google's mind-blowing AI booking assistant

What is it?

Google Duplex isn’t designed to replace humans altogether. It’s designed to carry out very specific tasks in what Google calls "closed domains". So for example you wouldn’t ask Google Duplex to call your mum, but you might ask it to book a table at a restaurant.

What can it do?

Initially Google Duplex will focus on three kinds of task: making restaurant reservations, scheduling hair appointments and finding out businesses’ holiday opening hours.

Why does it sound like a human?

Partly because Google reckons it’s the most efficient way to get the information, especially if there are variables and interruptions, and partly because if you got a phone call from the Terminator you’d probably hang up.

How does it work?

The full details are over at the Google AI Blog, but here’s the executive summary: Google Duplex enables you to get information that isn’t on the internet.

Google Duplex is the missing link between the Google Assistant and any business, because it enables the Assistant to get information that isn’t available digitally. For example, you might want to know a business’s holiday opening hours but they haven’t listed it on their website, or you might want to know if a shop has a particular item in stock and it doesn’t have online stock availability. 

So Duplex does what you’d do. It phones up and asks for the information it needs.

From a tech perspective, Google Duplex uses a recurrent neural network (RNN) built using TensorFlow Extended (TFX). There’s a really good introduction to RNNs here. What RNNs like the one powering Duplex can do is process sequential, contextual information, and that makes them well suited to machine learning, language modelling and speech recognition.

When you make a request, the Google Assistant will hand it over to Google Duplex to carry out; if it’s within Duplex’s abilities it’ll get on with it. If it isn’t, it will either tell the Assistant it can’t do it or refer the job to a human operator.

What’s so clever about it?

Duplex talks like a normal person, and that makes it a natural – and natural-sounding – extension to the OK Google functionality we already know. Let’s stick with our restaurant example. 

With Duplex, we could say “OK Google, find me a table for Friday night” and the Google app would then call restaurants on your behalf. Not only that, but it would have conversations – so if you wanted a table for around 7:30 but there wasn’t one, it could ask what times were available and decide whether those times fit your criteria. If not, the Google app would call another restaurant. Similarly if you wanted to arrange a meeting with Sarah, the Google app could call Sarah (or Sarah’s AI) to talk through the available time slots and agree which one would be best.

The key here is that this is all happening in the background. You tell Google to do something and it goes and does it, only reporting back after the task is complete.

Isn’t it creepy?

It is a bit, and it’s prompted some discussions online already: should AIs tell us that they’re AIs when they phone us up?

However, the answer from Google's perspective is seemingly yes, as the company has since confirmed that Google Duplex will identify itself at the start of a call, so while it might sound human you won't be in any doubt that you're talking to a machine.

Who’s it for?

The benefits for people with hearing difficulties are obvious, but it can also overcome language barriers: you might not know the local language, but Google Assistant does – so it can converse in a language you don’t speak. 

And it can be asynchronous, so you can make the request and then go offline while Google Duplex gets on with the job: it will report back when you’re online again. That’s useful in areas of patchy connectivity, or if you’re just really, really busy.

What’s it capable of?

That’s a very good question. Right now, our personal digital assistants are more about the digital than the assistance: you can ask them to turn up the lights or tune the radio, but they can’t book your car in for a service, make a dental appointment or any of the many other bits of tedious admin we spend so much time doing. Imagine the hours we’d save if we didn’t have to spend countless hours on the phone to change the tiniest little detail in a form, answer a simple customer service question or find out why our broadband is on the blink again.

Or, you know, it could go bad and refuse to open the pod bay doors.

2001 jokes aside, we can easily imagine Duplex-style agents tricking us into answering the kind of robocalls we currently terminate. And we can also imagine scams using this kind of technology to try and get your online banking details.

Duplex – and artificial intelligence generally – is a good example of how technology is morally neutral, neither good nor bad. As Microsoft also showed us this week there’s enormous potential to do good. 

But if it’s possible to misuse this tech, someone will find a way to do it.

When can I get Google Duplex?

Google has started rolling Duplex out to a small number of Pixel owners in "select cities." The company hasn't confirmed which cities, but it's likely to be New York, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Francisco, as those cities are where Google Duplex was previously trialed.

Initially Google Duplex only works for restaurant reservations, but expect the other features and a wider roll out to happen eventually.

• Google Duplex could eventually make its way into call centers

We all need data. Without it our phones wouldn’t be nearly as useful. You pay for your monthly allowances, trying to make sure you have enough to get by, and then at the end of the month, all the unused data disappears as you return that allowance you’ve signed up for. You’ve probably thought there must be a better option for keeping that unused data. Well, Sky Mobile has the answer you were looking for.

You see, Sky Mobile has a great offering called Roll. Instead of taking away all the unused data every month, Roll will collect everything you didn’t get chance to use and store it inside your own personal piggybank. It’ll be safely kept there for up to three years, ready for when you need it the most.

Your piggybank is available 24/7 via the My Sky app or Sky.com, letting you see how much data you’ve stashed away. It’s also here that you can redeem the data for your personal use, so redeeming your savings is as easy as opening up a real piggybank and pouring out the contents. Roll is a way of letting yourself save up a little safety net, in case you burn through a bit too much data one month and risk being cut off.

Piggybank Rewards

Some savings can even be redeemed with Sky Piggybank Rewards, which lets you cash in your unused data in exchange for fabulous gifts - including accessories and discounts on new phones. Roll & Share also means you can use your own piggybank to share your data savings with friends and family, who are on the same Sky Mobile account, and you can use up to 5 SIMs on one account. That way they won’t risk running out of data either.

But there’s more to Sky Mobile than Roll and the piggybank. The network also offers a perk called ‘Mix’, which lets you change your allowances whenever you like each month. It’s so you can ‘Mix it up’ and make sure you have the plan that’s right for you, and that you only ever pay for what you need. It’s mainly designed to alter how much data you get, but Sky Mobile also lets you swap your standard unlimited calls and texts for a pay-as-you-use model.

Roll and Mix together

A great part of this proposition is that you can combine Roll and Mix together. So if you want to reduce your monthly bill you can ask for a smaller data allowance and redeem some of your piggybank savings to make up for it. Just make sure you have enough stored away!

Of course, if you’re happy with things the way they are, that’s all right, too. It’s all about making sure you have a contract that works best for you.

Roll is just one of many things Sky Mobile has to offer, with everything running on the same Telefónica network, which offers signal across 99 per cent of the UK. That way you’re not going to suddenly find yourself without signal, just because you left the house.

Sky Mobile has recently won a number of awards, including Best MNVO 2018 at the Mobile News Awards and Recommended Mobile Phone Provider 2018 by Which?

What you can save with Sky Mobile

Sky Mobile is also the obvious network to choose if you’re already a Sky TV customer. Sky TV customers get unlimited calls and texts each month at no extra cost, saving you £10 each month compared to non-Sky TV customers. In other words your monthly bill only has to include the cost of your data and phone. On top of that TV customers get free access to Sky Go Extra, letting you download all your favourite shows to your phone or tablet - so they’re ready to watch at your leisure.

If you like what you’ve heard so far, you can find more information, along with the network’s fantastic range of deals on the newest handsets, over on the Sky Mobile website.

Hello Sky Mobile, Hello Possible

While the latest trend among Australian telcos is to offer “unlimited” data mobile plans, ACCC chairman Rod Sims has now officially warned the companies not to mislead customers with this terminology.

The issue that the Commission found with plans from Optus, Vodafone and Telstra is that their respective “unlimited” plans did, indeed, pose some limits on customers. 

The plan from Optus restricted speeds to 1.5Mbps when tethering, streaming and downloading (which is pretty much everything except for light browsing), while Telstra and Vodafone both imposed the same throttled 1.5Mbps download rate once the user had surpassed a data allowance (...or data 'limit', you could say).

While all of this was indeed explained by the telcos in some of their finest print, these qualifications were “not sufficiently prominent or clear to explain to consumers the existence and impacts of the limitations”, according to the ACCC.

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Crime and punishment

If telecommunications companies aren’t transparent with their advertising in the future, the ACCC will invoke “court action from the regulator”, promising to “seek the highest possible penalties”.

“We have taken a range of actions against telecommunication companies for misleading consumers,” states Sims. “It is about time they showed more respect for their customers and the Australian Consumer Law."

