How to find the best mobile deals in Australia: watch the fine print!

With more than 300 mobile phone plans offered and literally hundreds of providers as well as mobile phone models on the market, the choices for consumers are mind-numbingly confusing. With such a myriad of choice of phones and deals, it is hard to find the one that fits your needs without breaking the bank. A new website http://www.PhonesAndPlans.com.au promoting itself as the most comprehensive mobile phone and plan comparison site for the Australian market offers some welcome relief.

Co-founder Ambika Mavia says that as a consumer herself she understands how confusing the choices are. She says “Despite being from the industry, we find more and more choice and very complex plans make it hard for the average consumer to find suitable options. Using our experience in helping people find best deals, we’ve put together this comparison site.”

Ms Mavia, an experienced telecoms executive with over 10 years in the field, says that people tend to fall in love with a phone such the iPhone and then sign up on the spot for a plan. “The problem is that the average $60 phone contract will cost at least $1440 over two years, and the wrong plan can cost you hundreds if not thousands over 2 years.”

“We make it easy for the consumer to do the homework.”

Mobile service providers are spending millions to get consumers to sign up to their deals. With nearly 25 million mobiles in the market including more than 2.5 million smart phones, the smart phone has become ubiquitous and is rapidly becoming the tool of choice for mobile workers and busy professionals. With apps now flooding the market it is easy for a user to run up many times more data usage than before. The unwitting mobile phone use could be in for a nasty shock at the end of the month.

“The problem is that the mobile phone industry will always promote their mobile phone deals to you.

“We believe the consumer should be the focus; hence we developed the Mobile Deal Finder. This simple yet powerful tool will enable the user to put in their own usage needs to locate the best mobile phone deal.

“You need to do the homework; have a look at old bills and break it down into - how many calls do you make, how many text messages. Look at other calls like voicemail, premium numbers and international calls. If you don’t currently use a smart phone, remember that your data usage will increase dramatically once you move to a smart phone.

“Knowing how you use your phone will help you work out the right plan to go on.