Finding a second phone number that’s not second best

The way I use my phone sounds a bit like a cautionary tale.

I’ll get a call I’m not expecting at an odd time of the day — sometimes from a private number. I’ll answer it, rather than let it go to voicemail. A stranger on the other end of the line will introduce themselves. Then they’ll tell me they know what I’m capable of.

And it begins. Instead of finding my bank accounts empty because I’ve given up my mother’s maiden name, I’ll find myself in a situation.

I’ll be drafted into making coffee for my professional heroes before the sun rises. I’ll talk a frantic caller through getting their live radio broadcast back on air, like air traffic control would try to help someone land a plane. Or I’ll have expected the call, and start taking notes as someone on the other side of the world tells me about a confronting experience they’ve shared in.

Maybe it snowballs from there, maybe it doesn’t. But it all starts with a call.

Unfortunately, being easy to ring means your phone number is easy to get. Many places still use people’s numbers to identify them, or as a second step to grant access to accounts. And fraud like SIM-swapping can let a motivated person hjiack someone’s number — taking a large part of their life (and money!) along with it.

So, after probably a few too many years of being as open with my number as that bored couple you know is with their relationship — it’s time to hang it up. (And start being even more open with a new number; but that’s not important right now.)

Getting back on the market

Phone plans have changed a lot in Australia. We can see that through how the country’s largest telcos — Telstra, Optus and Vodafone — are competing on data. Let’s take a look at how their entry level, lowest-commitment postpaid plans have changed over the last decade.

At the start of 2014, Telstra’s ‘Small’ plan offered customers the best rate — and that was still $60 for a single gigabyte of data, with excess charges threatened for those who breached the limit. But as Australians have streamed more, plan limits have grown and unit prices have come down.

All three telcos have brought the unit price of data to under $1.70 per gigabyte on their entry-level plans — where the cost per gigabyte is usually highest. And that’s just the fastest data they’ll offer you, as the big three began to switch out excess charges for data slowdowns in 2018.

But that’s only half the story. Because while Australia’s biggest players have been offering more bang for buck on data — they’ve also been asking for more of your bucks.

The price of Vodafone’s entry level offering has jumped by 125 per cent over the last decade, with Optus rising by 96 per cent. An entry-level Telstra subscriber would have seen just a 3.33 per cent price rise since 2014, but one who joined to get its lowest price in 2015 would have copped a 77.14 per cent hike.

That’s faster than Australia’s inflation rate of 29.9 per cent over the same decade. But the rise in base cost has come alongside the scrapping of other charges; along with excess data fees, rates for local calls and texts around Australia and to some places abroad have been scrapped. Benefits like free or discounted streaming services have become more common, and the amount of fast data you’ll get to watch them has been steadily rising.

But that’s only added value if it’s actually valuable to you. Small data limits were a costly pain point when excess fees were more prevalent, with Finder reporting Australians paid $259 million of these charges in 2017. But by 2023, the ACCC found the average phone plan customer used about 17 gigabytes of data per month — far less than the limit on those entry-level offers you’ve seen.

The inclusion of more data than the average person will actually use can mean these offers aren’t as compelling as they look on the surface. And in my case, I’m not interested in any data at all — just a second number to receive those high-stakes calls. It’s time to call in to somewhere else.

The smaller players

While the vast majority of Australians take up offers with the big three telcos (they’re big for a reason), they’re not the only players in the market.

Australia is home to more than 30 MVNOs, or Mobile Virtual Network Operators. These smaller providers make wholesale deals with the big three telcos — and run far leaner (and cheaper) operations. MVNOs usually forego a physical retail presence, won’t sell you a handset and advertise less. That means their service plans can be smaller and cheaper.

Some MVNOs are named after — but not necessarily run by — brands you’re already used to dealing with.

Coles Mobile and Everyday Mobile by Woolworths have lower starting prices for SIM plans than the big three telcos. Both offer international calls, plus a regular discount at their supermarkets for those signed up to their loyalty programs. Meanwhile, ALDImobile sticks to prepaid recharges with less frills and foregoes a supermarket discount — but still includes international calls and offers the cheapest option for 5G network access.

Catch Connect and Kogan Mobile are brands linked to online retailers — and could tempt those who are also looking for a (usually second-hand) handset. Kogan Mobile goes further, offering a subscription rental for handsets, or the option to pay-off and own a device outright. The standard price of its entry-level, monthly recharge is also the cheapest so far.

Energy provider AGL and Commonwealth Bank both grant access to discount offers. AGL knocks $10 per month off its own plans for its energy customers — bringing its entry-level plan into line with the supermarkets’ postpaid offers. Meanwhile, More Telecom extends a 10 per cent discount off its mobile plans for members of Commonwealth Bank’s loyalty program — a smaller discount, but off lower plan prices to begin with.

Many home internet providers also offer bundle discounts for customers who have both an nbn and mobile plan with them. On the lower end, iiNet will take $5 a month off customers’ bills—but not on its cheapest mobile plan — while Mate offers a flat $10 discount off all of its plans. Aussie Broadband and Superloop offer a sliding scale of bundle discounts, contingent on how good or how many services you take up.

Most MVNOs’ coverage should have little difference from the service of the big-three telco it deals with — but there is one exception. While Vodafone and Optus offer their entire networks to MVNOs, Telstra operates both a retail network and a wholesale network with slightly less coverage. That may not make a difference for people in major metro areas, but it can be a dealbreaker for those who live in the regions.

If coverage matters to you, Boost Mobile has access to Telstra’s retail network. Telstra also sells co-branded mobile plans with technology retailers The Good Guys and JB Hi-Fi — but their entry-level postpaid plans are far higher than most MVNOs. JB Hi-Fi offers a pre-paid SIM, but Boost’s entry-level offer just edges it out on price — giving it the win here.

Making the call

There’s one big question here; what’s actually valuable to you?

We’ve spent a lot of time looking at providers’ entry-level plans, because big inclusions aren’t that valuable to me. I already have a plan with lots of data and international minutes; my second phone number really just needs to… exist. That may not be the case for you.

I’ve overlooked a lot of new customer deals that can drop the prices of some of these plans dramatically. It’s always worth shopping around and checking for the best deals; regularly churning between providers can save you a lot of money. If, like me, you’d rather only think about this once and then never again, that’s okay — but that loyalty can come at a cost.

We’ve also covered how leveraging your existing relationships with big businesses can come in handy when you’re looking for a third. Maybe you’ve both seen a plan across the bar and like its vibe — and while it has more expensive tastes than most, it comes with some other benefits you can’t pass up. So, here’s all the plans we’ve looked at in one place:

In my case, I knew I wanted to keep this second phone number for a while and was open to a long-expiry offer. Unlike month-to-month postpaid plans, many prepaid recharges offer better rates over longer periods of up to a year. And paying upfront can unlock these better deals from the big three telcos and the MVNOs.

I also did want some international inclusions. I can end up making very long-distance phone calls at very short notice, and didn’t want the hassle of a frustrating bill after the fact. International inclusions are becoming more common at MVNOs, giving more options to people who make calls abroad. But this can rule out the cheapest postpaid plans and recharges.

I ended up taking advantage of a new customer offer to get a year’s worth of service that will let me make some overseas calls. The price will go up next year, of course, but it will still be competitive, perhaps enough to make me stay. After all, I now have lots of research for next time I’m on the hunt — and I won’t settle for second-best.