Since a Federal Court case found Telstra guilty of false advertising with its slogan “One word for Australia’s best mobile network. Unlimited”, all three telcos have stopped using the word as a headline claim, replacing it with phrases such as “Peace of Mind data”, and “Mobile data that never ends”.

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A week after announcing its merger with TPG to challenge the likes of Telstra and Optus, Vodafone Australia (VHA) is overhauling its pre-paid mobile plans “to make things simpler” for its customers.

Starting today, there will be six new “key” pre-paid plans available, ranging from $10 to $60 in price. Called the Vodafone Combo Plus, these new plans will replace the telco’s Talk and Data plans, and offer data as well as plenty of standard international minutes.

Calling overseas

The latter is what Vodafone is trying to sell, although on the more expensive plans. The Aussie telco has added more countries to its international calling list, split up into two zones covering over 90 countries.

• Looking for a new pre-paid mobile plan? Compare different plans from every provider to make the best choice.

Vodafone’s research has shown that India, China and New Zealand are the destinations receiving most calls from Australia, so the international talk time for these three Zone 1 countries have been upped to a maximum of 2,000 minutes. There are a total of 20 nations included in Zone 1, but if you want to chat for that long with loved ones overseas, you’ll need the $60 Combo Plus plan.

In Zone 2 are countries like Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Belgium and the Czech Republic and, along with 70 other countries, get a top of 150 minutes of international talk time.

All the inclusions

All Combo Plus plans come with infinite national talk and text, with those priced $40 and over coming with a 35-day expiry, while the cheaper options don’t include international minutes and have a 28-day expiry.

In terms of data, again, it’s the $40 and higher Combo Plus plans that offer loads more data than the cheaper ones. You can get 6GB on the $30 plan, but if that’s not enough, then the $40 plan offers 17GB while the $50 plan includes a whopping 30GB.

If you’d like to sign up for one of the new plans, you can head to Vodafone Australia’s website to find out more.

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There have been whispers of a merger between Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) and TPG in the wind over the last few days, but those rumours have now been confirmed. 

The two telcos have announced today that they have decided to enter into a “merger of equals transaction to establish Australia’s leading challenger full-service telecommunications provider”.

According to a statement release by TPG, “The merger will create a more effective challenger to Telstra and Optus, with an integrated fixed and mobile offering and a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $15 billion.”

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The ‘merger of equals transaction’ is how the shares have been divvied up – Vodafone shareholders will own 50.1% of the shares in the new company, and the rest 49.9% will be held by TPG shareholders.

So, what's new?

Vodafone and TPG coming together joins more than 27,000km of fibre and 500 mobile sites across the country, with more than 6 million mobile users and 1.9 million fixed-line customers. Yet, there are no plans to make any changes, at least for now.

Vodafone’s chief commercial officer, Ben McIntosh, said that it would be “business as usual for customers”. Vodafone customers will continue to use their current plans, upgrade or change them, and will continue to enjoy “$5 Roaming, no lock-in handset contracts, 35-day prepaid expiry, and NBN Instant Connect and 4G Backup”.

While the merger has been given informal approval and has been announced at the ASX, the companies will also need to be formally approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Foreign Investment Review Board as well.

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Following in the footsteps of Telstra, Vodafone has today announced a new system of mobile plan add-ons aimed at quenching the ever-growing demand for mobile data that matches the modern needs of the streaming world.

Whether this means media services such as Netflix and Spotify, or social platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, Vodafone has a variety of paid add-ons that allow unmetered streaming of specific apps on mobile.

There are four passes on offer, ranging from $5 to $15 a month, which can be added to any Vodafone Red or SIM-only plan on the network.

• Social ($10 pm): Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest 
• Music ($10 pm): Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, and SoundCloud
• Video ($15 pm): Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Stan 
• Chat ($5 pm): Facebook Messenger (text), Viber (call and text), and WhatsApp (text)

Nitty gritty

Obviously some of these passes offer a better value proposition than others, and this depends not only on your specific usage, but also the nature of the services and how they use data.

For instance, sending text via messaging services uses a negligible amount of data; somewhere in the realm of 1-2 bytes per word. Similarly, a typical Viber call only uses around 1MB for 5 minutes of talk time, which works out at just over 85 hours for 1GB of data. Even if you were on a month-long Viber call (we're talking every single second of the month), you'd only use around 8-9GB of data.

Usage on the social and music-oriented apps may offer a bit more in the way of real value, particularly if you don't have your music offline, but both Telstra and Optus plans have been providing data-free music streaming at no extra cost for quite some time now.

• Telstra overhauls its phone plans and offers up unlimited data

 But what about video streaming? 

If you’ve got a reasonably low data cap but are keen to stream Netflix on the go, then paying an extra $15 a month not to have to worry about the data usage sounds like a pretty sweet deal. But is it?

It’s important to note that all of Vodafone’s passes are capped at a download speed of 1.5Mbps, and according to the company’s speed guide, this is “incompatible” with HD streaming video, and Standard Definition “video may be slower to start playing”.

When you consider that “the actual speeds you reach will continually vary”, the Video pass realistically offers you slow-to-load 480p video that may drop out at any time depending on “device capabilities, location, network congestion, and network coverage”.

In light of the above, it's worth considering the cost of upgrading your plan to one with a bigger data allowance before you fork out a monthly fee for Vodafone's unmetered streaming options.

• The best movies on Netflix: great films you can watch in Australia right now

UPDATE: Vodafone, looking to undercut Telstra's offer, has raised the speed cap limits on its unlimited data plans. Information updated below.

Following on from Optus' brief re-introduction of its Unleashed plan, which offered unlimited mobile data on a SIM-only plan to eligible customers, Telstra and Vodafone have now thrown their own unlimited data offers into the ring, and as you might've expected, they're not entirely limited. 

While it's indeed true that customers on the unlimited plans will no longer receive excess data fees, every plan still comes with a monthly gigabyte allowance, and customers who go over that limit will find their transfer speeds capped to a rather sluggish 1.5Mbps. 

Thankfully, the limits themselves are still comparatively large, meaning most users will likely fall well short of reaching their monthly allowance anyway. 

Telstra's new unlimited plan will be available from this Thursday, May 3, while Vodafone's plans will kick off from tomorrow, May 2. 

Telstra unlimited

Dubbed the 'Endless Data BYO Plan', Telstra's single offering provides customers with 40GB of data at uncapped speeds before being capped at 1.5Mbps once that limit has been reached. 

As the BYO part of the name implies, you'll have to bring your own phone for this SIM-only plan. It also comes with unlimited calls and texts within Australia, as well as data-free streaming for a number of sports apps. 

Telstra's Endless Data BYO Plan is priced at $69 per month on a 12-month contract, bringing the total minimum cost to $828 over the contract period.

Vodafone is Vodafiiine

Offering a little more variety than Telstra's single 40GB option, Vodafone is launching three different unlimited plans with varying uncapped data allowances, each of which will also be capped at 1.5Mbps once that initial limit has been reached.

Vodafone's $60 per month plan offers 40GB of 4G mobile data, while its $80 per month option gives you a whopping 70GB before you're slowed down. If that's not enough, Vodafone's third and final unlimited mobile data plan gives you 100GB of uncapped data for $120 per month.

Each of the plans include unlimited standard national talk and text within Australia, and like Telstra's offering, can only be acquired on a 12-month contract. 

• Best 4G network: Telstra vs Optus vs Vodafone

Optus has re-introduced its Unleashed plan, an unlimited data SIM-only plan that was initially announced back in March but was only offered for 24 hours at the time, and to a select few customers.

Well, it's been over 24 hours since the new plan was announced a second time, and it's still available. While that's encouraging, it's only being offered to “eligible” customers. The criteria for eligibility is as yet unclear, but customers will need to fill a form on the site to find out.

The new plan, aimed at families, is available now for $60 a month for a SIM. Up to five SIM cards can be added to the plan, with the second costing $50 and the subsequent ones $40 per month.

Binge fest unleashed?

Anyone who thinks that unlimited data will bring on a binge-watching spree could be disappointed. 

Comparison site Canstar has discovered a caveat that Optus has hidden in the Critical Information Summary (CIS) which reads, "Music and video downloads and streaming will be limited to 1.5Mbps which delivers Standard Definition video streaming. Tethering from your mobile phone or tablet connected to this plan will be limited to 1.5Mbps, resulting in slower downloads and uploads."

