Work out your family’s mobile needs

As your family grows, you might need to make improvements to meet your changing mobile needs. And sometimes, it’s hard to know what you might need to keep your evolving family happy and connected. As a result, questions such as “when’s the right time to get my child their first phone?”, “how much data do we really need?”, and “should we combine all our plans into one family plan?” might be swirling around in your head.

Luckily, we can help. Read on to find out what you may need to consider at every life stage for your family when it comes to your mobile connection.

How much mobile data does my family need?

Data allowance varies vastly from family to family. How much your family needs depends on the number of people in your family, the ages of your children, and the way in which your devices are being used.

When it comes to mobile data, you may only really need to consider how and when you are using your phone outside of your home. This is because your phone typically may be connected to WiFi when you’re at home, which doesn’t impact your mobile data allowance (provided you have home internet).

A good way to find out how much data your family needs is to work off your current data usage.  You can usually check your current data usage on your current provider’s app (if you’re with Optus, this is called the My Optus app). If you don’t have the app or can’t find this information, most devices offer this information in some form (iOS shows how much data has been used over a certain period).

Your mobile data considerations 

If you’re unable to determine your usage by tracking your mobile data, you might need to do some more calculations to work it out. Consider how frequently you use your phone when you’re not connected to a WiFi network and what sorts of activities you use your phone for during this time.

Let’s take a look at a few examples to help you determine what kind of mobile data user you and your family members may be below:

• Light user - you mostly use your phone when connected to a WiFi network, however when you’re using mobile data, you occasionally use maps, browse the web and check emails, only for a few hours per month
• Moderate user - you use WiFi but are also out of the house frequently and rely on mobile data for regular social media checking, web browsing, emails, music streaming, and occasional video streaming for several hours each week
• Heavy user - you use mobile data every day for several hours and for activities like video streaming, gaming, social media, music streaming, and general web browsing.

That takes care of the adults but how much data might your kids need? This will vary based on their age. For younger kids just starting out, 2GB of data per month should be enough for basic web browsing and messaging apps. But once they start running data-intensive apps like YouTube and TikTok or start gaming, it may be wise to consider plans with at least 30GB of data.

What are the pros and cons of Prepaid and Postpaid?

Prepaid or postpaid (or subscription) – this is the age-old question. But which is best for your family? We unpack it all below.

For kids and teenagers, prepaid is a popular option as it means they can only spend the set amount of call, text and data inclusions that come with their plan. Once your credit is up, that's it (unless you manually recharge). This can be a great way to help your kids understand budgeting.

Prepaid also generally offers lower data plans, which can help with limiting screentime and social media if that’s of concern to you.  Long-expiry prepaid plans are a great option for kids as you can set and forget without having to remember to recharge monthly. Our Optus Flex Annual Plan is great value – you get 200GB to use in 365 days for $300. That works out to over 16GB’s per month for only $25 per month (more than enough to satisfy their Tik Tok obsession). You can also check out our full range of Prepaid plans and Prepaid phones. 

But that’s not to say subscription plans shouldn’t get a look in when it comes to kids.

Subscription plans can sometimes offer more perks like discounts on new devices, and if you add them on to your existing account, you have the convenience of paying one bill to your provider (and possibly even get a discount). Having a subscription plan like the Optus Choice Plan Plus eliminates the hassle of having to reload your account every month and gives you the security of your child always being able to contact you due to not having to worry about topping up their credit. 

What’s the right mobile plan for my family?

At Optus, we offer a wide variety of mobile plans designed for all types of families. Find out what kind of mobile plan may be the best fit for your family below.

Families with kids under 8 years

For families with kids under 8 years, you probably only need a mobile plan for yourself and your partner. Some telcos offer a discount for the second service so be sure to ask this when signing up. For the kids, you might want to think about getting them their own connected device plan (along with a cellular-enabled tablet) which can help with things like studying and doing homework from anywhere (e.g. library), family road trips and keeping kids entertained at restaurants/outings. Having a connected device with its own data allowance means you’ll no longer have to tether off your phone which can chew up your data and your phone battery pretty quickly.

Generally, primary school age kids won’t be so bothered about social networking, but when they get the hang of using a phone, they may become surprisingly good at downloading large file games like Roblox and even data guzzling on YouTube. If you and your kids are out and about and use phones regularly, it may be worth considering purchasing some mobile data. Check out our great value Optus Choice Plus plans.

Families with tweens between 9 to 13 years 

For families with tweens (9-13), you might be thinking about getting your child their first phone for their first public transport ride, or simply because they’ve been pestering you for too long. A good first phone may be a spare one you have lying around.  Or if it’s time to upgrade yours, you could give your child your old phone and get the latest shiny new one you’ve been eyeing instead. Prefer to get them a new phone? Check out our great range of budget phones. 

Families with teenagers between 13 to 17 years

Families with teenagers (13-17) will need more data than younger families. Teenagers are notorious for spending hours on TikTok, YouTube, and other data-hungry platforms, and will therefore need a sizeable data allowance.

If you’re a family of four and need separate mobile plans, check out our Family Mobile Plan which includes four SIMs and a whopping 320BGB data per month to share. If you only need 3 mobile plans, our Optus Choice Plus Plans provide great value, especially as you can share your data between the three if you’re all on the same account.

The school holidays are often a time when your kids need extra data. With Optus’ Unlimited Data Days, they can stream and watch and play, swipe and search and scroll, for an extra $5 a day with selected mobile plans. And stream and play some more. And on those sweet days, your data limit will be the least of your worries. Stream your way, and unlock your Unlimited Data Day on the My Optus App. 

Families with young adults 18+ years

The mobile connection demands change with the age of your family. As your older children (18+ years) start studying and working, and in-laws or grandparents move into your home, you may need to add more members to your family’s mobile plan. Our Family Plan is a great option as it includes 4 SIMs with 320GB for $165/month. You can also add up to 4 extra SIMs for $29 each per month and share the monthly 320GB data allowance across all SIM holders.

If you’ve got kids attending uni or TAFE, an iPad may assist them with their learning. They can stream an online lesson, easily take notes, or research an assignment on the go (with either cellular or WiFi connection), all with a light and portable device.

Enhance your kids’ learning experiences with our range of connected iPads & tablets. Once you’ve got the right tech sorted for them, you’ll need the right software to go with it. Microsoft 365 Family includes access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote with offline access and premium features for up to 6 users across PC and mobile. Get 1 month of Microsoft 365 on us at Optus SubHub, and an ongoing 10% discount across subscriptions if you add three or more to SubHub (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, BINGE, YouTube Premium, Britbox, MS 365).* 

There are many things to consider when purchasing mobile data plans for your family. From the number of people in your household to your typical data uses, there are many factors which may influence the amount of data you need. Luckily, Optus has all the mobile plan solutions for you, no matter the size, age, or data preferences of your family.

Find out everything you need to know to connect your family safely to our network.

The Optus Digital Thumbprint program is a free program that teaches young people to partake in online activities safely.

If you’re after a parental control app, M365 offers the Family Safe app which helps you to create healthy tech habits and protect the ones you love. Get 1 month of Microsoft 365 on us at Optus SubHub (not available for Prepaid).

Making sure your family takes a digital breather regularly is important. Press “pause” on the home’s WiFi during your family dinner time with Optus Pause and turn attention to valuable real-life conversation rather than online chat. Free for eligible Optus customers via the My Optus app.

*Eligible customers and services. Group discounts apply outside free/trial periods. Optus Sport is not further discounted. T&Cs apply