ALDI Mobile is continuing its long history of reducing its data allowances while charging the same amount of money for its prepaid plans. From 1 April (no joke), its $35 prepaid plan will include just 1GB of data each month — less than half the current 2.5GB allowance and just one-fifth of the 5GB it originally launched with.
Picture: Getty Images
Here’s a comparison showing what you get for $35 a month under the old and new plans:
Old $35 Plan | New $35 Plan | |
---|---|---|
Call minutes | 2000 | 1250 |
SMS | 2000 | 2200 |
Data | 2.5GB | 1GB |
In other words: a little more SMS, far less call minutes and far less data. You can add a 1GB data pack for $10, but you can only do that after you have used 70 per cent of your “main allowance”, which would be 700MB. $45 for a plan with 2GB of data is not a good deal in the current market — you can get almost twice as much data on Telstra’s 4G network for that money. (ALDI Mobile uses Telstra, but only its older 3G spectrum).
ALDI is also adding three new cheaper plans. Here’s the full range of new “value packs” on offer. Note that for the S and M plans you receive a fixed amount of credit to spend, rather than a set number of call minutes and texts — so we’ve quoted the maximum number of call minutes in the table. Every SMS you send will reduce that amount. Again: these are not good value plans.
Plan | Cost | Call minutes | SMS | Data | Data pacl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
S | $10 | 100 | – | – | 100MB for $5 |
M | $20 | 300 | – | 300 | 300MB for $7 |
L | $30 | 650 | 2200 | 1000 | 1GB for $10 |
XL | $35 | 1250 | 2200 | 1000 | 1GB for $10 |
The change comes just two weeks after the company signed a court-enforceable undertaking with the ACCC to market its plans accurately. It changed the name of the $35 plan from Unlimited last November.
According to ALDI Mobile, the most recent change is because “we have been listening to our customers and analysing how people use their phones and we discovered that people use a lot less than is included in our current $35 plan”. The company used the same line when it cut the data allowance to 2.5GB last October.
ALDI Mobile will continue to offer its existing pay-as-you-go plans, which have a 365 day credit expiry — potentially useful for people who hardly ever use their phone, but relatively expensive for data (5 cents per MB, with calculations per MB which means charges mount up quickly).
There is one tiny improvement in the new plans: they eliminate the clause in ALDI’s acceptable usage policy which says you can use no more than 1000MB in a single day. Then again, doing that would mean you’d have used your entire allowance anyway.
ALDI’s tablet-oriented data-only plan is also changing. Previously, it offered 2GB of data for $15. Now it offers 3GB of data for $30 — which includes more data but is actually more expensive ($10 per GB rather than $7.50). Again, since ALDI Mobile calculates usage on a per MB basis, this is not a wise choice.
If you really don’t use much data and can survive on $10 of calls a month, then there’s no point paying more — but in the smartphone era, that’s a relatively uncommon scenario. There are much better value prepaid plans out there if you do need data — check out our recommendations.
The bottom line? We wouldn’t be surprised if the $35 plan is offering 500MB in six months, given the ongoing rate of attrition. If you’re a current $35 plan customer, it’s time to start looking elsewhere.
Comments
17 responses to “ALDI Mobile Slashes $35 Plan Data Allowance To 1GB”
Same thing happened with kogan mobile before telstra let them die and bailed out aldi.
Guess telstra are getting greedy, but I can’t see that boosting the share price. Gave up on that happening years ago.
Yeah that’s what I was going to say… And then Angus in all his impartial-ness goes on to make light that Telstra is suddenly much better value than this plan…
.. Wait don’t Telstra sponsor this blog heavily? Weird..
Well you don’t get access to the Next G or 4G network with Aldi so in that respect Telstra is if you want access to those two.. You only get the Telstra 3G network with Aldi.
How does that change the value equation?
*shrug* it’s anti-competitive to provide pricing, allow businesses to establish, slash it nearly instantly, and then claim to have the best deal on X. To then buy their products is to essentially support that kind of behavior in the marketplace. Whether you care about that or not is your own business. 😛
Ridiculous! Where’s value and listening to this Aldi? Definitely switching!
As per @maxamillion’s post, it’s really outside of their control. It’s ironic to have your price forced higher, to have the people who have done so to claim they’re now better value, so you should go with them..
Me too! check out Amaysim Unlimited – way better
why on earth would Aldi expect we’d hang around?
their tactics in getting everyone from Kogan in then gradually reducing the value is so transparent.
Get lost Aldi!