In fact, Optus' website clearly states that "during congestion, heavy data users may be deprioritised and experience slower speeds". 

While speeds might be questionable, the Unleashed plan comes with unlimited talk and text within Australia, with an additional $5 a month if customers are looking to add international calls to the package.

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If you think you’re especially loyal to your phone service provider, you’re not alone. Research conducted by finder.com.au has revealed that close to two-thirds (62%) of Australians have stuck with their telco for over four years.

If you thought four years was a stretch, a staggering 22% of Australians have stayed with their provider for over 11 years, almost doubling the national average of 6.5 years. Among the reasons cited for remaining loyal to their carrier, being “happy with the provider” is the most common among customers.

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Shake it up

While we’re not going to bad-mouth happiness, remaining faithful to any one carrier is not a sensible purchasing decision in the majority of cases, as most incentives in the telco industry are for new sign-ups rather than returning customers, and it’s unlikely that a carrier will offer the best value over the course of a decade.

Amongst other reasons for sticking to their guns, consumers found it too much of a hassle or too confusing to find a better deal and make the switch. 

While it’s true there are many more providers on the market at the moment, there are plenty of handy mobile plan comparison tools to help you make the right choice for when you're ready to make the switch.

• The best Telstra mobile plans for 2018
• The best Optus mobile plans for 2018

Australia has always been at the forefront of new mobile technology rollouts, and 4G is no exception. Initially rolled out by Telstra late in 2011, both Optus and Vodafone quickly followed suit rolling out their own versions of LTE technology.

Over the past few years, all three telcos have committed to massively expanding their 4G networks to not only reach more and more people across the country, but also introduce new technologies to offer faster downloads, while new features like Voice over LTE and LTE-Broadcast have made an appearance.

With that in mind, what do these networks have up their sleeves for the immediate future? Here is our rundown on what you can expect.

Best 4G Coverage

Let's face it, 4G is going to be of no use to you if you don't have access to it. Telstra had quite the head start in the rollout. As last reported early in 2017, around 98 percent of the Australian population can get Telstra 4G, which is approaching their promised 99 percent coverage by the middle of the year.

Optus took a slightly different approach to its 4G rollout, launching exclusively around the Newcastle area in April 2012. Since then, the service was expanded to capital cities and key regional hubs, around the country. Optus now claims that 95 percent of Australians can use its 4G service, and is dedicating a lot of time and resources to expanding its 4G offering to regional hubs around the country.

Vodafone was the last telco to join the 4G competition, and is a little bit more cautious with its claims of market reach. However, the telco has said that its 4G network reaches 96.9 percent of the country's metropolitan customers, and while Vodafone 4G is available in a number of regional areas, Vodafone isn't quite as vocal about it as its competitors.

Both Telstra and Optus are currently using a type of carrier aggregation that they refer to as 4GX and 4G Plus respectively. This method, albeit tackled slightly differently by each telco, essentially combines two “channels” of certain frequencies in order to potentially double regular 4G data speeds and network availability.

The catch is that these “double speed” services are only currently available in the major cities and some regional centres, and you’ll need to have a compatible device in order for this to work. Thankfully, most of the newer and more popular devices play nice with both these technologies, such as the Apple iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy S7, and Google Pixel.

Best 4G price

The biggest challenge with 4G in Australia is the limitation on data caps. Despite the fact that data speeds have been drastically increasing thanks to 4G technology, the data allowance on plans actually went down as the networks were being rolled out, and we’re now seeing price hikes almost across the board.

The good news is that bundled data has slowly been on the rise again and telco's are also starting to actively change the way they charge for excess usage.

Telstra

Telstra currently have four bring-your-own-phone plans (with a 12 month lock-in period), the smallest of which only offers a piddly 500MB data for $35 a month. There are two Medium-sized offerings, one with 5GB data for $40 a month, and the other with nearly twice the data at 8GB for $50 a month. The Large plan has unlimited talk and text, and a massive 15GB of data per month, however weighs in at a hefty $70 per month.

Additional data packs are available for the heavy downloader, with a $15 purchase giving an extra 2GB of data, $35 for 5GB, or $55 for 8GB – just be sure to cancel this if you don’t need it for the next month, as it does automatically roll on. Even if you go over your limit, you’ll only get charged at $10 a GB which is a huge improvement on the pay-per-MB of the past and has been adopted by all three telco’s.

Optus

Although offering a very similar structure to Telstra’s SIM only 12-month plans, every Optus plan has unlimited talk and text, and when purchased online, each plan gets a significant bump to the data allowance. 

Considering these data bonuses, the $30 plan gives you 2GB of data, the middle tier offers 15GB for $55, and the top of the rank nets you 25GB for $70. Until 14/05/2017 Optus has a special offer plan with 12GB of data for $40, which makes it much more reasonable middle ground between the $30 and $55 plans.

Excess data, as with Telstra, is charged at $10 per GB automatically when you exceed your monthly allowance although there doesn’t seem to be the option to purchase any extra data packs.

Vodafone

Vodafone has the widest stretch of 12-month BYO phone plans, with seven unique plans ranging from $30 to $60 a month. Most price tiers give you the choice of whether you’d prefer more data or some included international calls, and all plans include unlimited national talk and text, like Optus, so in this case we’ll just compare the data options. 

For $30 you can get 2GB, the same as Optus, at $40 you get 8GB, $50 offers 12GB, and the top-tier $60 plan offers an impressive 17GB data.

Extras

Depending on how you use your data, you could be interested in the new trend of offering exclusive streaming services for free (so they won’t count towards your monthly data limit). At the moment, you can get free music streaming and a 6-month Apple Music account with Telstra, and although you don’t get any free subscriptions, Optus offers music streaming from Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora and iHeartRadio that doesn't count towards your data cap.

It's important to note that all the above plans also include varying amounts of talk and text value, which might sway your decision, not to mention the plethora of options when it comes to bundling your plan with a brand new phone.

Best 4G handsets

The most important part of your new contract will be your new smartphone, whether you buy it outright or on a plan will obviously impact significantly on the value, and the phone itself is going to determine whether or not you can make use of the double speed 4GX and 4G Plus.

Possibly the biggest phone for any network right now is the Samsung Galaxy S8, and all three telco’s are offering it with a variety of plans – none of which are directly comparable – so we’ll look at similarly valued plans. 

Telstra’s offering is the most expensive, with 12GB of data and unlimited talk and text (both nationally, and to 10 selected countries) for $105 a month. Optus’ 10GB plan is $94 a month, with unlimited talk and text and $300 included international. Vodafone is the cheapest at $90 a month for 13GB, but you’ll have to consider the lack of international calls and the network itself in making your decision.

When choosing your handset on either Telstra or Optus, it would be wise to get a phone that can make use of their double speed technologies, and although Vodafone doesn’t currently have the capability, it could be worth future-proofing with a compatible handset on their network as well.

There is currently quite a large range of phones with this capability, so it’s worth checking the Telstra and Optus websites for the full list. Among the more popular models, the iPhone 6s, 7 and SE ranges along with Samsung’s Galaxy S5, S6, and S7 series are all compatible, as are Google’s new Pixel and Sony’s Xperia X series.

Given the prevalence of 4G handsets in Australia, the easiest course of action in deciding the ideal handset may be checking out our list of the country's best mobile phones.

In February 2017, Singtel subsidiary Optus launched its gigabit speed 4.5G network in Sydney’s north-west as a trial and, at completion, managed to clock up to 2Gbps download speeds using a Huawei device.

Fast forward a year ahead and Optus has announced that it plans to begin the rollout of the next generation of mobile connectivity in early 2019.

• Best 4G network: Telstra vs Optus vs Vodafone

The news of Optus’ 5G network rollout comes after the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a consortium of telecommunications standard development organisations, met in December 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal, to finalise the standardisation of 5G technologies.

“People have been hearing about 5G for some time, and there is pent up expectation, but to date a lot of the talk has been highly theoretical,” said Dennis Wong, networks managing director at Optus.

“Seeing 5G data speeds through our trial that are up to 15 times faster than current technologies allows us to show the potential of this transformative technology to support a new ecosystem of connected devices in the home, the office, the paddock and in the wider community. This is a technology and future we at Optus are extremely passionate about,” he added.

The need for speed

The telco began developing its 5G technology in 2016, and although it’s still a work in progress, Optus has partnered with the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to allow visitors to preview what the fifth generation of mobile connectivity has to offer.

Optus has also added that it has “secured a variety of new metropolitan licences for its customers in the 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum bands during recent Spectrum Auctions,” thus strengthening its spectrum holdings.

Optus, however, has not revealed any specific dates or locations for the commencement of the rollout, except to say it will be made available in “key metro areas”. There is no word on what it would cost the end user either.

At present, there are no mobile devices – tablets or smartphones – that are 5G-enabled, so there is a possibility that the telco might offer home broadband plans running on its 5G network at launch. However, it's best to wait till these plans get implemented in 2019 to see how things fall into place.

• 5G could be closer than you think with a new modem capable of delivering fibre-speed internet to your smartphone.

Anyone looking to upgrade to a new phone can now say goodbye to two-year lock-in contracts, with Vodafone Australia today introducing its latest overhauled post-paid plans.

Effective immediately, Vodafone customers can choose to have flexible phone repayment options – they can decide to either buy the handset outright, or pay for it over a period of 12, 24 or 36 months. There are no more penalties for paying off the device early and neither is there any interest charged on the monthly repayments.

To accompany the new handset, all of Vodafone’s Red Plans are now available as either month-to-month or 12-month SIM-only plans. 

The plans, or the payment system, will clearly distinguish how much of the monthly bill will be going towards the handset repayments, and how much will be spent on mobile services, namely, text, data and calls.

“This gives people the power to create a payment structure that suits them. It also helps them easily see what they’re paying for each month, without locking them in for long periods of time,” said Ben McIntosh, Vodafone Australia's Consumer Business Unit Director.

Plan make-over

Vodafone’s new Red Plans range from between $30 and $100, offering a minimum of 1GB of data per month, to a whopping 50GB on the $100 plan. You'll get double the data if you choose a 12-month contract rather paying month-to-month.

As before, all plans include unlimited national calls and texts, but there are now international call plans on offer, as well as Qantas Frequent Flyer points on sign-up.

A 12-month SIM-only plan, however, could give customers more bang for their buck, with double the data if you also buy a handset from Vodafone, and more international minutes to selected countries.

Criticising the 'leasing' option provided by some Aussie telcos as "a waste of money" that turns "mobile phone plans into something like the Australian property market", Vodafone's aim is to make "all costs to be crystal clear, prices to be fair and payment options to suit a range of budgets and lifestyles".

If customers want to add accessories to their purchase, like Bluetooth headphones, Vodafone will include those in the 12-, 24- or 36-month instalment plans as well.

If you’d like more information, check out the new-look Red Plans over on Vodafone’s website.

• Looking to get Apple’s latest flagship handset? These are the best Australian iPhone 7 plans currently on offer.

Ever wondered what the deal was with 28-day prepaid expiry periods? Turns out, it was just a sneaky way for mobile service providers to get a 13th month out of their customers each year. 

Now, Vodafone is (sort of) putting an end to that (in its own company, at least) with the announcement of new 35-day prepaid plans which reduce your number of recharges per year from 13 to 10.

The new prepaid plans, dubbed Talk Combo and Data Combo, will now offer a 35-day expiry period on plans of $40 and above.

“By giving these new plans a 35 day expiry instead of a 28-day expiry, customers will have heaps of time to use their inclusions and will be recharging less frequently annually, saving them money," said Vodafone Consumer Business Unit Director Ben McIntosh.

Money talks

According to McIntosh, the combined revenue of providers from the creation of this bogus '13th month' are estimated to total more than $155 million each year.

The new plans will be quite generous in terms of data, offering between 3GB and 15GB per 35-day period on the Data Combo plans and up to 12GB on the Talk Combo plans. Customers will also get unlimited standard national calls and texts within Australia. 

Price points for the new plans range from $30 to $60, though only the plans over $40 will be offering the new 35-day expiry period. The new plans are available now from the Vodafone website. 

• Best 4G network: Telstra vs Optus vs Vodafone

Vodafone may have been the last telco to join the 4G bandwagon, but has clearly come out the winner in terms of the availability of its 4G network, giving it a slight advantage over the competition.

These days, Vodafone's network is robust, reaching 96.9 percent of the country's metropolitan customers. And while Vodafone 4G is available in a number of regional areas, Vodafone isn't quite as vocal about it as its competitors.

Perhaps more appealing is the fact that, generally, the telco has the cheapest pricing for plans which include 4G data speeds and unlimited talk time.

Here's our round-up of the best smartphones available on a Vodafone plan.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Apart from its premium price tag and the fact that Samsung’s voice assistant, Bixby, is still AWOL if you’re outside of South Korea, the latest flagship from Samsung is one helluva phone.

Virtual buttons replace the old Home, Back and Recent buttons, giving users plenty of screen real estate and the ability to customise the Back and Recent buttons to suit individual needs.

The new model also introduces the curved screen, meaning the fingerprint sensor had to be moved to the rear of the phone.

It’s also faster than its predecessor and offers a solid 8-hour battery life.

So, if you can manage without Bixby for a while and deal with the awkward positioning of the fingerprint sensor, this is one of the best smartphones in the market today.

If you’re looking to upgrade, Vodafone has plenty of contract options between $77 to $125 a month.

• Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S8

Apple iPhone 7

While iPhones are always among the most expensive options, it's a versatile and intelligent handset that boasts a refinement that should, for most people, be worth the expense.

With the loss of the headphone jack – which might be an inconvenience to some – and the iconic home button, Apple made a statement about how the next generation of phones would lead us into the future.

And despite its familiar design, the iPhone 7 now comes encased in a water-resistant chassis that should see it survive a moderate plunge in a metre of water for 30 minutes. 

It’s got a slightly longer battery life as compared to the older models, a better camera that’s quite good in low-light conditions and fast innards, thanks to the new A10 fusion processor.

To grab an iPhone 7 on a Vodafone plan, you’ll be paying anywhere between $76 a month (32GB iPhone, 1GB of data) and $133 a month (256GB iPhone, 30GB of data). For the 128GB model, you'll pay between $89 and $127 a month.

• Read our review of the iPhone 7

iPhone 7 Plus

This larger model is markedly better than the smaller version by virtue of its improved battery life and the addition of the dual-setup camera with an easy-to-use interface – a big selling point for photography fans.

There’s new colour configurations and more RAM under the hood; the headphone jack is gone, but there’s now a new kind of vibrating motor for more precise rumbles.

Its water-resistant body also makes it feel like it could survive a bit of rough handling.

The larger size, dual speakers and enhanced performance make this phone a standout.

But all these changes make the iPhone 7 Plus the most expensive iPhone ever.

If you think this is the right phone for you, then Vodafone has plans from $90 a month (32GB iPhone, 1GB of data) up to $135 a month (256GB iPhone, 30GB of data). The 128GB version will cost you between $95 and $135 a month on a Vodafone plan.

• Read our iPhone 7 Plus review

Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung has added improvements to an already stellar phone, making the Galaxy S7 irresistible yet affordable.

In terms of design, you’d be forgiven to think the Galaxy S7 is similar to the S6, but closer inspection reveals subtle differences – the metal rim around the home key is gone, the corners are more rounded, the metal framework between the front and rear glass is less obtrusive and the general design just makes it easier to hold and use.

It’s got one of the best displays on any smartphone, with crisp, clear colours and excellent contrast ratios, great auto brightness that makes outdoor visibility ideal, and the always-on functionality of the screen is an excellent addition.

Battery life is impressive and its camera is good in low-light conditions, too.

A powerful processor makes it speedy and the microSD slot is back for expanded memory of up to 200GB, both making it an excellent gaming device.

Vodafone has Samsung Galaxy S7 plans starting at $70 per month, up to $127 a month.

• Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Samsung has managed to outdo itself by improving an award-winning phone.

The Galaxy S7 Edge might be larger than its predecessor, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. The curved rear makes it fit comfortably in the hand, and the microSD slot is back, too.

There’s a gruntload of power under the hood and the battery has been given a massive boot, allowing the phone to last over 24 hours between charges, even with heavy use. And the charging is superfast – Samsung claims you can charge the handset to 50% in just 30 minutes, provided you use the charger that comes in the box.