Aldi new plans :- Not to be outdone by the reduction of data in the $35.00 plan their net “better value” bolt on now has only 1 gig for $10.00 instead of 2g for $15.00 when I went to school $20.00 for 2 g was a lot “less value” than $15.00 for 2 gig, but what the hell would I know.
So long Aldi mobile, it was fun while it lasted. I think Aldi confused their price cutting strategy for consumer goods with service & price / value cutting for their mobile office. This stuff is supposed to get cheaper and more full featured in the long run, not the other way around!
everyone should check out yatango, build your own plans
thanks, i had not seen them before. looks very interesting.
Since I use the Pay as you go with them, i’m relatively fine that isn’t going anywhere. BUT, the fact they’ve gone and gotten rid of the 2gb of data which I use on my phone shits me off cause I use about 1.5gb a month and it works out to be good value for me, now they want 2x as much out of me for less. Get fucked.
was with Kogan for 1 month before they went belly up,now Aldi have decided they are going to severely restrict access.I am now going over to Amaysim where for only $5 more we get 4GIG!!!! plus unlimited everything else for $40.I would be very interested to see actual numbers of people leaving Aldis mobile phone disservice. Kogan was $30 for 5gig,then $35 for 5gig,then gone!!!Now Aldi,$35 for 5gig,$35 for 2.5gig,now $35 for 1gig,then it will also be gone!
I was with Kogan for 6 months before they went belly up,now Aldi have decided they are going to severely restrict access. I am also going over to Amaysim at the end of this month where for only $5 more we will get 4GIG!!!! plus unlimited everything else for $40. It is interesting to see that others also feel ripped off by Aldi I wonder how many will speak with their feet by moving service provider and Aldi mobile phone disservice it.
Aldi,$35 for 5gig,$35 for 2.5gig,now $35 for 1gig which is not enough for a month so I can only do what other are which is go to Amaysim.
Firstly I don’t see anywhere that the 365 day expiry date will remain in place, they all seem to expire in 30 days. I would like clarification on that. Secondly Amaysim is on Optus and still not as good coverage as even 3G Telstra. Any suggestions on an Aldi/Amaysim equivalent that uses Telstra network?
Aldi must think we are all stupid by offering us less and saying it is more???
Its unfortunate cause the bolt on data usage was perfect for me and now they want to charge me twice the price for less???
F U Aldi and R.I.P to your mobile venture, the only reason you got big was lower prices and better deals but now you are the same as your competitors with nothing that makes you stand out.
The way technology works is it gets cheaper over time especially if its older technology (3g) but obviously the people at Aldi mobile want bigger bonus’s this year…
Yes ill be changing service providers thanks to your greed.
The real villain here is Telstra. They destroyed Kogan, and now they’re out to the same to Aldi.
That said, I am thoroughly disgusted with the dishonest and intellectually insulting spin Aldi marketing have put on their new plans. To quote the Aldi site:
“We will soon be launching some new plans which will give the ALDI community increased flexibility and better value for money.”
Only an absolute moron would believe that trading 1250 minutes of talk time AND 1.5 GB of data for an extra 200 SMS’s on Aldi’s $35 plan represents “better value for money”. I guess those morons must work for Aldi’s marketing department.
BTW Angus, the old plan had up to 2500 minutes of calls included, which is 500 more than you stated in your article.
Quote “We will soon be launching some new plans which will give the ALDI community increased flexibility and better value for money.”
surely this constitutes false advertising as well
see you aldi, hullo amaysim
I really liked the data ad-on, I use way more data then anything else, and didn’t mind just paying for phone calls and txt messages.
optus did it to woolies and now telstra has done it….
i agree with oscar389
hello amaysim…
What a load of horse meat.
Aldi has lost me today.. switched.. big con !
good
http://edge.alluremedia.com.au/m/g/2013/03/aldimobile1.png
this is what it was when i joined them in sep’13
Viewing other sites. It’s curious how many people are happy with ALDI mobile’s arbitrary reduction in data service provision. It’s the less service for same money concept. It’s almost like they had been been written by marketing trolls. Lets not be fooled. Fix it and fix it soon before everyone leaves. Many thing smell but at the moment ALDI mobile stinks.
Just thought I would add a little comment I went with aldi for 1 reason the only other coverage I have is telstra no other phone service is available here in the sticks, telstra at 90 cents a min aldi 12 cents, they have got a long way to go to match telstra cost. Oh yeah home phone telstra’s advice get a mobile broadband roll out 10 years away at least. satellite not connected to the grid and self installed power,can’t connect you was the comment. so until someone has the courage to set up a system to challenge the great god telstra looks like I for one will stay with aldi thank you for listening