Audio is one of the best out there, and the AMOLED screen with side display capabilities makes for excellent movie watching. The gaming experience is also one of the best, although the Game Launcher could do with a few tweaks.

Even the camera on the Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the best we’ve seen on any smartphone. It might be a 12MP camera, but that makes the autofocus quicker and great in low light.

All in all, that’s a five-star phone. And if you’d like to get this handset from Vodafone, you’ll be paying between $75 and $127 a month.

• Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Huawei Mate 9

Huawei has lately been giving the big players a run for their money and the Chinese tech giant goes one step further with the Mate 9 phablet. And while it isn't the cheapest phone in the market, it's definitely cheaper than the flagships from Apple and Samsung; it's even cheaper than Google Pixel.

A key selling point for this phone is that this is one of the world's first Daydream-ready phones, being set up with a strong processor to ensure it can run the apps and games it needs to.

Another big selling point of the Huawei Mate 9 is its own Machine Learning Algorithm, which has been designed to keep your phone working faster over time: it adapts to the way you use your device and will prioritise the performance of features you use the most.

It’s also one of the most powerful phones around, so if you’re a power user this is the perfect setup – with 64GB of storage and microSD expansion up to 256GB.

If you're looking for a large, powerful device this is a good option. You don't get a stylus, as with the Galaxy Note 7, but it's still offering all the other features you'd want from a phablet.

There’s plenty to love about this phone, and Vodafone has plans on offer ranging from $65 to $127 a month.

• Read our review of the Huawei Mate 9

These phones are what we think are the best and most powerful ones available through Vodafone, and which one you pick will depend on your loyalty to iOS or Android. 

If you’ve already made your choice, then all you now need do is compare Vodafone’s plans for various handsets as a final step.

Outages of the Three network on April 22 meant some customer’s SMS messages went to random recipients and have been read by the wrong person, but the UK network won't be contacting customers affected by the issue.

A Three spokesperson told TechRadar, “We’re aware that some customers have reported receiving misdirected texts or texts from unknown numbers. We are investigating these incidences [sic] but if any customer is concerned about this they should contact Three customer services.”

That means any customer will need to contact Three directly to know if messages went to the wrong places.

TechRadar asked Three direction what the network will be able to do for customers affected and were told: “If customers have any concerns about misdirected messages they should contact customer services who will address each situation on a case-by-case basis.”

However, customers are now complaining that the outage has caused confidential accounts to be compromised, and now the Information Commissioner's Office has confirmed to Ars Technica that it will be 'making enquiries' into the incident.

It's not clear if there will be compensation for your messages going to the wrong people, but it may happen if you use the customer service line.

TechRadar also asked for a gurantee this wouldn’t happen again on the network, but Three did not provide one.

No guarantee

It’s thought the problems came from a technical network issue rather than any other external factors, so whether Three will be able to stop this happening in the future is currently unclear. 

Customers who sent messages may not know if they reached a wrong number as Three isn't actively telling those affected, while those who received strange messages have been told by Three "to ignore all text messages that you deem incorrect."

If you think you’ve sent personal or confidential data from your Three phone and want to know if your message was received by the right person, you should contact Three’s customer services at 333 from your Three phone or 0333 338 1001 from another device.

The three big Australian telcos announced last year that they will begin switching off their 2G networks, with Telstra being the first one to do so in December 2016.

It’s now the turn of Optus, and the company will begin the process on 3 April with Northern Territory and Western Australia losing 2G connectivity first. The other states – New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and ACT – will suffer the same fate on 1 August 2017.

Similarly, Vodafone will be decommissioning its 2G service on 30 September this year.

Once this happens, customers on the old network will lose mobile service and will need to either migrate to a new 3G or 4G plan or upgrade their handset.

Upgrade now

The Optus 2G shutdown will also affect Virgin Mobile and Amaysim customers using 2G or 3G Single Band devices, as these resellers piggyback on Optus' network.

If you happen to be one of these customers, you’ll need to get a 3G Dual Band or 4G-enabled handset.

If you aren’t sure what your phone supports, check to see if you can spot a 2G, GPRS, EDGE or E icon at the top right hand corner of your mobile’s display. This means you’ll soon lose service. On the other hand, if you see a 3G, H+, 4G or LTE on your phone's screen, it’s 3G/4G-compatible.

In case you do need a new handset, the telco of your choice will be able to help you choose a device if you already haven’t decided on one.

So long, old friend

Sadly, the 2G shutdown is also why Australians won’t be able to relive the nostalgia of the good ol’ Nokia 3310 days with the brand-new 2017 version of the handset. 

But please don’t throw your old 2G mobile into the bin: e-waste is a huge problem facing the world today. Instead, find your local MobileMuster recycle drop-off point (which includes phone retailers as well) or mail it to MobileMuster directly. Australia Post has free post-back recycling satchels just for this.

If you need more information on how the decommissioning of the 2G network will affect you, head to Optus’ website where you’ll find details and FAQs to help you through the transition.

Vodafone customers will also receive all the help they need, as promised by Kevin Millroy, acting Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Australia.

• Ready for a 4G upgrade? We’ll help you decide which network is best for you – Telstra, Optus or Vodafone.

EE customers can now get free access to BT Sport, the first proper tie-in between the two brands since BT took over the double-lettered network.

However, it's not as simple as 'Got EE? Have some football!' as there are a few caveats if you want to be checking out a spot of sport on the go – we spoke to EE to find out exactly what you'll need to qualify, and what's actually on offer here.

You'll be getting access to BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Europe and ESPN – but is it really free? Will you get anything extra? And where can you actually use it?

• Behind the scenes of BT Sport's 4K Ultra HD revolution

1. It's free for six months on EE

Once you activate the deal, you'll be getting access to the four portals listed above for six months – after which you'll need to pay £5 per month to keep watching on your EE device.

BT Mobile offers the same thing for the lifetime of the contract – there were some questions about whether this was actually a limited offer, but we've spoken to BT and they've confirmed it's for as long as you take the mobile service.

If you're on EE and want some BT Sport right now, the good news is the offer is live and ready to be taken up as an option.

2. It's only for phones and tablets

Here's the bad news for anyone that's got Sky and has been holding out on paying the rather expensive fees to add in BT Sport: you're not able to watch BT's channels on the big screen as part of this deal. It's only offered on phones and tablets, and Chromecast screen sharing will be disabled too.

However, EE promises that it's able to tell if you're watching on a phone or tablet, and will optimise the stream for either screen. So the smaller, lower-res displays will get about 1.2Mbps, but the iPad Pro devices of this world, with a bunch more pixels to play with, will get streams up to 2.5Mbps to keep the sharpness up.

3. It'll use your data allowance

This won't come as much of a surprise – it would have been a massive bonus if it didn't take your bytes to watch this sport. EE told us that the rise of watching football on the go inspired the offer, with a big spike in catching some action on the go showing there's an appetite for it.

However, make sure you've got a decent bundle if you're going to be keeping up with the latest sporting shenanigans – you could be munching up to 2GB of data on a phone if you're going to watch the whole match and hoover up the half time show too.

4. Not for all on EE

While EE is touting this as a big deal for its customers, it's not great if you've chosen a pay as you go tariff.

EE has confirmed to us that this is only for customers on pay monthly plans – so if you topup whenever you fancy it, you're not going to get the BT Sport deal. Similarly, if you're a 4G Wi-Fi broadband customer, that's also excluded.

However, there is a glimmer of light: EE has confirmed it's 'looking' at a pay as you go option in the future.

5. How to activate EE's BT Sport deal

Right, you've read all that and decided you fancy the free six month trial. It's now pretty simple: you'll just need to text 'SPORT' to 150 from any EE handset.

If that's not possible (perhaps you're running an iPad) then you'll need to phone the call centre and talk to an actual human. Urgh.

Once that's done, you'll download the BT Sport app (which is available on iOS, Android and even Windows Phone) and enter the details you've been given – sport is then spurting into your eyeballs.

…. There's more to come

While the company wouldn't be drawn on precisely what, EE did confirm to us that it was exploring some other options with BT for the future – although it's hard to see what that will be precisely, given EE already gives access to BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots (which would have been the obvious choice).

Marc Allera, EE's CEO, confirmed as much with a recent statement: "The BT Sport offer is the first in a series of benefits we've planned for this summer which together will highlight EE as offering an unrivalled network experience for those wanting to make the best from their smartphone.""

The big question here lies with EE TV and BT Sport – to steal Bacon's parlance, it seems a no-brainer that those that have streaming service on their phone should be able to watch it on their EE tellybox too… we'll keep poking to see if that's on the way.

There's a lot of competition happening in the prepaid space right now. Following Optus' announcement last week that music streaming is going to be unmetered for prepaid customers, Vodafone has today announced its new customisable prepaid plans.

Dubbed MyMix, the new prepaid offering allows customers to pick and choose the inclusions they want, as well as the frequency of their recharges.

All of the plans start with a base of unlimited text, with options for data, included calls, international calls and recharge frequency all customisable within the MyVodafone application.

Money talks

While the inclusions are customisable, there's still a limit on just how much you can tweak the plan.

For example, the only options available for standard national calls are 120 minutes or infinite, while data allowances are limited to 500MB, 2GB, 5GB or 8GB.

While that's a nice and varied selection, even 8GB can be limited if you're only recharging every 90 days.

On the upside, being able to avoid paying for international calls you'll never use is useful (as is getting 300 minutes of international calls if that's what you're after).

Interestingly, these new prepaid plans aren't replacing any of the older offerings, and will sit alongside them for the immediate future.

• Compare the best prepaid mobile plans

There's not much worse than a black spot when it comes to mobile phone coverage (except, maybe, a complete network failure).

So Vodafone's announcement today that it is rolling out the first stage of its mobile black spot program is good news.

The program will begin with 70 locations that are notorious black spots for the network, across New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

All 70 sites are due for completion by the end of 2017, which should help dramatically improve overall coverage for the network.

Speaking of coverage, Vodafone was also keen to express its success with 4G coverage, claiming that its LTE network now reaches almost 23 million Australians around the country.

To achieve this feat, the network's entire 850MHz spectrum has been upgraded to 4G, which couples nicely with the 1800MHz spectrum in cities for coverage both indoors and outdoors.

This has also allowed the telco to begin rolling out Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology in major metropolitan areas for users of compatible handsets.

• Who's got the best 4G network?

Telstra charges a premium for its mobile network, so when things go wrong and the service goes down, customers understandably get upset.

The good news is that Telstra is planning on making it up to its customers by offering a day of unlimited data this Sunday, Feb 14.

Customers don't need to do anything special to get the data – it will happen automatically for all Telstra Mobile Customers.

Erode the node

The error itself has also been explained. In a post on its Exchange blog, Telstra Operations COO Kate McKenzie explained that the error was caused by proper procedures not being followed.

"Our mobile network is set up with a number of major connection points (what we call nodes) around the country, which our customers connect to. These nodes are the equipment that essentially manage the flow of voice and data traffic across our mobile network," the post explains.

Ultimately, there was a fault at a node, and when it was taken offline to fix, the proper processes weren't followed to ensure services continued properly.

"Unfortunately on this occasion the right procedures were not followed and this resulted in customers being disconnected and consequent heavy congestion on other nodes as customers attempted to reconnect to the network," McKenzie explained.

• Best 4G network: Telstra vs Optus vs Vodafone

O2 customers could soon be browsing the web free of adverts, as the company has admitted that it is in the "well advanced" stages of testing the technology that would see ads automatically blocked network wide.

According to Business Insider, O2 executives have said that the technology is so advanced that it will even block adverts before they are even served, so they won't be downloaded to users' phones (with all of the bandwidth usage that entails).

The news comes just two days after it was reported that EE was looking into doing something similar on its network.

While it might be welcome news for O2's 25 million customers, the fact that both networks appear to be close to introducing the technology will have advertisers and publishers a little nervous.

Competition

Of course, once one network introduces it, the rest may be pressured into doing the same in order to keep up with the competition.

Like EE, O2 has said that its intentions are only to encourage "best practice" amongst advertisers - and to weed out any ads that are judged to be excessively intrusive. Business Insider quotes Robert Franks, O2's Managing Director of Digital Commerce as saying:

"We are absolutely looking at [network-level ad blocking] technology. We are holding ourselves to the highest standards with our own advertising. We are looking at these technologies to see if they can help our customers with some of the bad practices and disruptive experiences that are happening."

As with EE's experiments factoring into BT's on-going acquisition of the network, O2 is also currently in the process of being purchased by Three - so presumably we can expect to see any ad-blocking advances apply to Three too.

• Remember when Adblock Plus got annoyed that iOS9 will let users block ads?

Vodafone postpaid customers packing a Samsung smartphone will be the first to experience the telco's VoLTE technology when its rollout commences just in time for Christmas.

December will see owners of the Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Note 5 receive Vodafone's new offering, which enables users to make calls using Vodafone's 4G network, resulting in shorter call set up times and longer battery life on some devices.

VoLTE keeps users on 4G during voice calls, rather than reverting back to 3G as they've done in the past. But using 4G like this won't get in the way of other 4G activities, so customers can keep browsing the web or using social media while making or receiving a call.

Re-VoLTE

The technology will see Vodafone maximise the spectral efficiency of its network, enabling 2.3 times the users per MHz.

VoLTE will become available on a growing range of smartphones throughout 2016, until it is made available for all postpaid and prepaid customers.

Vodafone isn't the first telco to the VoLTE party, as Telstra started to roll out its own version of the functionality, called 4G Calling, in September.

• Keen to try the new tech? Maybe you'll be tempted by Vodafone's new 15GB plan.

Did the peeps at Vodafone and Stan catch advance word of Presto's arrival on smartphones? Because today they announced a content partnership that promises to "give Vodafone customers access to thousands of hours of local and international content." How exactly? No one knows.

So, three cheers for speculation! Chances are the deal will bundle a Stan subscription in with your Vodafone bill. Sadly, that doesn't mean you'll have unmetered data while accessing the service, so keep a close eye on your usage.

Vodafone Australia CEO Iñaki Berroeta hinted that the deal may resemble Vodafone's arrangement with Spotify, which would see the subscription included with the telco's pricier Red plans, but Berroeta and Stan CEO Mike Sneesby remained resolutely tight-lipped when pressed for more details.

All we really know is that a deal has been struck, and Vodafone promises to announce details in the next few weeks. Until then we'll continue enjoying our 30-day free trial.

More blips!

More details to follow... and more blips, too!

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If you're paying a separate bill for every device in your house, Vodafone thinks it can make your life simpler. Announcing Vodafone Shared today, the telco will let customers share data, voice and text across up to 10 devices, pooling the family's various plans into one easy bill.

Arriving in March, the deal will see users signing up for one primary 12 or 24-month month Red plan (from $50) and then adding additional shared plans for the household's other phones and tablets.

These additional devices will share in the data, text and talk pool, rather than standing alone, with the additional benefit of access to the Vodafone Red plan's $5 Roaming, Data WorkOut and 300 international calling minutes.

Show me the money

Of course every additional plan adds to the overall cost, starting at $30 per month for unlimited talk and text when bundled with a Red plan and adding 1GB of data to the family pool.

Further data can also be purchased to add to top up the total, with $10 nabbing an extra 1GB of shared data, or $30 for 4GB.

Vodafone Australia CEO Iñaki Berroeta said he hoped the deal would see data usage increase without customers suffering from bill shock. He acknowledged this would scare customers away from using their data more freely, a situation Vodafone naturally wants to avoid.

Vodafone Shared will be available to new, upgrading and current Red plan customers.

• Considering signing up for a new plan? Perhaps Vodafone's Spotify partnership will swing it.

Six months after that rumour first emerged, Three has extended its existing partnership with Dixons Carphone to launch a new mobile phone network that will roll out over the next few months.

The new group formed after the merger of DSGi and Carphone Warehouse already uses Three for its mobile broadband services.

Three remains the only major mobile phone operator in UK (and possibly in Europe) to offer unlimited data across its range.

More 'co-opetition' on the horizon

The new service will bring "innovative and highly personalised connectivity options" according to the press release. But it is also likely to make Dixons Carphone existing partners slightly nervous.

Oddly enough, Carphone Warehouse doesn't sell Three but the latter has big plans, with the expected acquisition of Telefonica's O2 likely to make it a big player in a pool of three super-networks (should BT succeed in acquiring EE).

Dixons Carphone's announcement is the second in less than a week of a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) launch. Sky also announced its plans to enter this crowded market last Thursday with a 2016 launch tabled.

The MVNO ecosystem in the UK is a vibrant one with more than 40 players in the market. Other big MVNO players include Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media, Talkmobile and GiffGaff.

According to an FT report, one of the growth areas identified is "smart home appliances" sold in its stores.

• Christmas is coming and BT hopes to get fat by gobbling up EE

Update 11/26: It has now emerged that Deutsche Telekom and Orange, joint shareholders of EE, have been in preliminary exploratory discussions with BT regarding EE. According to a press release on Orange's website, it is too early to state whether any transaction may occur.

It looks like BT might not just be eyeing up O2 as a potential purchase.

Original story follows…

BT is in talks to purchase the O2 mobile network from its Spanish parent company Telefonica in a deal valued at around £10bn.

The company confirmed reports that appeared in Spanish media stating that Telefonica would take a 20 per cent stake in BT in exchange for O2.

"We have received expressions of interest from shareholders in two UK mobile network operators, of which one is O2, about a possible transaction in which BT would acquire their UK mobile business," BT said in a statement.

Highly preliminary stage

"All discussions are at a highly preliminary stage and there can be no certainty that any transaction will occur."

The O2 network was original BT Cellnet before being spun off in 2001 and then sold to Telefonica in 2005. As a result of the announcement, BT's share price rose by four per cent.

The second mobile network BT claims to have been approached by is believed to be EE, although this hasn't been confirmed by either party.

O2 has launched two new sharing plans so customers can either spread their data allowance across multiple devices or give it to family members to use.

The new Sharer Plan will allow you to share data with up to 10 other devices providing you're on the O2 Refresh tariff. You'll need 1GB or more of data on the plan and it'll cost you an extra £6 a month. O2 is limiting this feature to monthly tariffs, so Pay & Go and Business devices aren't supported.

The amount of data being chewed through by these extra phones and tablets can be monitored through O2's My O2 app for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. O2 will send you a text reminder when you, or your friends, have used up 80 per cent of your data allowance for the month.

Meanwhile, the Family Sharer Plan acts in the same way as similar plans from Vodafone and EE: you can take out one plan with a data allowance of between 1GB and 8GB and can then add up to nine family members.

It'll cost £6 extra to add each person to the plan and £15 if you want to include unlimited calls and texts.

• Meanwhile, TalkTalk has ditched Vodafone in favour of O2 for delivering its 4G package.

Vodafone is doing everything it can to win back customers following its fall from grace a few years ago. Now, it's hoping to win customers with the power of song, by offering a free Spotify Premium account to customers signing up for a 12 or 24 month Red Plan.

Existing Red Plan customers will need to sign up for another 12 or 24 months in order to get the deal, while month-to-month customers are completely out of luck.

Given that a premium Spotify account will set you back $12.99 a month on its own, it's not a bad little bonus add on. Especially given the question marks around the MOG/Beats/Apple streaming situation Telstra users have been experiencing.

Metered maid

While the deal sounds impressive, there is one fairly substantial caveat: the data you use streaming Spotify on the Vodafone network will chew through your monthly data allowance.

That's right – despite a partnership between the two companies, there's no deal to allow the Spotify traffic to go unmetered on Vodafone.

Even though Vodafone has bucked the trend by increasing data allowances, you still only get 3GB on an $50 a month plan, which is amazingly easy to work through while listening to the entire Metallica back catalogue.

• Vodafone has some great value plans, but how does its 4G network stack up against other Aussie telcos?

If you thought all the different types of emerging 4G LTE technology were getting too confusing, Vodafone Australia is adding to the mix with plans to introduce Voice over LTE (VoLTE) next year.

In an announcement today, Vodafone said it will begin trialling voice services over its LTE network later this year for a broader roll out in 2015.

"Customers have rapidly adopted 4G smartphones, which offer very fast data speeds. But no Australian network is offering voice calls on its 4G network, and our new core network will enable us to do that," said Benoit Hanssen, Vodafone Australia CTO.

Reworking a network

The announcement for the introduction of VoLTE in Australia comes with Vodafone also saying that it is completely modernising and consolidating its core network, just as Telstra and Optus prepare to switch on the 700MHz spectrum band for their 4G networks next year.

Vodafone, which didn't buy any of the 700MHz spectrum during the Digital Dividend auction, said last month that its 4G network would reach 95% of Australia's metropolitan areas by the end of the year using its 850MHz spectrum holding.

The telco says that its new core network will offer better network agility and flexibility, along with new LTE services like VoLTE.

"With our enhanced indoor 4G coverage and voice calls on the same network, our customers will feel the difference. The call audio quality will be high definition, and call connection times will be significantly shorter," said Hanssen.

"In other words, there will be virtually no time lag between the customer pressing the call button and the call being connected when they are using 4G."

• Here's our guide to the best 4G network in Australia

Faster international roaming has arrived, with Vodafone Australia announcing that it has switched on 4G global roaming in New Zealand for customers on the telco's Red plans.

Vodafone had announced earlier this year that it will be rolling out global 4G roaming in mid-2014 for customers on its Roam Like Home Red plans in NZ, the UK and Europe.

This follows Vodafone Australia's parent company, Vodafone Group, launching international 4G roaming late last year for its UK customers.

The Red plans were launched last year in Australia, allowing customers to roam with their local plan allowance for just $5 extra a day in the UK, most of Europe, NZ, US and six countries in Asia.

Global leverage

The Vodafone Group has been leveraging its international presence for cheaper roaming rates, and is now touting itself to have the largest 4G international roaming network.

"We are pleased to announce Vodafone customers will now enjoy a great 4G experience right across the Tasman," said Kim Clarke, Vodafone Australia's Chief Marketing Officer.

"The best part of all is that $5 roaming won't break the bank – it'll cost you just $70 for a two-week holiday to use all your inclusions form your home plan, just like you were at home in Australia."

Vodafone Australia has said that it will be expanding 4G roaming in the UK and Europe, along with adding more countries later as well.

• If you want to know more about the difference between 4G and 3G, here's our guide to everything 4G

If your business has a stack of old computer equipment in an old storage room or closet, you aren't alone. Organizations of all sizes regularly deal with monitors, PCs, printers, and mobile devices that need to be discarded. The problem? There's no easy way to get rid of old equipment.

Businesses face several challenges when removing old equipment, with stiff penalties for errors. Regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and PCI Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) have put many businesses under fire, forcing them to ensure all data is completely removed from devices before they're sent off to recycling.

Security is only one issue you'll deal with as you seek to get your old equipment out of the way. Here are a few tips that will help you make sure you aren't hit with hefty fines and, even worse, jail time for improper disposition procedures.

Recycling programs

Whether your business is environmentally aware or not, you have about eighty-two million reasons to avoid depositing electronic equipment into landfills. Just last year, Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $82 million for violations of the Clean Water Act after the company was caught dumping hazardous materials down the drain.

While you likely won't face the level of penalties that Wal-Mart paid, there are monetary losses attached to incorrectly dumping electronics. Improper landfill disposal can result in thousands of dollars in fines, depending on the laws in your area. If that equipment can somehow be traced back to you, you may not only be facing penalties, but you may also be required to deal with the general public seeing you as a company that doesn't care about the environment.

Data protection

Another area that can incur hefty fines for businesses is security. When a company deals with consumer data on its servers, it falls under a new level of scrutiny by authorities. For organizations handling health information, HIPAA regulations require that all patient health data remain private at all times. When a piece of equipment is sent off for recycling, if data remains on it and becomes compromised, the original owner of that equipment may be subjected to fines, as well as being required to notify all affected parties of the data being compromised.

When equipment containing credit card data falls into the wrong hands, businesses may face stiff penalties. One of the most recent cases of credit cards being compromised was Miami's Total Bank, where personal information of 72,500 customers may have been accessed by a third party.

Whether through a hacking attempt, an internal employee, or lost/stolen equipment, customer data is constantly at risk. Even one misplaced laptop can cause hundreds of thousands of records to be compromised, requiring the company to notify each customer that a breach has occurred. Many states also have data breach notification laws that require businesses to pay for 12 months of credit monitoring for every customer that might have been impacted.

How to dispose responsibly

Even if a business knows the importance of recycling responsibly, learning how to get rid of old equipment is an additional challenge. The EPA offers a list of places that accept old equipment, with locations varying by the type and brand of device. Best Buy and Staples are also among big box retailers who accept old electronics, with the latter paying customers for their old equipment.

A great option for your replaced electronics is to donate them to a local nonprofit or school. These organizations may be searching for equipment like yours, so it can't hurt to ask around before you sell it or drop it off at a recycling center. No matter how you recycle your equipment, it will likely be sold or given to people who would have otherwise had to purchase new devices, requiring manufacturing processes that impact the environment.

Vodafone has announced that it will be using its extensive 850MHz spectrum holding, so far used for its 3G mobile network, to expand its 4G network.

The telco's existing low-band 850MHz spectrum will now be re-allocated, or "re-farmed", and will allow its 4G coverage to reach 95% of Australia's metro population by the end of 2014.

"I am pleased we are able to use the flexibility of our new network to provide our customers with an even better 4G experience. This provides Vodafone the platform for the next stage of our network evolution," Vodafone CTO Benoit Hanssen said.

Vodafone has successfully trialed the network across greater Newcastle, NSW, on a range of 4G-compatible devices at more than 40 sites.

Taking on 700MHz

While Telstra and Optus purchased some of the 700MHz spectrum band during the Digital Dividend auction, Vodafone bowed out.

Hanssen says that most smartphones in the market already use 850MHz, while 700MHz compatible devices are only just starting to emerge, though it should be noted that the 700MHz networks won't be switched on nationally until early 2015.

"Australian smartphone customers already have handsets that will work on Vodafone's low-band 4G 850MHz network," Hanssen said.

"Customers on other networks will therefore require a new device in order to experience low-band 4G services."

• Here's our guide to the best 4G network in Australia

Vodafone MVNO Crazy John's will finally shut down mobile services on September 30, with less than 100,000 users still remaining on the network.

Crazy John's will be contacting the remaining customers during the course of July to inform them of the deactivation process.

Some customers will be transferred to Vodafone on replicated matching plans, and these customers will be required to activate new Vodafone SIMs before the end of September.

However Vodafone has also warned that not all Crazy John's plans will be replicated by the telco, and to contact either Vodafone or Crazy John's to see what your options are.

Of course, customers can also choose to move to another network entirely - you won't be charged any cancellation fees and you can keep your Crazy John's handset.

No more Crazy

Last year, Crazy John's stopped signing on new customers and ended its prepaid services as Vodafone announced it would be retiring the brand.

With services to be deactivated on September 30, the telco is warning users to move onto Vodafone or another network soon.

"Customers will not be able to make and receive phone calls, send and receive SMS, or use data services from 12:01am on 1st October 2014," Vodafone said.

Users will still be able to port their numbers for a "very limited time" after September 30 if they haven't already done so, but if you miss this window, you will lose your number.

• Vodafone's former CEO Bill Morrow says MVNOs won't be around much longer

It's been just under a year since Vodafone launched its Red plans, and while other telcos have been accused of lowering data allowances, Vodafone is adding to the data allowances of its Red plans.

It's old $65 plan included 1.5GB of data, while $80 per month gave you 2.5GB and $100 gave 5GB.

Starting today, $100 will now give you 6GB of data and $80 a month jumps you to 4GB. Meanwhile, the $65 plan tier gets a price hike up to $70 a month, though you do get double the amount of data at 3GB for just $5 extra.

SIM only plans will see you spending $50 per month for 3GB, $60 per month for 4GB and $80 for 6GB.

Topped up

Similar to Optus' automatic tier-jumping for its My Plans, Vodafone has introduced automatic $10 data top-ups for an extra 1GB for new and upgrading customers, with no limit to how often the data top-up is added.

Existing customers will be prompted via SMS if they want to add a $10 1GB Data Booster, which will expire at the end of the month.

Vodafone has also introduced what it is calling the Data Workout, which will give new customers unlimited data usage for two months to help understand their usage patterns. Vodafone will then contact the user to help decide which plan best suits their data needs.

While all plans include unlimited national voice calls and SMS, as well as $5 Roam Like Home in 47 countries, each tier also now includes 300 international standard minutes per month to call anywhere in the world from Australia.

• Vodafone has some great value plans, but how does its 4G network stack up against other Aussie telcos?

Starting midnight tonight, June 20, to 3am Monday June 23, all Vodafone customers will have unlimited data access that won't count against their allowance.

Vodafone is hoping this "free weekend of data" will make up for network problems that had been affecting call, SMS and data service across the nation on Thursday, June 19.

"We know our customers had a less than perfect network experience today and we want them to know we're sorry," said Vodafone's Chief Technology Officer Benoit Hanssen in a statement sent out last night.

"Our team is proud of our network. That's why we want to say sorry by giving them what we know they value the most – data – so they are free to surf, tweet, post, stream, download, click and play without limits."

Transparency

Before launching its 4G network and its new Red plans last year, Vodafone had been shedding customers by the droves due to network capacity problems across the nation from about 2010.

Former CEO Bill Morrow had admitted that Vodafone had dropped the ball, but it has since been working on gaining back customer trust.

Faced with network issues yesterday, the telco was quick to send out a statement yesterday to explain what had happened.

"At approximately 11.00am (AEST) services across Western Australia were impacted by a transmission network failure. As Hanssen's network team was restoring services at approximately 1.00pm (AEST), problems occurred which had an impact on the network nationally. Some customers experienced issues with call, SMS and data services," Vodafone explained.

Services were restored nationally by 4.10pm (AEST) yesterday, though data services weren't restored in Western Australia until 6.30pm (AEST). Vodafone is currently investigating the cause of the network failure.

"Our only priority today was restoring full network services to all customers as soon as possible." Hanssen said.

"While no mobile network in the world can guarantee it will never experience occasional issues, we're working to ensure it doesn't happen again."

• Which Aussie telco has the best 4G network?

Ready for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Vodafone has now included Brazil in its list of Roam Like Home countries.

Vodafone introduced Roam Like Home last year with its Red plans, giving you the ability to use your phones overseas as if at home for a $5 cap each day the phone is used, as long as you keep within your monthly plan allowance.

Now up to 47 countries where this is available, Brazil joins the US, UK, New Zealand, most of Europe, along with China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Thailand.

Roaming frontier

Roam Like Home, which was previously only offered on three post-paid tiers, is now offered to all post-paid customers, including business customers.

Vodafone also allows for 4G roaming in countries the faster network is available, and simplified call charges in over 200 countries where Roam Like Home is not available.

Beyond this, the Aussie telco has indicated previously that it will continue to add more countries where $5 capped roaming is available to customers.

• Check out our guide for the best 4G network in Australia

The HTC One (M8) is finally here for you to feast your eyes upon, but when, where and for how much can you pick up and play with the next "World's Best Phone"?

Luckily, the new One is headed to Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, and while pre-orders start today for all three telcos, the phone won't be available in Australia until April 1.

Although outright pricing hasn't been revealed by the telcos, the HTC One (M8) will come Down Under with an RRP of $899.

Over at Telstra, customers can pick up HTC's latest starting at $81 dollars up to $136, depending on plan tier, with the price including the monthly plan cost and handset repayments. You can also add New Phone Feeling to your plan if you want to be able to upgrade your phone after 12 months.

At Vodafone, you'll be able to get the HTC One (M8) for $52 a month on it's lowest plan, with the handset included in its $80 and $100 Red plans. It'll cost an extra $10 a month on its $60 Red plan.

Optus will offer the handset on each of its My Plan tiers as well, with prices starting at $58 up to $105, including monthly handset repayments. The telco has an introductory offer up until April 10 on it's $60 plan, with the handset costing $12 a month on top of the plan price.

HTC One (M8) likes to Play

HTC has also announced the the US will have access to a HTC One (M8) Google Play edition, and pre-orders for this model starting right now through Google's Play Store.

The vanilla Android version will be available in silver for US$699, which is about $763, with supported wireless bands include GSM, WCDMA and LTE. There's no word yet on if it will be made to available for Australia.

The Google Play edition will be able to take advantage of the M8's Duo Camera by leveraging HTC's APIs, however the Taiwanese firm didn't have any details on just how Google will accomplish this.

• Check out our hands on review of the new HTC One!